Photograph, Erie Canal locks at Lockport, NY

One of the most notable engineering feats in the construction of the original Erie Canal was the “Flight of Five” lock system built to carry the canal over the steep Niagara Escarpment at Lockport, NY. Giving the area its name, the famous Flight resembled a staircase, with two adjacent columns each containing a series of five locks that raised and lowered boats approximately 60 feet up and down the north face of the escarpment. Boats traveling from west to east approached the escarpment from its higher (south) side and had to be lowered down. Boats traveling from east to west approached the steep climb from its lower (north) side and had to be lifted up.

Credit: Courtesy of the Rochester Public Library Local History & Genealogy Division.
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