Enlarged Double Lock No. 23, Old Erie Canal is a historic

Erie canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

located at

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

Schenectady County, New York Schenectady County () is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,061. The county seat is Schenectady. The name is from a Mohawk language word meaning "on the other side of the pine lands," a term ...

. It was built in 1841-1842 as part of the First Enlargement. It is built entirely of large cut

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

blocks, laid regular

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

, and mortared with hydraulic

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

. The Northeast lock chamber is long and wide; the Southwest lock chamber is long and 18 to wide; and the Center pier is long and wide. The Southwest lock chamber was expanded in 1889–1890. Lock 23 fell into disuse after the opening of the New York State Barge Canal in 1918. The lock chambers contain no water and the area is open as a local park. The site was reclaimed and stabilized by local volunteers starting in 1999. A replica of a board and batten locktender's hut was constructed between 2000 and 2003 by students from the

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

Department of Civil Engineering. ''Note:'' This includes an
''Accompanying eight photographs''
/ref> It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2008.

References

Erie Canal parks, trails, and historic sites Locks on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Transport infrastructure completed in 1842 Transportation buildings and structures in Schenectady County, New York National Register of Historic Places in Schenectady County, New York {{SchenectadyCountyNY-NRHP-stub