Lock 23 - Rotterdam
This is a view of the north chamber of Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 23 (Alexander's Lock), looking east toward Schenectady. Lock 23 was double chambered and was 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 boats eight feet. Competition from railroads spurred several efforts to improve the Enlarged Canal. Many locks (including Lock 23 in 1889-90) were lengthened to allow east-bound boats with a boat in tow to pass through. However, it was abandoned in 1918 upon the completion of the Barge Canal. General Electric purchased the land from the state, then donated it in the 1950's. By the 1990's the lock was almost completely obscured by overgrowth. In 1999 the faculty and students of Union College's Dept. of Civil Engineering worked on cleaning up the site and doing some reconstructuon. They built a replica of a locktenders shanty and the upstream wooden pier on the upper end of the center island. The Mohawk-Hudson Bike Trail is built on the old towpath and passes right beside the lock. Lock 23 is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located at the intersection of Rice Road and Schermerhorn Road in Rotterdam,NY.
Lock 23 - Rotterdam
This is a view of the north chamber of Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 23 (Alexander's Lock), looking east toward Schenectady. Lock 23 was double chambered and was 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 boats eight feet. Competition from railroads spurred several efforts to improve the Enlarged Canal. Many locks (including Lock 23 in 1889-90) were lengthened to allow east-bound boats with a boat in tow to pass through. However, it was abandoned in 1918 upon the completion of the Barge Canal. General Electric purchased the land from the state, then donated it in the 1950's. By the 1990's the lock was almost completely obscured by overgrowth. In 1999 the faculty and students of Union College's Dept. of Civil Engineering worked on cleaning up the site and doing some reconstructuon. They built a replica of a locktenders shanty and the upstream wooden pier on the upper end of the center island. The Mohawk-Hudson Bike Trail is built on the old towpath and passes right beside the lock. Lock 23 is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located at the intersection of Rice Road and Schermerhorn Road in Rotterdam,NY.