Section 4, Section 5 and Section 6

 

Lock #28 is at the bottom of the hill just past the Hotel at Treichlers and the agricultural mill.

 

Lock #28 is some two and one half miles south of guard lock# 4 and is located near the community of Treichlers. This is a view of lock #28 looking downstream through the lock.

 

A view of lock #28 looking upstream. Lift for lock #28 was 7.7 feet.

There is not a lock #29. It simply does not exist and may never have existed. Unable to provide any explanation as research does not reveal what might have happened to lock #29 or where it might have been located, if indeed it ever existed.

 

Lock #30 from the towpath at the upper end looking downstream through the lock. The lift for this lock is not known, but would have been significant.

 

Close up view of carbuckles that held the lower gates in place. This view is from the top of the canal lock on the towpath side of the lock. The twopath is washed out at this point.

 

Portions of the metal framing from the top of the lower gate is buried beneath leaves in the lock floor.

 

A view of the lower berm wall showing the steel sleeve that served as the hinge mechanism for the lower gates. The carbuckles that held the gates in place would be just above this area.

 

This view of lock #30 is from the lower end of the canal wall looking back upstream. Lock #30 was the outlet lock for Section #4. The towpath crossed the lock via a foot bridge and proceeded along the bank of the river to a point where dam #5 and guardlock #5 began.

 

Dam #5 which provided the slack water pool that watered Section 5 was a wood and stone dam that was 13 feet high. After leaving lock #30, the canal boats entered the river and followed the river bank for a distance behind the dam.

 

A photograph of guard lock #5 taken in the 1960's and on file with the Library of Congress. Guard lock #5 was at the upper end of Section 5. Lift for this lock was 9.9 feet.

Due to the recency of Hurrican Ivan passing through the area, guardlock 5 was not accessible. The area is significantly overgrown and access would be difficult under the best of circumstances. Lock #32 is located eight-tenths of a mile downstream from the guardlock.

 

A photograph of guard lock #5 taken in 2007 by Kevin Hansen of Northampton. Guard lock #5 was at the upper end of Section 5. Lift for this lock was 9.9 feet.

 

A photograph of guard lock #5 taken in 2007 by Kevin Hansen of Northampton.

 

A photograph of guard lock #5 taken in 2007 by Kevin Hansen of Northampton.

 

A photograph of guard lock #5 taken in 2007 by Kevin Hansen of Northampton.

 

A photograph of guard lock #5 taken in 2007 by Kevin Hansen of Northampton.

 

A photograph of guard lock #5 taken in 2007 by Kevin Hansen of Northampton. Guard lock #5 was at the upper end of Section 5. Lift for this lock was 9.9 feet. Note the Hansen's son in the center of the photo. He stands about 5' 5".

The webmaster is indebted to Kevin and Ann Hansen and their son for providing the recent photographs of guard lock #5 which were taken in the early spring of 2007. James Benetzky, a student of Northampton History and I have been attempting to locate guard lock 5 for several years. James has been out on the canal several times this year but was unable to locate its whereabouts. Thanks to the Hansen's for the photographs and detailed directions to the guard lock.

 

This is the canal above lock #32 looking upstream. As can be noted, the canal is extremly narrow and overgrown and is not maintained. Were it not for recent rains, it is likely that this portion of the canal would have little or perhaps no water in it.

 

This view of lock #32 is from the floor of the canal lock opposite the towpath side of the lock and looking downstream through the lock. The tow path wall is of native stone. Lift for Lock #32 was 7.5 feet.

 

A closer view of the tow path wall which was of native stone.

 

Lock #32 from the berm side looking downstream through the lock. This view shows that the berm side wall was of concrete indicating that repairs were made at some time as originally both walls would have been of native stone. This view also shows a portion of the lower gate in the closed position.

 

A view of the lower end of lock #32 from the towpath showing the overgrown condition of the lock.

 

Close up of lower gates for Lock #32 from the towpath. This view shows what is left of the lower gate and also shows trapped debris left from the recent storm.

 

This shows an overflow spillway installed on the towpath side of the canal, closest to the Lehigh River.

 

This shows a close-up of the overflow spillway mechanism. A canal worker, equipped with the proper tool could insert it into the gear and crank open the spillway gate allowing canal water to be drained into the river.

 

Canal looking south or downstream, between lock #32 and lock #33. This portion of the canal is usually watered.

 

Canal looking north or upstream near lock #33 which is located at the entrance to the Tri-Boro Sportsmen's Club. The photograph was taken while standing on a foot bridge that crosses the canal. The bridge connects the Tri-Boro club to the quarry which is located to the right. The club is to the left in this shot.

 

This photo was taken from the foot bridge looking south. The club is to the right and the quarry is to the left.

 

Lock 33, just north of 21st Street in Northampton, looking through the lock from the towpath. This lock is of composite construction. The upper gates were removed and rest on the tow path side of the canal. The upper end of the lock is closed by an earthen dam that carries a road providing access to the Tri-Boro Sportsmen's Club. Lift for this lock was 9.5 feet.

 

Another view of lock #33 looking toward upper end from the towpath wall.

 

The gates for the upper end of lock #33 were removed from the lock when the earthen dam was installed. They rest along side the lock on the towpath side.

 

Another view of the gates for the upper end of lock #33. Their removal from the lock most likely safed them from more severe damage and deterioration which they would have sustained if left in the canal.

 

Looking through Lock #33 toward the Northampton-cementon bridge.

 

Canal boat 249. This restored canal boat sits along side lock #33. It was salvaged from a quarry that is located just north and east of lock #33. It was salvaged by the founders of the Tri-Boro Sportsmen's Club breaking the surface of the quarry water on October 3, 1981.

 

Newspaper photograph of canal boat #249 sitting at the edge of the quarry where it had been scuttled in 1930. Bethlehem Globe-Times Photo by Bob More. For a detailed and interesting article published by the East Penn Press in 2001, click on this link: East Penn Press.

 

A period photograph showing a canal dredge on the Lehigh Canal. The lock in the background is not identified. Photograph courtesy of the Northamption Historical Society.

 

A period photograph showing a canal dredge on the Lehigh Canal. The dredge is facing north, the towpath and the river being on the left. Location is uncertain. Photograph courtesy of the Northamption Historical Society.

 

A period photograph of the canal during its heyday. This view is looking north or upstream. Photograph courtesy of the Northamption Historical Society.

 

Another period photograph of the canal. This view is looking south, (downstream). Photograph courtesy of the Northamption Historical Society.

For all intents and purposes, the canal bed ends at 21st Street in Northampton and does not pick up again for a considerable distance. The canal south of 21st street was filled in many years ago by the city of Northampton and is currently a park. Lock #34 which was a little over a mile downstream was also filled. Lift for lock #34 was 6.4 feet. Approximately one and one half mile of the canal no longer exist due to its having been filled in.

Lock #35 was the outlet lock for Section 5. Lift was 7.0 feet. Once again, the canal boats followed the river bank until they reached Guard Lock 6. Guard lock 6 and Dam #6 were located near the community of Hokendauqua, just north of Catasauqua. The dam was a wood and crib dam which was 7.0 feet in height.

 

Guardlock #6 is shown here in a postcard view looking north from the lower end of the lock. The towpath crossed the lock using the bridge at the upper end. Lift was only 0.8 feet.

Just below guardlock #6 the railroad crossed the canal and for a distance of 2.96 miles, the railroad continues between the canal and the river. Lock #36 and lock #37 are not watered or maintained. The lift for lock #37 was 7.4 feet.

 

The above 1860 lithograph is of the Crane Iron Company near Catasaugua. Note that the railroad tracks are between the canal and the Lehigh River at this point. A close inspection also reveals that the canal boat in the foreground is passing through a lock. It is not clear if this represents lock #37 or lock #38. The Crane Iron Company was one of the first iron operations in the Lehigh Valley. It's furnaces were fired utilizing anthracite coal. A number of iron furnaces would be constructed along the canal following the success of the Crane Iron Company.

Another view of the Crane Iron Company works which was located in Northampton County and was one of the first iron furnaces built in the Lehigh Valley. It was constructed on this site in 1840. The works were driven by water-power obtained from the Lehigh Canal and fired with anthracite coal.

Lock #38 does not exist and apparently never existed, or was eliminated so early that no record of it exist. No explanation can be found for the absence of a lock #38.

 

Lock #39 was the outlet lock for Section 6. This lock was known as "Kimmetts Lock". Only the river-side wall of this lock remains. The lock was originally destroyed by the flood of May 22-23, 1942 and later a boat ramp was built at this location. Lift for this lock was 11.2 feet. As can be noted, the railroad passed over the lock at this point, once again placing the canal next to the river, which is more common for most of the length of the canal. After passing through the lock, the canal boats went under the railroad bridge and entered the slack water pool formed by the downstream dam.

 

This photograph of lock #39 was taken shortly after the 1942 flood. The aftermath of the flood is obvious in the damage to the lock and the locktender's house.

 

    Continued