A View to the Past

A View to the Past. . , When the Erie Canal opened in 1825, it was an immediate success, leading to an enlargement completed in 1862. By the early 1900s, another expansion occurred. Renamed the New York State Barge Canal, it took advantage of modern materials and electrical power. No remnants of the original canal remain; however, the westbound enlarged Flight of Five and Barge Canal locks are visible in the view below. Lockport is the only place on the canal where you can see functioning modern locks and historic locks side-by-side., Erie Barge Canal: Locks 34 and 35 , Between 1910 and 1918, two sets of mechanical gates replaced the manually operated, east-bound Flight of Five gates from the 1838-1862 enlargement., Path of Former Eastbound Locks , The grassy area was the path of the enlarged eastbound Flight of Five locks that were removed as part of the Erie Barge Canal's enlargement in the early 1900s., Lock Tenders Tribute , This public art installation replicates a c. 1897 photo of the lock tenders, local workers who were in charge of the lock operations., Historic Westbound Flight of Five Locks , These locks are from the enlarged canal and are the most complete example surviving from that period. The current wooden gates are reproductions of the 1838-1862 period., Towpath , The paved incline was originally a dirt and gravel towpath. Although mules and horses pulled the packet and barge boats along the canal, manpower took over as the boats locked through the Flight of Five., Visit the Locks District Museum at the base of the locks for the complete story.