Lock Construction

Crossing the Niagara Escarpment posed immense challenges to canal engineers from the original Erie Canal to the Barge Canal System. The first Lockport locks were designed by Nathan Roberts, who was in charge of constructing the Erie Canal from “the mountain ridge” at Lockport to Lake Erie. In 1822 he advertised for “1000 men wanted at Lockport - twelve dollars per month and found,” meaning room and board. Excavation for the locks and the “deep cut” channel section southwest of the locks required extensive blasting and drilling of rock. Drill holes were packed with DuPont’s blasting powder, a newly invented explosive far superior to gunpowder. Work on the locks and “the cut” was extremely dangerous because of careless and inexperienced blasting. The shattered rock was removed by timber derricks powered by horse driven treadmills. Work continued through the winter, when holes drilled into the rock face were filled with water so the rock would crack and split as the water froze. The original Lockport locks were completed on June 25, 1825. Within a short time the locks, like the entire canal, proved too small to handle the large volume of boat traffic. The combined locks were rebuilt on a larger scale between 1836 and 1847. Work on the enlarged Erie Canal was halted under the “Stop Law” of 1842, enacted in response to state debt, and resumed in 1847. The enlargement of the entire Erie Canal was not completed until 1862. The enlarged Lockport locks operated until the southern tier was removed in 1910 for construction of Lock 34 and 35 of the Erie Barge Canal. The north tier of the combined locks was left intact and passed vessels during Barge Canal construction. Thomas Evershed, as New York State Engineer, made numerous contributions to canal development, and by 1838 he was supervising construction of both sets of combined “Flights of Five” locks in Lockport.

Lockport, New York · United States