Lockport’s Flight of Five

For eight years, U.S.-born citizens and Irish immigrants built the Erie Canal. When it was completed in 1825, the canal spanned 363 miles across New York State from Lake Erie to the Hudson River. The Erie Canal was a massive industrial feat, especially since the canal builders had no formal training in engineering. 

One of the greatest challenges for canal builders was the Niagara Escarpment in Lockport. The Niagara Escarpment is “a massive geological rock structure transformed by glaciers and erosion 400 million years ago.” Its quick and formidable rise in elevation would have made it extremely difficult for canal boats to travel in both directions. A single lock wasn’t going to solve the problem. 

And so, Nathan Roberts, a former schoolteacher, designed “a unique flight of five double locks [that would] lower easterly and raise westerly bound boats some sixty feet.” 

Thousands of canal builders dug and blasted through solid rock for several years. Boys nicknamed ‘Powder Monkeys’ climbed into cracks or natural fissures in the rock where they lit the gunpowder. They were chosen because of their small size and ability to move fast. The boys earned 90 cents a day, making them some of the highest-paid canal workers. 

In nearby Pendleton, canal builders also blasted a deep channel out of rock, known as the Deep Cut. The blasting was so powerful that large pieces of rock ended up miles away in Lockport.

The Flight of Five and Deep Cut were the final stages in the completion of the Erie Canal. 

As for Lockport, the famous locks gave the city its name and its distinct look. Lockport grew rapidly as thousands of canal builders settled there during and after their work on the Erie Canal. Like other canal towns, Lockport continued to grow because of the canal and the various industries that it supported. 

Today, "Erie Canal Locks 67 through 71 constitute the ‘Flight of Five’--the largest intact section of the historic Erie Canal still remaining.” The Flight of Five is part of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. 



Located only 20 miles east of Niagara Falls, the Lockport Locks Heritage District features many exciting attractions. On the Flight of Five Lock Tender Tour, visitors can push the wooden balance beam to open the five-ton wooden lock gates. There are also interactive presentations at the Lock Tenders Tribute Monument and the Locks District Museum. Be sure to also check out the Erie Canal Discovery Center, Lockport Locks & Erie Canal Cruises, and the Lockport Cave & Underground Boat Ride attractions. 

Hope L. Russell, Ph.D.