Canal Society of New York State, January 2017.

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2 Canal Society of New York State, January A downloadable version of this guide is available at the Canal Society's website - Cover Illustration. The lower end of Lock 52, looking east, about 1900 (Canal Society of New York State).

3 Introduction Welcome to the Erie Canal Heritage Park at Port Byron! The Park is a unique opportunity to literally reach out and touch history. There is much to experience. You can walk through an authentic 19th-century Erie Canal lock that once raised and lowered canal boats, day and night, here at Port Byron. Just beyond is the fully restored Erie House of the 1890s ready to welcome you. This guide will help point out places of special interest as you walk through the lock's two chambers and continue to the Erie House. Along with this guide, we encourage you to have a copy of the "Erie Canal Heritage Park at Port Byron - An Illustrated Tour" (2016). It contains historical illustrations and text that will greatly add to your appreciation of the remarkable stories that follow. You are coming here midway in the history of the Erie Canal. Lock 52 was built in 1853 as part of the first rebuilding of the Erie Canal. The original Erie Canal is referred to as Clinton's Ditch in recognition of its greatest promoter, New York State governor DeWitt Clinton. Work on the Clinton's Ditch began in 1817 and here in Port Byron was completed in The canal was completed statewide in October Almost immediately, its builders realized that they had built too small. The rebuilding expanded the dimensions from a depth of four feet to seven and its width from forty feet to seventy feet. They also straightened the route. Here in Port Byron, the Clinton's Ditch was to the south of where you are about to walk. The original lock was a short distance to the southeast of Lock 52. Lock 52 was replaced by the third Erie Canal. In the early twentieth century, the canal was rebuilt again. It is the operating canal system that is still with us today. That third Erie Canal was moved three miles north into the Seneca River, completely bypassing Lock 52 and the village of Port Byron. The last boats came through Lock 52 about As you start the tour, you will begin at the location shown by the historic image on the cover illustration at the western end of Lock 52. The following stations are marked in this guide by a modern photograph to be discovered. Enjoy! 1

4 Enlarged Erie Lock 52 Future Site of Erie House Enlarged Erie Canal Clinton's Ditch Canal Clinton's Ditch Lock (1819) The Erie Canal at Port Byron, about 1853 (New York State Archives). This manuscript map shows the Erie Canal in transition, from the first Erie Canal (Clinton's Ditch) to the second (Enlarged Erie). For a few years in the mid-1850s, Lock 52 was joined to the Clinton's Ditch as the citizens of Port Byron fought to stay connected to the Erie Canal. The lengthened chamber of Lock 52 was still years away. 2

5 Enlarged Erie Lock 52 Profile of the Enlarged Erie Canal in central New York, 1869 (Canal Society of New York State). Lock 52 was at the west end of the Jordan Summit. Canal summits were bumps. The Erie Canal went downhill from Buffalo to Albany except for two parts where the canal had to go up before it continued down - the Jordan Summit and the Rome Summit further east. Each required its own extra supply of water. For the canal boats heading east, Lock 52 was the first lock to lift up to the east. 3

6 Station 1 You are at the west end of the lengthened chamber, standing just about where the water level was a century ago. This extra portion of the lock was added in 1887 so that two boats tied together, one behind the other, could go through simultaneously and thus avoid the time and expense of having to unhitch to go through separately. Note the horizontal grooves in the stone at the base of the steps and on the west-facing front of the pier. The grooves were worn into the stone by wet gritladen ropes that pulled the canal boats from the chamber. The ropes reached to the towpath, now the trail to the Erie House, and to the mules or horses waiting to resume the journey. Who handled these ropes? When Lock 52 was first used in September 1853, there were over three thousand canal boats operating on the Erie Canal. In these first years about 75 boats on average went through the lock. During the Civil War that number would double. Indeed, there were days soon thereafter when over 200 boats passed. As each boat needed about fifteen minutes, that number was about all that could possibly be locked through in a single day. Each boat had its crew. Near Lock 52 in 1855 nearly two dozen individuals listed themselves as "boatmen." One lived with his in-laws, among Port Byron's first settlers. Edward Ware was an English 4

7 immigrant who had come with his parents and siblings in the early 1840s. Two were African-Americans, each with their young families in nearby homes. Assisting and guiding these crews through the lock was the locktender. The lock operated all day and every day. Locks such as this one had several tenders, each taking a shift. Each was likely a political appointment. In year-old Ambrose Christian listed himself as both locktender and butcher. He lived nearby with his wife and two young children. Perhaps he was the butcher at the grocery that was soon built alongside the locks. Such lockstand groceries were common sites along the canal. Kern's store here at Lock 52 was on the south side of the lock and was a well-known gathering place for canalers and locals alike. One such gathering of teenage boys at the store shows in a photograph taken about In the group is Benjamin White. With his parents, he had only recently emigrated from Canada. He was later to become mayor of Port Byron, perhaps the first elected African-American mayor in New York State. Kern's Store at Lock 52, about Future mayor of Port Byron, Benjamin White is the third person from the left (Canal Society of New York State). 5

8 Station 2 When Lock 52 was first used in 1853, this location was the western end of the chamber. As you face this wall, all to the right is the original 1853 stonework with the recess in the wall for the original wooden lock gates. All the stonework to the left was added in Can you see the seam in the stonework looking like a steep staircase going up to the right? The left stones also have small holes on their faces. Those to the right do not. The holes are from the practice at the time of the 1887 addition of lifting the stones with tong-like hooks called dogs or nippers. The very top row of stone, extending over the recess, came still later. In 1895 the State launched another rebuilding of the Erie Canal, to increase the depth of the channel from seven to nine feet. The additional depth would allow for more heavily loaded boats. Though never completed statewide, here in Port Byron the work was finished. All of these improvements including the 1853 enlarged lock itself were designed to make the canal more efficient and competitive. Even before the Civil War, the privately-owned railroads were assuming more of the traffic between the Midwest and New York City. The canal needed to keep pace to protect the public's investment in this mighty waterway. The next major improvement replaced Lock 52 altogether. Early in the 20th century the Erie Barge Canal was constructed. The canal was relocated to the Seneca River just north of here. The last boats came through Lock 52 by

9 Station 3 Just a few steps to the east of Station 2 at the other end of the recess for the lock gate, you can see how the top layer of stone has been carved to allow for now-gone hardware. The missing piece was part of a water-powered system to assist in pulling boats through the chamber. It was installed in 1880, the first such installation on any Erie Canal lock. Also note again that the 1853 stones to the right of the gate recess lack the lifting holes that are so noticeable on the 1887 addition. Remembering the workers who placed these stones highlights important aspects of our canal and social history. A census was taken by the State in 1855, very soon after Lock 52 was completed and while much of the nearby canal remained under construction. The census taker came across a small community of laborers, nearly all living in shanties sometimes with several families together. They were likely workers who had just finished Lock 52 and were continuing with the rebuilding of the rest of the canal locally. There were about 50 laborers, many with their families, and nearly all were recent immigrants. Nearly two-thirds were from Ireland. Ten were German immigrants, all living together. The story is very different when it came to the 1887 lengthening of the chamber that you are now in. 7

10 On December 13, 1886 the canal engineer who was supervising the work noted in his diary "No work. Fight with Italians." Work on the lengthening had just gotten underway. Italian immigrants had settled in the community by the early 1880s. More probably came when the West Shore railroad was built in 1884 or were attracted by the fertile muckland just north of here. When these recent immigrants approached the lock contractor that day to ask for work, he avowed to only hire "American laborers" even though the Italians offered to work for only tens cents an hour. The contractor was already paying his workers fifteen cents an hour. The fight ensued and several were wounded. The immigrants were soon arrested and local residents called for their lynching. Their trials early the following year resulted in convictions that included fines and jail. Nonetheless, sympathy had developed for the accused and the sentences were probably lessened as a result. The Italians returned and remained in Port Byron and as one local historian noted "contributed much to the culture and prosperity of this community... Port Byron is much indebted to them." Lock 51 at Jordan, about 1900 (Canal Society of New York State). To the right of center is the gearing mechanism that was also installed at Lock 52 to assist in pulling canal boats into the lock. Note the vertical cut just right of the gears. As on Lock 52, this cut could be used with planks to isolate and drain the lock,. 8

11 Station 4 About half down the original south chamber is another clue as to how Lock 52 changed over time. Look up at just below the top row of stone on the north wall. Remember from Stations 2 and 3, that this top row was added in See the groves in the stone just beneath. Like the groves at Station 1, these were carved by the repeated action of wet rope wearing against the stone. The towrope must have been taut, acting like a saw on what was then the top stone. That original capstone was then covered by the 1896 layer. That original top layer with the groves may also be a reflection of one of the first changes to Lock 52. When the Erie Canal first came to Port Byron, it followed a very different route by hugging the hillside just to the south of here. That route offered easier and less expensive construction since the hillside formed one side of the canal. The village of Port Byron grew up along this original route. One of the purposes of the first enlargement was to straighten the canal. Engineers proposed cutting off the loop down into Port Byron, bypassing the commercial heart of the village and making a straighter route. Merchants in the village fought the change and delayed the new route. To make use of the needed capacity of Lock 52 it was connected to the old route as the debate continued, putting on hold the new straighter connection. From the time of its completion in 1853 to 1858 Lock 52 was 9

12 tied to the older waterway. To make that happen, the height of the lock had to be increased. That second from the top row of stone, the one with the groves, likely resulted of that brief use of the old canal. As you look carefully and closely at the stone, note the small fossils in the limestone. More will be said about these nearly four hundred million year-old creatures, many times older than the last dinosaurs. These 1843 illustrations by the famous geologist James Hall portray the same type of fossils seen at Lock 52 such as the honeycomb coral. They were part of his report to the New York State legislature to better understand the science behind such fossils (Canal Society of New York State). 10

13 Station 5 This eastern end of the lock was the most difficult spot on the entire Erie Canal. For those boats approaching from the west, Lock 52 was the first lock that raised them. From Buffalo to here, all the locks lowered boats down to the east. Lock 52 was the western end of the Jordan summit, a bump in the landscape that the canal had to go up and over. Peculiar to this spot, heavily loaded east-bound boats almost scrapped bottom as they came into the lock. As they approached this eastern end of the chamber the boat pushed water ahead. The boat so filled the chamber that there was no easy place for the water to escape. By the time the boat came near to this end, the trapped water would push the boat back. Canalers struggled with ropes to pull in their boats. In 1880 they got help when water-powered winches were installed. Soon to become common on the Erie Canal, these winches or capstans were first tried here at Lock 52. See the curved stone at the top? This is where part of the winch mechanism was installed. A little further there is a rough vertical cut in the stone wall with a similar cut on the wall behind you. These cuts were done in Planks could be laid across the lock chamber and secured in these cuts. The lock chamber could be drained so that repairs of the lock gates could be done. You are standing on the stone sill that marked the bottom of the canal to the level east. If you had stood on this sill back in 1853 and looked back into the chamber, you would have faced the lock gates reaching down more than another seven feet. 11

14 Station 6 See the three large openings. You are at the upper level where lifted boats were eleven feet higher than when they entered the lock, nearly the largest lift on the canal. The portals helped control the water level. If sudden rains raised the water level, these openings let the water spill to the lower level. The water would drop down a stone-lined shaft behind them and go through a culvert or tunnel that emptied at the opposite end of the lock at the lower level. Without this safer arrangement, water could rise enough in the channel above to spill over and wash out the sides of the canal. Note the vertical cuts in the stones to the sides of the openings. Just as with the vertical cut at Station 5, these grooves could hold boards that controlled the amount of water flowing through the openings. If you want more water to pass, take out another board. In 1880 State engineers harnessed this spilling water to drive a turbine that was placed at the very bottom of the shaft. As water hit the turbine, it spun and turned the winches above that helped to pull boats. This location is a good vantage point to view the two chambers of Lock 52. When the canal came to Port Byron in 1819, the lock on that first Erie Canal only had one chamber. Traffic would quickly stall if there was a mechanical problem at the lock that prevented boats from passing or there were too many boats at either end. By having two chambers, there would always be an alternate way of getting through plus passing boats going in opposite directions at the same time. 12

15 Station 7 The large recess was there to let the wooden lock gate nest in the stone wall out of the way of passing boats. The gate swung on a large wooden post, the quoin post, which pivoted in the vertical column of curved stone to the left. Except for the very top row, the stonework that you are facing dates to the 1850s. That top row was added in 1896 as part of a statewide effort for greater depth in the canal. The small rough cut square in the upper center of the recess provided a little extra space for the gate's metal valves that let water out of the chamber. Where did the stone come from in the 1850s? Quarries near Syracuse provided the limestone. The records even describe how the stone was delivered by canal boats such as the "Red Jacket" in April At these quarries in Split Rock and Marcellus, workers cut and carved the stone. Nearly all were skilled recent immigrants from Scotland, Ireland and England. That skill was essential to smoothing with simple hand tools the sides and edges of each stone block. Some of those blocks weighed nearly two tons, more than the weight of a modern compact car. Imagine moving and positioning them with nothing more than ropes and pulleys. Remember that prior to 1887 both of the chambers ended here at the western end. As you look to towards the Thruway, you are looking towards Buffalo and Lake Erie. 13

16 Station 8 Take a closer look at the column that held the quoin post. About midway up is a good example of fossils common to this type of limestone. These are the stone shadows of marine animals that lived in a shallow tropical sea that covered this part of New York State nearly 400 million years ago. There are examples of corals and shells from brachiopods which once lived in this shallow marine environment, characteristic to Onondaga Limestone. The builders of the Erie Canal were fortunate to find so close at hand such excellent building material. That good fortune was one of the major factors in the success of the 19th-century Erie Canal. When Lock 52 was in use a large round wooden post was pulled tight into this stone column. The locks gate hung from the post. It swung back and forth in the column as the lock gate was opened or closed like a door. When you walk along the upper part of this wall you will see the outlines of the iron brackets that secured the post. This gate and the one on the opposite wall were pushed together when the lock was empty and needed to be filled. The gates formed a V pointing towards the upper end of the lock. Water pressure in the canal above pushed the gates together even tighter. To empty the chamber when it was full of water, levered valves in the lower gates were opened. Water was then released to the lower western level. 14

17 Station 9 As you leave the lock chamber, on your left is the backside of the 1887 lengthened chamber. When the canal was in use, this stonework was hidden behind a wooden walkway that let canalers reach ropes and lock tenders to operate the gates. Since boats would not rub against this stone wall, it did not have to be smooth like the stone in the lock chambers. In the gray limestone, you will see blotches of tan sometimes mixed with a much darker stone. This is chert, formed by the compression of sediment rich in sea-shell fragments over million of years. As that compression occurred, pockets within the sediment were replaced by finergrained minerals that became a hard form of quartz. When the first people settled here about 11,000 years ago, they recognized the special value of the chert or flint. Chert can be split to produce extremely sharp edges that could be made into projectile points and other very useful cutting tools. They were vital in hunting and preparing food. Iron tools replaced the stone ones with the coming of Europeans. Until then, the Iroquois so valued the chert that it also became something that could be traded many miles distant. As you walk along this wall, you are covering a distance nearly the same length as a canal boat. They averaged about 98 feet long and 17 feet wide. When loaded, they could weigh over three hundred tons. How big were these boats? It would take four school buses, two in back of two, to make the same size. 15

18 Station 10 Walk east towards the Erie House on the paved path alongside the upper level of the lock. As you do so, you will be on the Erie Canal towpath, following in the footsteps of those who drove the mules or horses that pulled the canal boats. It is no coincidence that you are also walking alongside the New York State Thruway. Other major roads and railroads came through this same mile-wide corridor. The historic New York Central railroad, for instance, is only a mile north. Above the Heritage Park in Below a 1902 topographic pointing in the same direction, showing the drumlin and meltwater channel. These routes were drawn to New York State in the first place because Upstate offered the most conveniently level terrain to connect the Atlantic with the Midwest heartland. But, here, there was a unique challenge. The low hills known as drumlins are a special feature of the local landscape. All of the hills that you can see from here are drumlins. Their long and narrow shape point north and south in the direction taken by the glaciers two million years ago. These giant ice sheets were nearly a mile thick and formed the drumlins as they moved. The glaciers retreated north about 14,000 years ago. As they paused on their retreat, they reshaped these distinctive hills. Meltwater from the glaciers poured east and west through the drumlins and carved the corridor now used by the Thruway and once used by the Erie Canal. 16

19 Station 11 As you come to the front doors of the Erie House, you will also see the horizontal metal bars guarding the large windows. According to his daughter, Peter Van Detto installed that protection after the windows were repeatedly broken by patrons leaning against them as they watched activity on the towpath and canal. Mr. Van Detto built and opened the Erie House about He had good reasons to do so. He emigrated from Italy in 1881, settling in Rochester where he operated a saloon in an Italian immigrant neighborhood. Port Byron and Auburn already had vibrant communities of Italian immigrants. Many worked on the farms in the rich muckland just north of the Erie House. Railroad and canal work also depended on their labor. Likely, he already knew the local community and found encouragement to move here. He married Adelina Costa of Auburn about a year later. She had come to Auburn with her parents in 1882, also from Italy. Having a saloon on the towpath of the Erie Canal was common, particularly at locks. Canalers often had to wait their turn to pass through the lock, giving time for a brief visit to the Erie House. Immediately across the canal from the Erie House was the Tanner boat yard and drydock. No doubt canal boat crews came to the Erie House as their vessels 17

20 were repaired. Mr. Van Detto made his move just as a massive rebuilding of the canal was about to be undertaken. That work would bring more customers for the saloon. The large glass windows on the front of the Erie House provided an ideal view over all of these activities. Much of what we know of the Erie House at this time comes from the recollections of his two daughters, Marie and Theresa. In the 1980s Marie reminisced about watching as a child the saloon's business. As a child and as a woman, she was not allowed in the saloon but nonetheless enjoyed the activity from a nearby doorway. She probably heard more Italian than English among the patrons as it was probably one of the few spaces where the immigrants were clearly welcomed. She fondly recalled the excitement of watching at night from her bedroom window the large canal boats pass through Lock

21 Station 12 Once you enter the Erie House, you are encouraged to come up to the bar just as patrons did over a century ago. Rest a foot on the brass rail at the base of the bar. While that rail is a modern replacement, you can still see on the floor the markings where the original brass rail was once bolted. Much of the bar is original, found in the basement when the restoration work began. The cash register behind the bar is the actual one that Peter Van Detto purchased in 1897 for the Erie House. The fifteen cent key is worn bare, indicating that it was the most frequently used key. Perhaps fifteen cents was the cost of a pitcher of beer to share with friends? These good times at the Erie House came to an end in early The Erie House is in the Town of Mentz and the citizens voted to ban the sale of alcohol. Those who voted in favor of the ban may have also been specifically considering the Erie House as it was one of the most visible saloons in town. Some may have felt threatened by its immigrant clientele, fearful of different cultures. Peter Van Detto soon closed the Erie House. By the end of the year he had opened a new saloon in the neighboring town of Montezuma, just four miles away and one that voted against prohibition. The Erie House stayed with the Van Detto family as their home until the Marie Van Detto died in Ironically, the Erie Canal may have sparked these social conflicts. Along with canal boat cargoes, the canal also carried new prosperity and ideas. It most of all 19

22 showed that by working together the people of the New York State could improve society. The local community recognized those changes when they renamed their village in 1824 from Bucksville to Port Byron. They sought to honor the famed English poet Lord George Byron who had died earlier that year fighting for Greek independence. The Erie Canal had expanded their cultural horizons. On the other hand, the new ideas were also disruptive. Port Byron is in the heart of what historians have called the "Burned-Over District." Soon after the Erie Canal's completion, this region was repeatedly swept with religious and other social revivals as people tried to understand the changes wrought by the canal. Temperance was one of the first such movements, leading to the prohibition that closed Mr. Van Detto's saloon on the Erie's towpath. 20

23 Station 13 On the floor at the far end of the bar is a trap door leading to a stairway to the basement. The door is now sealed for safety reasons but the metal ring that once opened the door remains. Its location next to the bar allowed the bartender to easily reach the basement where supplies were stored. Beer glasses still lined the basement walls when Mr. Van Detto's daughter died in For the ten plus years that it was in operation, the Erie House saloon must have been a busy place and trips back and forth to the basement frequent. For Peter Van Detto, it was only one of his business interests. You can see the mule stables and blacksmith shop that he built a few years after opening the Erie House. To the north of the Erie House lay the extremely fertile mucklands of Cayuga County. No doubt Mr. Van Detto often went out the back doors of the Erie House to join in the farming. Then, there was no New York State Thruway in the way. There are similar agricultural regions in New York State such as Canastota, Elba and Oswego. Nearly all of them attracted Italian immigrants in the latter 19th century as was the case here. At the Erie House saloon there were probably just as many Italian farmhands as there were those working with the canal. 21

24 Station 14 You have to look carefully. Before the Erie House was restored in 2015, the barroom was divided. A wall separated the front half from the back half. About in the center of the side walls you can still see the shadow left by that dividing wall. The ceiling also shows the outline of the old wall. During the restoration process there was much discussion as to whether or not to keep the wall. Evidence indicates that when the Erie House first opened the wall was likely not there. Yet, in the memories of Mr. Van Detto's daughters, the wall was a defining characteristic of the saloon. When they were children, they joined the other women in the back room. Women were not allowed in the front space and certainly not through the front doors. They used the side porch door of the Erie House. This type of discrimination survived at many saloons and restaurants well into the second half of the 20th century. 22

25 Station 15 The original Erie House sign now hangs in the barroom and it can't be missed. To protect it, a replica was created by the Canal Society during the Erie House restoration. The replica is now on the front facade where the original once was. The sign shows prominently in the historic photographs of the Erie House and was meant to be easily seen from the towpath. Soon after the saloon closed in 1909, the sign was removed and stored away by the Van Detto family. The family donated the sign to the Canal Society of New York State in The sign tells another story. In the very bottom right corner is the signature of the artist who made the sign - "L. J. Rancier. Port Byron." Lorenzo J. Rancier ( ) was better known as one of the carpenters at the Tanner drydock and boat yard just opposite the canal from the Erie House. Raised in Port Byron, he learned his craft from his father who was also a carpenter and who also likely worked at the boat yard. You can still see the entrance to the drydock in the stone wall on the far side of the canal. Clearly, Rancier had no qualms about having his name associated with the Erie House. This very local resident appears to have very much welcomed the Van Dettos to their new American home. 23

26 Station 16 The decorative metal plate covers a hole in the floor of a second-floor bedroom, one that extends to the barroom below. Stoves in the barroom once heated the Erie House. Pipe from the stove came through this hole, heating the small bedroom above before exiting to an outside chimney. Maybe these small bedrooms were rented out by Peter Van Detto. The Van Dettos had boarders. Mr. Van Detto's younger brother lived at the Erie House in 1905, probably helping at the saloon. The brother and another boarder had emigrated from Italy just three years before. Maybe they stayed in these small bedrooms. There would have also been a need among the recently arrived immigrants for temporary accommodations. Mr. Van Detto likely provided that as well. Peter Van Detto's daughter recollected that her bedroom was also on the second floor wing and that her window overlooked the lock. The wing was added soon after the daughter's birth. Previously, the couple must have lived in these upper rooms of the original part of the house. For today, choosing a particular period in this fascinating history to selectively focus on is difficult as, with Lock 52, they all have compellingg stories to add to the understanding of the Erie House and the Erie Canal. What do you think? 24