Lock 8 West

Lock 8 West. Lock Street, Phillipsburg. South of Philipsburg, Locks 8, 9 and 10 West, and Inclined Plane 10 West raised and lowered canal boots 70 feet between Green's Bridge and the high plateau of farmland in Lopatcong Township. Along the way, the canal shared its route with Lopatcong Creek, sometimes joined together, other times running side by side. Here, at Lock 8 Weet, boats were raised and lowered nine feet between short sections of canal. Waste weirs above and below the lock allowed excess water from the canal to overflow into the creek. Although most traces of the canal are now buried under the modern roadway, the tender's house for Lock and West still stands at 230 Lock Street. , [Captions] , . Top right: In the 1920s, when the canal was being dismantled, Frank “Doc” Piatt, the last lock tender at Lock 8 West, offered to buy the small, five-room lock tender's house for $450. The house, seen here with ladies standing on the porch, stood immediately adjacent to the lock. , . Center left: Frank “Doc” Piatt is seen here standing on the porch at Lock 8 West. At one time Doc was also the tender at Lock 9 West just a short distance away. , . Bottom: Lock 8 West, seen in the distance, was known by the boatmen as Sharp's Lock, named for a family that owned a farm nearby. The towpath followed along the canal on the left side while the board seen on the right crossed a weir that helped maintain the proper water level in this section of the canal.