1795 CANAL GUARD GATE SIGNAGE IN PLACE

In 2023, the Little Falls Historical Society and Rotary Little Falls began collaboration on replacing the two badly deteriorated 1795 Western Inland Navigation Lock Canal signs along Elizabeth Street. These two replacement signs are now in place.

In 2022 the Historical Society also put in place a nearby NYS Waterways historic marker through a grant from the William Pomeroy Foundation.

Work began in 1793 on the nearly mile-long Western Inland Navigation Lock Canal, it was completed in 1795. The guard gate controlled the flow of water into the five-lock canal allowing boats to bypass the forty-four-foot drop through the Little Falls rapids in the Mohawk River.

Upon completion, the 1795 Canal was an immediate boon to shipping as it eliminated the need for the labor-intensive portage of boats around the rapids. The 1795 Canal was rendered obsolete by the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825. The original canal then became part of a feeder system for nearby water-powered factories and mills.