My knowledge of the Eerie Canal is brief – it was the first waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes which helped accelerate the settlement of those western areas. The Lockport Locks are one portion of the Erie Canal.
Lockport’s locks were designed by Nathan Roberts to overcome a 60 foot rise in elevation to reach the top of a rocky ridge known as the Niagara Escarpment. This geological feature extends from New York to Wisconsin.
He designed twin flights of five locks placed end-to-end to form a water staircase (one going up in the western direction) and one coming down in the eastern direction. Each lock was 90ft long, 15ft wide and 4 a minimum of 4ft deep. It was later modified to 110ft long, 18ft 6in wide, and 18ft high to allow for an increase in tonnage of canal boats. The cost of construction was $600,000 (roughly $15million today).
The Erie Canal allowed goods to move across the state in half the time and for 1/10th the cost of railroad travel. The revenue from traffic and tolls paid off the $7 million in construction debt by 1837.
Lockport 
Lock Tender Memorial 
Lock Model
We were the only visitors in the area and seemingly the only ones walking through old downtown. This once bustling and vibrant city was lost and forgotten…replaced with air cargo delivery. Sad but also fascinating to try and understand the boom and bust lifecycle of a place.
