Historic Sites

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Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 56

Historic Site #:05-049   (Exists)   Type: B4,H3,I1 Town:Lyons
Site Name:Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 56GPS Coordinates:43.0659, -77.026496
Address:7473 Dry Dock Rd. Lyons NY
Description:
Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 56 is near present day Lock #28-A




See HS 05-083

 
Photo from Erie Canal Web Site. Google Earth view of Enlarged Erie Canal Lock No. 56 (upper left), and current Lock 28-A and the Canal Corporation's dry dock complex lower right), Lyons, N.Y. Photo by Bavis 3-23-21
Photo by Bavis 3-23-21Photo from Erie Canal Web Site. Enlarged Erie Canal Lock No. 56 -- eastern end, looking west.
Photo from Erie Canal Web Site. The eastern end. The lengthened north chamber is in the foreground; the single-length south chamber is behind it. Photo from Erie Canal Web Site. The south chamber, looking east; the rougher stone at the end of the chamber on the left is the outside wall of the north chamber.
Photo from Erie Canal Web Site. The south chamber, full view, looking east. Photo by Bavis 5-15-21
Photo by Bavis 5-15-21Photo by Bavis 5-15-21
 
Historic narrative:

 Enlarged Erie Canal Lock No. 56 (also called the Poorhouse lock) is located less than 2 miles west of the Village of Lyons, Wayne County, N.Y, and less than half a mile west of the present Lock No. 28-A and the Canal Corporation's dry dock complex. It is a double-chamber lock, with the north chamber double-length, and had a lift of 10.12 feet to the west. Construction of Lock No. 56 was begun in 1842 and completed in 1849. The north chamber was added in 1873 and lengthened between the 1887 and 1888 seasons.

When the lock was in use, the red brick building adjacent to the lock and visible in the pictures above served as a grocery for the canallers, and had an attached shed, probably for mules. When lock No. 56 was abandoned around 1911, the building was converted to a private residence.



References:

Erie Canal Web Site

Google Maps

Enlarged Lock 56 YouTube Video