Erie Canal Overview
Lock #55
Since it has two chambers, this is the enlarged canal lock. Also, it is late enough in the 1800s that one of the chambers has been lengthened. It is unusual to lengthen them on the upstream side because that requires more excavation.
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Hudson River Lightkeeper posted
Canal Favorites - Lock 55 in Lyons, NY |
This strikes me as a better colorization.
A downstream view that emphasises that the chamber was lengthened on the upstream side.
Aqueduct over Ganargua Creek
The remnants of the east and west ends of the aqueduct based on some photos in
ErieCanal_aqueduct.
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ErieCanal_aqueduct, there are more photos of the aqueduct on this webpage
Aerial view of Stephens' Marina in 1965(?), with the Lyons Aqueduct on the right. |
Lock #56
Fortunately, someone is keeping the vegetation under control at this lock. Again, I'm surprised that it was the northern chamber that was lengthened because most locks enlarged the south chamber to expedite the handling of heavy 250-ton barges loaded with grain that were eastbound.
We are looking at the eastern end of the lock. The northern chamber in the background would be twice the length of the southern chamber. The groves in the stone in the extreme foreground are for the hinge that held the miter gate.
On the left is a preserved store and on the right we see the end of the south chamber and the south wall of the north chamber.
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| ErieCanal_56, there are several more photos of the lock on that webpage |
This view of the south chamber clearly shows the notches in the walls that held the gates when they were open.
Willard R Stave
posted five images with the comment:
The Poor House lock, Lyons NY. Lock 56 was part of the first enlargement of the Erie Canal. Construction of the enlargement began in 1842 and was completed in 1849. The north chamber was built in 1873 and it was lengthened between the 1887 and 1888 season. The next enlargement, along with a name change to the Barge Canal, bypassed lock 56 around 1911. The attached letter is to the Lyons Telephone Company, informing them that the expense for phone service was not authorized and that they can recover their equipment if they wish. It looks like they wouldn’t mind keeping it if the Telephone Company wanted to leave it there.The letter is dated 1901. I highly recommend googling “The Poor House Lock”, there are many great articles and a video that are well worth reading / viewing. The video is fantastic, it’s about the history of the canal store that you can see in the picture of the lock.
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