Lock 23 - Rotterdam
This is a view of the north chamber of Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 23 (Alexander's Lock), looking west . Lock 23 was a double chambered lock opened at the beginning of the 1842 navigation season, replacing the single chamber Clinton's Ditch Lock 26, which was located nearby. Lock 23 raised and lowered the boats eight feet. This lock was important historically as a busy transfer point for the overland route to Albany which avoided waiting at the locks in Cohoes. The south chamber was lengthened in 1889-90. It was abandoned in 1918 upon the completion of the Barge Canal. 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 students and faculty of Unoon College's Civil Engineering Dept. worked on clearing the site. They built a replica of a locktenders shanty and a wooden pier on the upper end of the lock's center island. Lock 23 is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. . The Mohawk-Hudson Bike Trail is built on the old towpath and passes right beside the lock. The lock is located in Rotterdam,NY.
Lock 23 - Rotterdam
This is a view of the north chamber of Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 23 (Alexander's Lock), looking west . Lock 23 was a double chambered lock opened at the beginning of the 1842 navigation season, replacing the single chamber Clinton's Ditch Lock 26, which was located nearby. Lock 23 raised and lowered the boats eight feet. This lock was important historically as a busy transfer point for the overland route to Albany which avoided waiting at the locks in Cohoes. The south chamber was lengthened in 1889-90. It was abandoned in 1918 upon the completion of the Barge Canal. 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 students and faculty of Unoon College's Civil Engineering Dept. worked on clearing the site. They built a replica of a locktenders shanty and a wooden pier on the upper end of the lock's center island. Lock 23 is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. . The Mohawk-Hudson Bike Trail is built on the old towpath and passes right beside the lock. The lock is located in Rotterdam,NY.