﻿HYDROLOGY 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  671 
  

  

  only 
  a 
  small 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  flow, 
  the 
  balance 
  required 
  to 
  feed 
  

   the 
  canal 
  to 
  the 
  east 
  of 
  Lockport 
  is 
  necessarily 
  discharged 
  

   around 
  the 
  locks 
  into 
  the 
  lower 
  canal 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  sluiceways. 
  

   Under 
  the 
  laws 
  of 
  1825 
  a 
  public 
  auction 
  was 
  held 
  in 
  the 
  village 
  

   of 
  Lockport, 
  in 
  the 
  fall 
  of 
  that 
  year, 
  and 
  the 
  right 
  to 
  use 
  this 
  sur- 
  

   plus 
  water 
  sold 
  to 
  Messrs 
  Kichard 
  Kennedy 
  and 
  James 
  H. 
  Hatch, 
  

   whose 
  successors 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  day 
  constitute 
  the 
  Lockport 
  

   Hydraulic 
  Power 
  Company. 
  

  

  Lockport 
  has 
  usually 
  been 
  considered 
  more 
  purely 
  a 
  result 
  of 
  

   the 
  canal 
  development 
  than 
  any 
  other 
  point 
  in 
  western 
  New 
  York, 
  

   for 
  the 
  reason 
  that 
  while 
  nearly 
  all 
  other 
  towns 
  in 
  the 
  region 
  had 
  

   some 
  growth 
  before 
  the 
  Erie 
  canal 
  was 
  located, 
  it 
  was 
  only 
  in 
  

   1821, 
  after 
  the 
  present 
  location 
  for 
  the 
  canal 
  had 
  been 
  definitely 
  

   decided 
  on, 
  that 
  the 
  nucleus 
  of 
  a 
  village 
  was 
  formed 
  here 
  by 
  the 
  

   contractors 
  and 
  their 
  workmen 
  employed 
  on 
  the 
  canal. 
  In 
  1820 
  

   there 
  was 
  no 
  frame 
  house 
  or 
  barn 
  within 
  5 
  miles 
  of 
  Lockport, 
  

   and 
  there 
  were 
  less 
  than 
  600 
  acres 
  of 
  cleared 
  land 
  in 
  the 
  4 
  square 
  

   miles, 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  city 
  of 
  Lockport 
  is 
  now 
  the 
  center. 
  More- 
  

   over, 
  there 
  are 
  no 
  natural 
  advantages 
  which 
  would 
  have 
  naturally 
  

   led 
  to 
  the 
  growth 
  of 
  an 
  important 
  town 
  at 
  this 
  point. 
  

  

  When 
  once 
  started, 
  however, 
  under 
  the 
  imipulse 
  of 
  the 
  canal 
  

   development, 
  Lockport 
  grew 
  rapidly 
  until, 
  in 
  1829, 
  with 
  a 
  popu- 
  

   lation 
  of 
  3000, 
  it 
  was 
  incorporated 
  as 
  a 
  village, 
  and 
  in 
  1865 
  as 
  

   a 
  city. 
  The 
  population 
  in 
  1890 
  was 
  16,038 
  ; 
  in 
  1904 
  it 
  is 
  estimated 
  

   at 
  over 
  17,000. 
  

  

  The 
  total 
  investment 
  in 
  manufacturing 
  plants 
  at 
  Lockport 
  

   dependent 
  on 
  the 
  Erie 
  canal 
  water 
  supply 
  amounts 
  to 
  $2,531,000. 
  

   The 
  total 
  number 
  of 
  establishments 
  is 
  33, 
  employing 
  1880 
  opera- 
  

   tives. 
  The 
  total 
  power 
  now 
  in 
  use 
  on 
  the 
  Erie 
  canal 
  proper 
  is 
  

   2625 
  net 
  horsepower. 
  

  

  A 
  short 
  distance 
  to 
  the 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  foot 
  of 
  the 
  locks 
  a 
  small 
  

   stream 
  known 
  as 
  the 
  west 
  branch 
  of 
  Eighteenmile 
  creek 
  crosses 
  

   under 
  the 
  canal. 
  This 
  stream, 
  although 
  having 
  a 
  catchment 
  area 
  

   of 
  only 
  1 
  or 
  2 
  square 
  miles 
  to 
  the 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  canal, 
  has 
  cut 
  a 
  

   deep 
  valley 
  with 
  rapid 
  fall 
  for 
  a 
  considerable 
  distance 
  to 
  the 
  

   north 
  of 
  the 
  canal. 
  In 
  order 
  to 
  provide 
  for 
  discharging 
  the 
  sur- 
  

   plus 
  waters 
  from 
  the 
  canal, 
  an 
  overflow 
  into 
  Eighteenmile 
  creek 
  

   was 
  constructed 
  at 
  an 
  early 
  day. 
  A 
  mill 
  was 
  also 
  permitted 
  to 
  

  

  