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This is a quick cache and dash to honor the wonderful city of Lockport. This cache is in a magnetic key holder so please bring your own pencil. Do not under any circumstances park on the road. There is ample parking for you and a thousand caching buddies near by. Happy Hunting and good luck!
In April 1816, the New York State Legislature authorized the construction of the Erie Canal. The canal route was laid out by surveyors through wilderness land on the site of present day Lockport.
Early in 1821, the State contracted for the digging of the canal in Niagara County. Then began the steady flow of merchants, lawyers, doctors, etc. to cater to the needs of the 1200 canal laborers. State engineers and surveyors were also stationed in this location, and with that, the village of Lockport was born.
Prior to 1820-21, there were no streets in Lockport except for the Main Street, first called Mountain Road, which connected Lewiston Road in Cold Springs with the Upper Mountain Road in Cambria. During the years of canal construction, Lockport, so named in 1821 by its prominent citizens, was a village of log cabins.
It became the County Seat in 1822, and in 1824, the Town of Lockport was organized. The canal opened on October 26, 1825, with elaborate ceremonies and celebrations. The population had grown to about 2500.
The next year, traffic on the canal increased tremendously. Many thought after the canal was finished, Lockport would become a "ghost town." Capitalizing on the possibility of using the surplus water from the upper level of the canal for developing power below the escarpment level in Lower Town, a group of Albany capitalists started a building program that spread from Market Street in every direction. The company advertised that Lower Town would be the center of business and industrial activity and would surpass Upper Town.
By 1829, Lockport was incorporated as a village and had 3000 residents. Industrially, Lower Town did outstrip Upper Town as the Albany capitalists suggested. The first bank in Niagara County, a newspaper and a hotel were built between 1829 and 1835.
Railroads were constructed as were cotton, flour and saw mills. For many years, Lockport was the flour center of Western New York. Beautiful stone and brick mansions for Lockport's aristocracy lined Market Street from Chapel Street east to Lake Avenue. Most of these homes are still standing and give newcomers the mistaken idea that Lockport started in Lower Town.
During this time period, it was evident that the canal was the source of Lockport's growth. By 1838, traffic had increased to such an extent that the four-foot deep and forty-foot wide channel was entirely inadequate. After lengthy debates, the State Legislature authorized work to enlarge the canal to its seven-foot depth and seventy-foot width. It was 1860 before the enlargement of the canal was completed.
Between 1841 to 1860, the curtailment of waterpower during this canal enlargement was a great blow to industry. The Lower Town's newspaper, the "Lockport Balance" sold out to the "Niagara Democrat" and moved to Upper Town. A new line of railroad tracks was laid in Upper Town and the Canal Bank was to be built in Upper Town as well. In 1870, waterpower supplied by the canal via overhead cables to Upper Town destroyed the monopoly the Lower Town had enjoyed.
Likewise, a series of inventions by Birdsall Holly, and other developments, saw more and more business activity move to Upper Town in the 1860's and 1870's. However, Lower Town and Market Street continued to be the residence of many of the most prominent people in Lockport at the turn of the century.
$42,000,000 of tolls had been collected on the canal until 1881. That paid for the entire cost of canal construction and left a sizeable profit. Tolls were discontinued and with this incentive, canal traffic remained heavy.
From 1909 to 1918, the canal was enlarged once again and two new locks installed. Business continued to increase because of the great economy of shipping on the canal.
With the advent of truck transportation, the canal suffered a great loss of traffic, more so than did the railroads. In 1956, the total tonnage on the canal was made up of petroleum products, scrap iron, fertilizer, grain and chemical products. Since that time, tonnage has decreased by fifty percent.
In modern days, the use of pleasure boats on the canal is ever increasing. Many look at the history of the Erie Canal and the cities and towns built around this manmade waterway as a new source of industry - the canal tourism industry. As in the past, the canal may once again be the source of Lockport's growth.
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