Lock 23 - Rotterdam
This is a closer look into the north chamber of Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 23 (Alexander's Lock) in Rottedam,NY. This view is looking toward the east. Lock 23 was a double-chambered lock which was opened at the beginning of the 1842 navigation season, replacing the single-chamber Clinton's Ditch Lock 26 which was located nearby. The original locks had only one chamber for canal boats, the Enlarged Erie replaced these with double chambered locks allowing boats to pass in either direction at the same time. A last effort to expand the canal's capacity was made in the 1880s by extending one of the chambers of most of the locks in the system, including Lock 23, to accommodate double-headers ( two canal boats lashed together). In 1903 the State voted to replace the Enlarged Erie with the Barge Canal, which in this area utilized a sysytem of dams and locks on the Mohawk River. When the Barge Canal was completed in 1918, Lock 23 on the Enlarged Erie was abandoned. General Electric purchased the land from the state, then donated it to the Town of Rotterdam in the 1950's. By the 1990's the lock was almost completely obscured by overgrowth. In 1999 the faculty and students from Union College's Dept. of Civil Engineering worked on cleaning up the site and doing some reconstuction. The Mohawk-Hudson Bike Trail is built on the old towpath and passes right beside the lock. Lock 23 is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's located at the intersection of Rice Road and Schermerhorn Road in Rotterdam,NY.
Lock 23 - Rotterdam
This is a closer look into the north chamber of Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 23 (Alexander's Lock) in Rottedam,NY. This view is looking toward the east. Lock 23 was a double-chambered lock which was opened at the beginning of the 1842 navigation season, replacing the single-chamber Clinton's Ditch Lock 26 which was located nearby. The original locks had only one chamber for canal boats, the Enlarged Erie replaced these with double chambered locks allowing boats to pass in either direction at the same time. A last effort to expand the canal's capacity was made in the 1880s by extending one of the chambers of most of the locks in the system, including Lock 23, to accommodate double-headers ( two canal boats lashed together). In 1903 the State voted to replace the Enlarged Erie with the Barge Canal, which in this area utilized a sysytem of dams and locks on the Mohawk River. When the Barge Canal was completed in 1918, Lock 23 on the Enlarged Erie was abandoned. General Electric purchased the land from the state, then donated it to the Town of Rotterdam in the 1950's. By the 1990's the lock was almost completely obscured by overgrowth. In 1999 the faculty and students from Union College's Dept. of Civil Engineering worked on cleaning up the site and doing some reconstuction. The Mohawk-Hudson Bike Trail is built on the old towpath and passes right beside the lock. Lock 23 is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's located at the intersection of Rice Road and Schermerhorn Road in Rotterdam,NY.