Enlarged Erie Canal Lock #52, Erie Canal Heritage Park and LOIS McCLURE Canal Boat

(Satellite)

Eric Nordberg posted
"After retiring the vessel, the Museum donated it to the Canal Society in 2023. It will now continue its educational mission at the park."
NewYorkAlmanack
Canal Boat Replica Lois McClure Moved to Port Byron
[The article includes a summary of the replica Canal Boats along the canal.]

ErieCanal_current, this webpage has a lot more current photos of the lock

ErieCanal_historical, this webpage has a lot more historical images of the area

John Kucko Digital posted

Historic Replica Vessel To Be Moved:  Quite a scene today near Port Byron, NY as the Lois McClure, a replica canal schooner, will be moved to the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park here.  A tractor trailer will pull the boat, with escort,  on a small portion of the NYS Thruway to the park once inspection is passed.  The boat had been worked on for months to get it ready for public display.   It’s a full-scale replica of the 1862 Erie Canal schooner which was used to educate folks on the background of the historic waterway.  The vessel will be placed into old Lock 52 in Port Byron—first time a boat will be in that lock since 1917.  It will be part of a land based exhibit here at this terrific Heritage Park.  

   The Lois McClure was built in 2004 at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vermont.  The vessel had been used as an educational boat for years throughout the northeast and was named after Vermont philanthropist and educational advocate Lois Jean Howe McClure who passed away last January at the age of 98.  Her rich legacy lives on in a multitude of ways and this is one of them at the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park in Port Byron, NY.

The boat was trucked through the lock to get to its final resting place.

Some photos posted Dec 23, 2025, by Canal Society of New York State. I changed the order to make more sense.

Dave Van Iderstine: I'll bet those 8,000 cars behind it were glad to see it finally reach its destination too 😃

Canal Society of New York State: Dave Van Iderstine: Thankfully it was only on the thruway for a very short distance and took less than 10 minutes on I90.

a, cropped

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Christine Van Horn commented on the above post, cropped

New York State Police posted six photos with the comment: "A historic ship made a historic journey along the NYS Thruway in central New York today. State Police helped escort the Lois McClure replica canal schooner from the Seneca River to her new home at the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park-Port Byron. Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen."

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Now the truck is on the other (stern) end of the trailer so that it can pull the trailer from the park after the boat is resting on its final mounts.

Jordan village Historian posted three photos with the comment: "The Lois McClure has finally arrived at Lock 52! The hard work of a cadre of canal aficionados over the last several years has brought this replica laker canal boat to her new final home where she will a focal piece of canal education at the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park! Congratulations to all! And welcome Lois to our community ❤️"

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John went back after the trailer was removed.

John Kucko Digital posted four photos with the comment:

History Made at Old Erie Canal Lock 52:  Quite a sight in Port Byron, NY along the old Erie Canal bed there as the Lois McClure vessel became the first boat since 1917 to enter Lock 52 at what is now part of the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park.  This move occurred yesterday during a tedious transport, I visited this morning to see the vessel in place.  You can see the historic 1894 Erie House Saloon in the background of this first image. Back in the day, boaters would grab a beverage [while] their vessels were moved through the lock.  The move of the Lois McClure into the lock was an unconventional one as the boat was put onto a flatbed tractor trailer.  New York State Police diligently conducted a series of inspections before the move yesterday could occur.  They used a small portion of the NYS Thruway to transport the boat, with police escort (last image here courtesy NYS Police).  

    The boat had been worked on for months nearby to get it ready for public display.   It’s a full-scale replica of the 1862 Erie Canal schooner which was used to educate folks on the background of the historic waterway.  The vessel will now stay there at the old Lock 52 in Port Byron—again, first time a boat is in that lock since 1917.  It will be part of a land based exhibit here at this terrific Heritage Park which is closed in the winter months.

   The Lois McClure was built in 2004 at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vermont.  The vessel had been used as an educational boat for years throughout the northeast and was named after Vermont philanthropist and educational advocate Lois Jean Howe McClure who passed away last January at the age of 98.  Her rich legacy lives on in a multitude of ways and this is one of them at the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park in Port Byron, NY.

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They trucked it from the Barge Canal near Montezuma. That would have it going eastbound on I-90 so that they could use the exit ramp that goes to the Erie Canal Heritage Park.

nycanalmap

When going eastbound, I-90 already had a special exit for the Erie Canal Heritage Park. They built a temporary road to truck the boat from the ramp, through the lock and to its final resting place.

Satellite

As John's "Historic Replica Vessel To Be Moved" photo above implies, the boat had to be lifted out of the canal and onto the trailer.

cscos_crane
The barge was transferred to land transportation at the "Fox Ridge industrial site." I presume that was here.

A drone video of the lift. The actual lift starts around 3:45.

dropbox

cscos_truck
"To safely lift and haul the 88-foot wooden schooner, C&S Technical Resources rented a highly specialized 14‑axle hydraulic trailer from Virginia, capable of supporting the vessel’s size and weight."