Lock 52 on the Erie Canal was once a busy place. Built in 1851 and lengthened on the berm side in 1887 to accommodate two boats hitched together in tandem, the lock became a popular stopping point for canal boatmen. Its 11-foot lift made it one of the deepest locks on the Enlarged Erie Canal, and it was one of only five locks on the Enlarged Canal where eastbound boats were raised rather than lowered. The lower western end of Lock 52 was the easternmost point to which water from Lake Erie flowed in the Enlarged Erie Canal. In 1918, the current Canal System opened on a new alignment several miles to the north, bypassing Port Byron and Lock 52 and leaving behind the impressive stone structure as a reminder of the bygone era of the Enlarged Erie Canal.