In 1897, Erie Canal lock tenders at the Flight of Five locks in Lockport, New York, were chosen by Section 10 Superintendent of Locks Frank B. Seeley from more than 100 prospects gathered on the Pine Street bridge just minutes before starting time. In the 1890's, lock tenders were selected from each of Lockport's eight wards, and those shown were local residents who worked at the same site. The labor was difficult and backbreaking, and few made it a career. The identified workers in the 1897 group included Fred J. Wagoner, Edward "Tom" O'Hara, Martin Noonan, John A. Leonard, Bessie Wagoner, William J. Bower, Ira M. McCoy, Michael "Lord" Hennessey, Michael Oates, James M. Riley, Edwin Barrett, George Harmony, John Kline, John Gardner, J. Gordon Hutcheson, William Crowley, William P. Aikin, Elmer Goodlander, Nelson Carmon, Frank LaValley, Jr., and Nicholas Buri, while some others were unidentified. The bronze figures associated with this group were created by sculptor Susan Geissler of Youngstown, New York using lost-wax casting. The image of the lock tenders was made by Frank B. Clench, a highly regarded portrait photographer whose Main Street studio in Lockport flourished from 1863 until 1883 and whose work remained available a century later on stereographic cards.