Traces of the Erie Canal

Not all old Erie Canal structures are maintained by the State of New York or interested historical groups. Some suffer from benign neglect, and just slowly deteriorate. Some are used as dumps. Some are in private hands and are utilized however the owner wishes. This page illustrates some of these traces.

Enlarged Erie Canal Lock No. 61 (also called the Upper Macedon lock) is located at the eastern edge of the business district of Macedon, N.Y., just north of the junction of Route 31 and Route 31F/350, and just south and across the road from Lock No. 30 of the present Erie Canal. The lock is a double-chamber lock, with the north chamber double-length, and had a lift of 6.69 feet to the west. West of the lock and Route 31F/350 is an undisturbed stretch of the Enlarged Erie Canal.

Lock No. 61 is currently used as a spillway for the present Lock No. 30. The area around it is not maintained, and the growth of brush makes it difficult to see. In addition, a pedestrian bridge has been built across the western end of the lock, to serve as a walkway for employees to cross the old canal bed from a parking lot to the adjacent plastic films plant.


Google Earth view of current Lock No. 30 (upper left) and Enlarged Erie Canal Lock No. 61 (lower right), Macedon, N.Y.	Looking east at Enlarged Erie Canal Lock No. 61 from Rt. 31F/350 in Macedon. The pedestrian bridge almost entirely hides the lock.	The western end of Lock No. 61. To the left is the bridge across the lock. The electrical box presumably controls the lock gate which controls the water level.


A portion of the north chamber of Lock No. 61, looking southeast.	Another portion of the north chamber of Lock No. 61, looking southwest.	A portion of the north chamber of Lock No. 61, looking south, showing on the far side a recess for one of the gates when in the open position, and on the near side the traces where a metal bracket which held the gate pivots used to be located.

The Castle Creek Aqueduct, also known as Eastern Division Aqueduct No. 12, is located just east of the village of Indian Castle, approximately 4 miles southeast of Little Falls, N.Y. Originally, the aqueduct was 128 feet long, and had 5 arches. At present, all that remains is the western end, largely obscured by brush, and fragments of the eastern end. The surrounding area is used by the Canal Corporation for a disposal area for the spoils of dredging. The nearby remains of Lock No. 35 are buried just east of the creek, now called Nowadaga Creek.

The aqueduct can be accessed from a parking area on Canal Lock Road. The parking area serves a hiking trail, and there is an interpretive sign (see below) on the trail just across the creek. Just past the sign is a farm road which extends to the north, eventually leading to the junction of the creek and the modern canal, where the aqueduct remains are located. The pictures below were taken in late August 2008 and April 2009.


Castle Creek Aqueduct interpretive sign.	Remains of the western end of the Castle Creek Aqueduct Left: Looking west ; Right: Looking south from the west bank.

Detail from the Castle Creek Aqueduct interpretive sign.	Castle Creek Aqueduct western end, looking west.	Southeast pier, looking southeast.

Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 35 - Google Earth view

Google Earth view of the location of the Indian Castle Aqueduct (upper left) and Enlarged Erie Canal Lock No. 35 (lower middle) -- The large yellow dot and flanking smaller dots are the approximate location of the western end of Lock 35 ; the small dot on the right is the eastern end of the north wall of the southern chamber extension ; the solid line is the visible portion of the south wall of the southern chamber ; the lighter line is the visible portion of the north wall.

Enlarged Erie Canal Lock No. 35 (also called the Indian Castle lock) is located just east of the village of Indian Castle, approximately 4 miles southeast of Little Falls, N.Y. The lock is located north of the end of Canal Lock Road, off N.Y. Route 5S, and just east of the Castle Creek Aqueduct (see the map above).

The lock was a double-chamber lock, with a lift of 7.5 feet to the west and the south chamber double-length at the foot (eastern end). With the exception of the remnants pictured below, the lock is buried, with a road across it to the Canal Corporation's dredging spoil piles.


Lock 35 -- western end of the north wall of the north chamber, looking north.	Western end of the central divider, looking east. Note that a bit of the western end of the north wall of the north chamber can be seen to the left.	Eastern end of the north wall of the extended southern chamber.

Not a sidewalk, but a portion of the north wall (?) of the southern chamber Left: looking east ; Right: looking west.		Looking like curbing, a portion of the south wall of the southern chamber, looking south from what would have been the inside of the lock chamber.

The Otsquago Creek Aqueduct is located in the center of Fort Plain, adjacent to the current N.Y. Route 5S bridge. Originally, the aqueduct was 126 feet long, and had 5 arches. At present, all that remains are fragments of the eastern and western ends. A building is built within the prism of the western end, using the end of the aqueduct for part of its basement foundation.


The northwest pier, looking south from the creek bed. Note the building built in the former canal prism.		The northwest pier. Left: looking northeast from current street level ; Right: looking west from the east bank.

The western end, looking west from the Rt. 5S bridge.		The eastern end, looking east from across the creek.

The northeastern pier from across the creek. Left: looking southeast ; Right: looking east.		The northeastern pier from the current street level. Left: looking west ; Right: looking southwest. These two pictures taken by Howard Ohlhous in October 2006.

Enlarged Erie Canal Lock No. 32 is located in Fort Plain, N.Y. at the east end of town on Route 5S. The lock is a double-chamber lock originally built about 1850, with the south chamber double-length, lengthened in 1888. Lock No. 32 currently has a garage and house built atop it. The lock runs through the basements of both the garage building and the house to the west and across the front yard of the house.

The following two pictures were taken in April 2007 by Fred Wehner. For larger versions of these pictures as well as more pictures of the lock, go to The Travels of Tug 44 page.


Lock 32 --east entrance to the extended south chamber, which runs through the basement of the garage.	Lock 32 -- The lock continues across the front yard of the house, looking like a pair of sidewalks running to the carwash next door.

Other Traces of the Erie Canal

Enlarged Erie Canal Lock No. 61 -- Macedon, N.Y.

Castle Creek Aqueduct, Indian Castle, N.Y.

Enlarged Erie Canal Lock No. 35 -- Indian Castle, N.Y.

Otsquago Creek Aqueduct, Fort Plain, N.Y.

Enlarged Erie Canal Lock No. 32 -- Fort Plain, N.Y.