Lockport, New York, USA
1854 - Lockport
Lockport, a flourishing post-village, capital of Niagara county, New York, on the Erie canal, and on the Rochester, Lockport, and Niagara Falls railroad, 31 miles N. N. E. from Buffalo, and 260 miles W. by N. from Albany. Lat. 43° 11' N., Lon. 78° 46' W. It is situated at the point on the canal where the water descends from the level of Lake Erie to the Genesee level, by ten double combined locks of massive masonry, in the best style of workmanship. The abundant hydraulic power obtained by this means constitutes one of the chief sources of the prosperity of Lockport. This power will be greatly augmented by the completion of the Erie canal enlargement to Buffalo, which is now far advanced. In the construction of this great work, a barrier of solid limestone has been excavated from the head of the locks, about 3 miles southward, from 25 to 40 feet in depth, and 62 feet in width, with an additional space of 15 feet for a towpath. Water, in any desirable quantity, may be drawn from the Erie level, and returned to the canal, 60 feet below, without detriment to the navigation. Large quarries of the finest limestone and of sandstone flagging are worked at this place, furnishing constant employment to several hundred men. Lockport has 6 flouring mills, 3 of which are of the first class, 11 saw mills, 5 iron foundries, 1 cotton factory, 1 woollen factory, 4 banks, and several printing offices which issue newspapers. It has 6 primary public schools and 1 Union school : the latter is a large and substantial stone building, in which from four to six hundred children, after leaving the primary schools, are instructed in all the branches of a liberal education. There are 13 churches in Lockport, viz. 2 Episcopal, 2 Presbyterian, 1 Methodist, 1 Baptist, 1 Lutheran, 1 Universalist, 1 Catholic, and several others. A direct railroad, 22 miles long, has been opened from this place to Buffalo. The Rochester, Lockport, and Niagara railroad crosses the canal by a viaduct 600 feet in length, and 60 feet above the water. This road was completed in June, 1852, and is designed to connect with the Great Western railway through Canada West to Detroit, by a suspension bridge over the Niagara river, 1 1/ 2 miles below the falls. Lockport is the largest unincorporated town in the state. Population in 1852, from 12,000 to 14,000.
A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854.
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