CANAL ST | Property Record | Wisconsin Historical Society

Property Record

CANAL ST

Architecture and History Inventory
CANAL ST | Property Record | Wisconsin Historical Society
NAMES
Historic Name:Kaukauna Lock 1
Other Name:Kaukauna Lock 1
Contributing: Yes
Reference Number:51744
PROPERTY LOCATION
Location (Address):CANAL ST
County:Outagamie
City:Kaukauna
Township/Village:
Unincorporated Community:
Town:
Range:
Direction:
Section:
Quarter Section:
Quarter/Quarter Section:
PROPERTY FEATURES
Year Built:1882
Additions:
Survey Date:1988
Historic Use:lock
Architectural Style:NA (unknown or not a building)
Structural System:
Wall Material:Limestone
Architect:
Other Buildings On Site:
Demolished?:No
Demolished Date:
NATIONAL AND STATE REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
National/State Register Listing Name: Kaukauna Locks Historic District
National Register Listing Date:12/7/1993
State Register Listing Date:1/1/1989
National Register Multiple Property Name:Waterway Resources of the Lower Fox River
NOTES
Additional Information:Photo code: FCS 4/23, 24. The present lock, which is oriented on an WSW/ENE axis was built in 1882 to replace one of composite construction. The 144.4 by 35.1 foot lock chamber and wing walls are comprised of quarried limestone blocks, the sides of which are capped with concrete coping and a pipe railing. Each of the four lock gates is constructed of squared wooden timbers that are laid horizontally atop one another and joined with structural ties. Adjacent to each gate is a concrete platform that contains a tripod. A vertical shaft extends the height of the tripod. A handle is fixed to the top of the shaft, while the bottom of the shaft contains a gear that drives a horizontally placed spar, the end of which is attached to a lock gate. (It is a horizontal rack and pinion system). Depending on which way the handle is turned, the spar is either taken in, thus opening the lock gate, or it is pushed out, in which case the gate closes. The chamber is flooded by six butterfly valves that are set in the floor of the lock, immediately upstream from the structure. As the valves are opened, water passes down into a culvert with a 90 degree turn, which then directs it under the upstream sill and straight into the chamber. Each valve is adjusted by a geared mechanism that sits on the lock's coping. A metal shaft connects the valve to the adjusting mechanism, all five of which are placed in line adjacent to the right, upstream corner of the lock. The chamber is discharged through six small butterfly valves found at the bottom of the two downstream gates. There are three valves per gate. These valves are operated by the levers atop each gate. The gates contain a cat-walk that facilitates moving from one side of the lock to the other. The lock provides 10.3 feet of lift as it moves crafts from the 652.76 feet above sea level upper pool to the 642.50 feet above sea level lower pool. It can be filled in three minutes and forty-six seconds, and can be discharged in two minutes and twenty-eight seconds.
Bibliographic References:(A) Annual Report Upon the Improvement of the Harbors of Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, and Waukegan, Lake Michigan, and Improvement of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers in Charge of D.C. Houston, Major of Engineers, Bvt. Colonel, U.S.A.; Being Appendix EE of the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1882 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1882), 2180.
RECORD LOCATION
Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin

Have Questions?

If you didn't find the record you were looking for, or have other questions about historic preservation, please email us and we can help:

If you have an update, correction, or addition to a record, please include this in your message:

  • AHI number
  • Information to be added or changed
  • Source information

Note: When providing a historical fact, such as the story of a historic event or the name of an architect, be sure to list your sources. We will only create or update a property record if we can verify a submission is factual and accurate.

How to Cite

For the purposes of a bibliography entry or footnote, follow this model:

Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory Citation
Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, "Historic Name", "Town", "County", "State", "Reference Number".