NEW HISTORIC MARKER PUT IN PLACE

Friday April 28 was National Historic Marker Day.

Guard Lock Historic Marker “Controlled water flow into five-lock Little alls Canal. Open 1795. Let boats bypass rapids & 44 foot drop. Stone construction added ca. 1803.”

The officers and directors of the Little Falls Historical Society marked this day by placing a new historic marker atop a previously installed marker pole at the site of the guard gate for the 1795 Western Inland Navigation Lock Canal.

The marker was provided through a grant by the William Pomeroy Foundation’s Historic Transportation Canals Marker Grant Program.

This marker placement was the culmination of over a year of focused effort and planning to refurbish the signage at this important historic site where a hand-operated gate once controlled the flow of river water into one of the first canals in the United States.

National Historic Marker Day April 28, 2023.

The Little Falls Historical Society during National Historic Marker Day April 28, 2023.

The City of Little Falls Department of Public Works and office of the City Engineer provided critical assistance with site preparation work. Pohlig’s Enterprises generously provided the pigmented stain and paint brushes for application on the wooden fencing surrounding the historic marker. The Historical Society much appreciates this combined assistance.

Additional plans are in the works for the replacement of other related nearby signage.

Western Inland Navigation Lock Audio Tour

The Western Inland Navigation Lock audio tour is narrated by Megan Good, Cooperstown Museum Studies Graduate Program, SUNY Oneonta, Class of 2022. Learn more about the Western Inland Navigation Lock Canal and related Facebook updates.