Stop 9: Lock Square Monument: Lock Down!

 GPS- 43.049522, -76.120968

Locks: Aquatic Elevation Change

So what are locks?  And what makes the locks in Lock Square so unique on the canal? And, is this monument part of the Erie Canal? Well, first we have to place the locks that were once here on the map. In 1834, there were 2 locks here in Locks Square which is a bit west of the monument where Lodi St meets Erie Blvd. The Lodi Locks were located in what was once the Village of Lodi before it was incorporated into the City of Syracuse.

On the edge of Lodi, lived this man, Oliver Teall

One of the "Founders of Lodi" was Oliver Teall ( from whence Teall gets its name) he built his house on what is now a credit union on Beech St by the canal. He made his fortune on the canal and other pursuits. He even built his house not far away on where Beech St met the canal so he could over look his business. Unfortunately it is no longer extant.

On this map, you can see Lock Square in relation to his house and the Erie Canal

Clinton's Ditch had 83 locks, the Enlarged Erie eventually whittled that number down to 72.

https://www.eriecanal.org/locks.html?fbclid=IwAR3mLN5UqKTOvbCrfCQ9QtB1U5tNz7v0MfdPGC7XoV2wKtLfFw8H7vgqls4

There were 2 locks at the Lodi Locks also known as Lock Square 

(from the Erie Canal Mapping Project)

So what made these locks so special? They are "step down'' locks! While 67 locks of the Enlarged Erie raise the water level heading west to Buffalo, 5 Step Down Locks actually lowered the boats to go west due to valleys created by N/S creeks, rivers and outlets. Here are some views of the Lodi Locks in the late 1800s:

So how do locks work? 

It's not just enough to dig a ditch an fill it with water. Our area is by no means flat. From Albany at the Hudson, to Buffalo at Lake Erie one has to go up in elevation (or down if you head the other way). How do you get a boat up...well, you lift it with a lock. A good explanation of how locks work: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfWyBz5bHj8

Here is a view of a lock going through a modern lock:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH8aHIL-PfA

Building canals and locks and infrastructure developed a new profession: Engineering!

These locks at Lockport took some special engineering to make:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khtU4xMunRM

A view with the Modern Barge Canal on the left and its re-engineering of the locks

And engineering was born along the banks of a ditch and towpath

https://www.history.com/news/erie-canal-construction-engineering-labor?fbclid=IwAR0VmuBZAPMwHx6do3HV3VcD95XizIYbSYwqmyJ7px92lmgrkksFgP3yeRU

And while the old lock remains are under our feet, in the 1930s, random blocks were gathered and stacked...and someone forward thinking thought to save this one from being buried for all time under the road.

Kasson built a bridge in the area and carved his name in one of the blocks in the 1840s. From the 1843 the book "Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York"

This was a memorial built from stones from the Lodi Lock area. They are not in situ as in canal days. But this monument honors the history of the Lodi Locks, Lock Square, Stone Masons, Engineers, and the myriad of others it took to get boats from Albany to Buffalo.

And from here, because we have now locked-down to a low-point, most of the canal structures disappear beneath our feet.

However, their story still rises in the buildings along the Towpath and so we continue on to tell their story as our mules tow us closer to Syracuse to our next stop....