Flight of Five Locks explained

The Flight of Five Locks on the Erie Canal in Lockport, New York is a staircase lock constructed to lift or lower a canal boat over the Niagara Escarpment in five stages.

The locks are part of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.[1]

In Stairway to Empire: Lockport, the Erie Canal, and the Shaping of America, (SUNY Press, 2009), historian Patrick McGreevy details the construction of the locks. The "Stairway" of McGreeevy's title is the Flight of Five Locks.[2]

History

To carry the canal across the Niagara Escarpment, the engineers built a five-step staircase lock.[2]

Restoration

The restored locks reopened in .[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lockport Locks District . eriecanalway.org . Erie Canalway . 4 August 2019.
  2. News: Bolton . Roger . Bolton on McGreevy, 'Stairway to Empire: Lockport, the Erie Canal, and the Shaping of America . 4 August 2019 . H-HistGeog.
  3. News: Cason . Rikke . Crowds gather to see the restored Flight of Five locks in action . 4 August 2019 . Lockport Journal . 3 October 2014.