The Lock Tenders Tribute Monument:Commemorating Lockport’s Erie Canal Heritage
By David Kinyon
This 1890s photo inspired a unique interpretive project alongside Lockport’s “Flight of Five” locks.Credit- Niagara History Center
Whereas the rehabilitation of the Erie Canal Flight of Five locks has been a core element of Lockport’s revitalization strategy, another major project related to the historic locks is nearing completion. When complete, the Lock Tenders Tribute monument will be the largest outdoor cast bronze display in Western New York. Complimenting the engineering wonder of the locks themselves, it will provide visitors the opportunity to appreciate those who worked to make the Erie Canal the nation’s economic dynamo of the early 19th Century.
It was a cold and snowy January evening in 2014 when the author and Jeff Degnan attended a presentation given by Youngstown artist Susan Geissler as part of a meeting of the Sanborn Historical Society. The two were intrigued by the subject of Geissler’s presentation, Freedom Crossing—a monumental sculpture at the edge of the Niagara River in Lewiston. Freedom Crossing is a depiction of runaway slaves seeking freedom by crossing the Niagara River from Lewiston to Queenston, Ontario. It has been hailed as one of the truly emotional cast bronze creations of Geissler’s distinguished career.
As it happened, the two men—representatives of the newly formed Lockport Locks Heritage District Corporation—had a project of their own in mind for Geissler. At the conclusion of the well-attended meeting in Sanborn, they showed the artist a photo taken in the 1890s. The subject of this evocative photo was a group of 12 lock tenders and a little girl, all seated on a stairway at the Lockport Locks. From 1825 to 1914, hundreds of men worked from April through November, 24 hours a day, manually operating the locks so that goods and passengers could traverse one of the most significant portions of the Erie Canal. It was not until the beginning of the Erie Barge Canal era in the early 20th century that manpower was replaced by mechanized locks.
A treasured part of the Niagara History Center’s collection, the photo had been cited in a 2010 report, which suggested it should form the basis for a major interpretive display in the locks. The overall subject of this report, submitted by Eisterhold & Associates of Kansas City, was an interpretive plan for the Flight of Five. The Locks District organization had commissioned Eisterhold to develop a plan to enable visitors to the growing heritage tourism site to understand the significance of the Erie Canal and the Flight of Five. One of the recommendations included in the plan involved the three-dimensional re-creation of the scene in the photo, establishing it as a primary interpretive feature in the Lockport Locks. The recreation of the lock tenders photo, dubbed the “Ancestors” project by Eisterhold, would emphasize one of the many human stories surrounding the canal by paying tribute to the men who operated the manually controlled Lockport Locks.
Reimagining the Locks District
In 2005, the Niagara History Center made a significant investment in promoting and interpreting Lockport’s Erie Canal heritage by repurposing the former Hamilton House as the Erie Canal Discovery Center. One of Lockport’s oldest extant buildings, Hamilton House began life as a Universalist church in the early 1840s. With the Discovery Center established as a major anchor in what would become known as the Locks Heritage District, the Greater Lockport Development Corporation completed a major rehabilitation of canal-side commercial buildings along Richmond Avenue, later re-named Canal Street. The revitalization of the blighted Canal Street buildings converted the street into a pedestrian walkway, simultaneously creating attractive green space as well as a public space featuring a gazebo. The Lockport Community Farmer’s Market now operates on Canal Street every Saturday from May through October, further adding to the vitality of the district. Distinctive gateway entrances at both the east and west ends of the pedestrian street combine with appealing pole banners to proclaim to visitors that they are, indeed, in an historically significant place.
Prior to the establishment of the Discovery Center, a 2003 historic structures report, aided by a grant from the Preservation League of New York State and the Grigg Lewis Foundation, inspired the now 20-year campaign to secure funding from the state and federal government to return the 1842 “Flight of Five” locks to working condition. City of Lockport officials were joined by local, state and federal funding partners to celebrate the rehabilitation of Locks 69 and 70 in 2014; work was completed on Lock 68 in 2019. Rehabilitation of the historic locks’ stone and lumber components has enabled volunteers of the Lockport Locks Heritage District to provide weekly demonstrations of the manual operation of the restored locks. The project has also supported the preservation of what is the largest remaining intact section of the 19th century Erie Canal.
Throughout these various projects, Locks District officials have taken measures to assure that the historic fabric of the 19th century locks is preserved in both the Flight of Five Project and the Lock Tenders Tribute monument. The historic stairway where the lock tender sculpture was to be sited had deteriorated severely over the years. Thus, an additional $200,000 was expended by the Lockport Locks Heritage District Corporation to repair and replace portions of the stairway that were unsuitable in terms of structural integrity and aesthetic appearance.
Selecting an Artist
To recreate the evocative 1890s photo in three dimensions, the Locks Heritage District considered a number of artists, each with impressive credentials for what was considered to be an impactful project. Through interviews and inspection of artistic works, the Locks District organization discovered that they had an incredibly talented artist residing right in their own back yard. That artist was Susan Geissler.
Geissler’s resume of work was impressive. Although specializing in papier-mâché earlier in her career, Geissler now points proudly to a production history of hundreds of bronze sculptures, ranging in size from six inches to over 10 feet in height. These works of art include both limited editions and one-of-a-kind creations, which have been acquired by private collectors as well as being placed in some 46 public art and monumental installations throughout the U.S. and Canada. The recipient of over six dozen awards and prizes for her work, Geissler is recognized as one of the premier designers of human figures in the United States.
Each of Geissler’s past creations has been sized based upon the needs of the client and the location where the sculpture is to be displayed, and so have varied greatly. For example, the figures depicted in Lewiston’s Tuscarora Heroes and Freedom Crossing monuments are slightly larger than life, whereas the figures in the Lock Tenders Tribute are life-size.
The artist’s concept for what became known as the Lock Tenders Tribute monument was to create 14 life-size, cast bronze sculptures—the 13 figures depicted in the photograph with the addition of a photographer figure, which would be posed as if he were taking the photograph. The process would include a preliminary design of each figure, refined designs, moldmaking, wax preparation, bronze pouring, welding and patina. Once designs were established, Geissler would sculpt the 14 clay figures in her Youngstown studio in three stages, providing time for the Locks District to raise the estimated $1.3 million needed for the project. Once the clay sculpts were complete, each would be shipped to a bronze foundry in Colorado with the completed bronze figures returning to Western New York for installation.
As can be imagined, securing the funding for a project of this magnitude has not been an easy undertaking. The Niagara County Legislature provided critical support by authorizing three allocations of its share of Niagara River Greenway funding for the project. Other large benefactors have included: the New York State Canal Corporation, Grigg Lewis Foundation, John R. Oishei Foundation, NYS Department of State, Yahoo Community Benefit Fund, Niagara Falls National Heritage Area, Erie Canalway National Heritage Area, Clark Rigging, DR Chamberlain Corporation, William Pomeroy Foundation and Mills Jewelers, plus 45 individual donors.
In 2020, the first three sculptures were placed on the historic stairway, located between the Flight of Five locks and Barge Canal locks 34 & 35. The following year, another five figures were added, including the figure of the photographer. Scheduled for unveiling in September 2023 are the final six figures, including the portrait figure of the little girl, Bessie Wagoner. The entire project has taken 10 years of planning, fund raising and production to reach fulfillment. Taken as a whole, the portrait figures that make up the Lock Tenders Tribute monument comprise the largest work of Geissler’s epic career to date.
Telling the Story of the Lock Tenders
Other canal communities in New York State have recognized the packet boats, boat captains, aqueducts and other structures that were an integral part of the canal landscape of Upstate New York from 1825 until electrification and the use of steel and concrete resulted in the demolition and removal of almost all of the early infrastructure of the Erie Canal by 1918. No other canal community, however, has heretofore commemorated the heritage of the workers who toiled to manually open and close the five-ton wooden lock gates and maintain operations on the 363-mile-long “Canal that Made America.”
That being said, little background information existed about any of the people appearing in the photo prior to Geissler commencing the project. Nonetheless, it was a photograph that had received considerable attention from canal enthusiasts in the state because the 13 figures in the photo were obviously assembled in a pose by the photographer.
Upon commissioning Geissler to begin her work for Lockport, Niagara County graphic artist Jeff Degnan began genealogical research to identify the 13 people in the photo. Subsequently, the Locks District organization enlisted the assistance of additional volunteers, all of whom had extensive experience in genealogical research. Dubbed the “Hidden Figures Team” because of their methodical prowess in prodding online search engines and tirelessly combing through newspaper and related historic records, Marie Bindeman, Cyndy Cotten, DeLynn McMurtry, Shelley Richards and Deanna Douglas Knapp finally succeeded in compiling the names of dozens of descendants of the men in the photograph.
Though some of these descendants had little prior knowledge that one of their ancestors was to be enshrined in a monument related to Lockport’s historic locks, many have since responded enthusiastically to the project. Some of these individuals, most of whom no longer reside in Lockport, have already made numerous trips to the Lockport locks to pose for “family photos” and to gaze on the likenesses of their ancestors, forever assembled as they had been by the photographer over 125 years ago. Other visitors to the site similarly take advantage of the unique character of the scene to have a photo taken of themselves seated next to the beautiful works of art. Attractive signage near the historic locks explains the significance of the cast bronze figures, which display a level of detail, particularly in the faces and hands, that amazes visitors coming to the site. This unique interpretive recreation is open daily throughout the year.
As Lockport, along with other communities along today’s Erie Canal, prepare to mark the 200th anniversary of the canal’s opening in 2025, leaders are keenly focused on assuring the community’s Erie Canal heritage attractions are ready to receive record numbers of visitors. Along with the dedication of the Lock Tenders Tribute monument scheduled for Saturday, September 16, efforts continue to secure the federal and state funding needed to complete the renovation of the historic Flight of Five locks and to progress the transformative Lockport Heritage Harbor Project.
Artist Susan Geissler poses with the photographer she added to the Lock Tenders Tribute memorial, which was installed in 2021.Credit- Lockport Locks Heritage District Corporation
Author Bio
David Kinyon is chairman of the board of the Lockport Locks Heritage District and served as chief executive officer of the Town of Lockport Industrial Development Agency from 2009 through 2015. He also serves on the board of directors of Canal New York, the Canal Society of New York State and the Niagara History Center.
