November 5, 1999: Volume 47, Number 9

Unlocking Lock 23

Civil engineering students, along with a citizens group known as the Locktenders, have been working this fall to restore abandoned Erie Canal Lock 23, in its time one of the busiest parts of the waterway.

Lock 23, known as the "Gateway to the West," is a half mile east of Lock 8 along the Mohawk Bikepath.

Andrew Wolfe, professor of civil engineering, is overseeing the restoration project. The hope, he says, is to make the lock the centerpiece of a cultural park celebrating the Erie Canal.

Built in the 1840's and used until 1915, Lock 23 was a major transfer point at the west end of the 17-mile portage from Albany around the Cohoes Falls. Many passengers left the Erie Canal to travel overland to Albany; goods stayed on barges for the two- or three-day trip.

Since early this fall, students and other volunteers have been clearing trees and brush from the site, revealing a fascinating example of early 19th-century engineering. Measuring 200 feet long and 18 feet wide, the 20-foot high walls are constructed of 1- by 2- by 4-foot blocks of native bluestone. They were brought to the site by canal and by horse-drawn wagons, and put in place with horse and mule teams, according to Wolfe.

Among the unusual finds at the site are the buried remains of the heavy oak lock doors. ("We plan to use a crane to lift them out," Wolfe says.) A close look at some of the stones along the top of the canal shows grooves worn by the ropes that pulled the barges through the lock.

<< Previous Story Faculty, Staff Works Listed

Next Story >> Fiji.net Connects Students...