August 18, Monday - 15 Miles on the…

I wanted to see the Eric Canal so I set out for Lockport which was the location of the greatest elevation gain on the whole system. To connect the interior of the new nation to the shipping routes to the rest of the world, a waterway had to be built. Using the Mohawk River valley as the means for getting through the Appalachian Mountains, the new canal was plan to run parallel to it. The Mohawk River divides the Catskill Mountains from the Adirondack Mountain ranges of the Appalachian Mountains and the only route choice there was. However as shown at Niagara Falls, there was a big height difference from the Hudson River and Lake Erie where the canal was to end. Getting up the long reaching Niagara Escarpment was to be done at Lockport.
The 360 mile long canal had to rise over 600 feet over its distance to connect the lakes with the river. To get up and over the Niagara Escarpment, which at 80 feet high at this point, a series of five parallel locks were built and the town of Lockport was formed around the lift. The canal opened in 1825 as the new way to ship goods.
It was here that I headed for. Lockport was a nice historic town with many of its buildings in tack. The Eric Canal ran through the heart of it. The canal itself no longer handles commercial traffic but still lives through the recreational and tourist usages. While I explored the lock system two tourist ships went through the system of locks. One set of the original Erie Canal locks were still present but the second paralleling locks had been removed and replaced be a modern set that took the same elevation gain in just two locks rather than the older five locks.
Here the history of New York City was built. If it were not for the Erie Canal, New York City would just be another coastal town. The freight hauled over the waterway system to terminate at New York provided the city with the worldwide reputation that it enjoys today.
Some people are fascinated with the era of steam locomotives; with me it’s canals. From the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in Saddleworth England to the Ballard Locks in Seattle. So I was very happy sending the day prowling the lock systems of Lockport.