Property Record
4527 E WISCONSIN RD
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Cedars Lock |
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| Other Name: | Cedars Lock |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 11274 |
| Location (Address): | 4527 E WISCONSIN RD |
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| County: | Outagamie |
| City: | Little Chute |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1887 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1988 |
| Historic Use: | lock |
| Architectural Style: | NA (unknown or not a building) |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Stone - Unspecified |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Cedars Lock and Dam Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 12/7/1993 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 4/10/1992 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: | Waterway Resources of the Lower Fox River |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' titled "Cedars Lock and Dam Historic District" exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. Actually located just outside Little Chute in the civil town of Vandenbroek. Photo code #1: FCS 5/31 The present lock, which is oriented on an E/W axis, was built in 1887 to replace one of composite construction. The 144' x 35' 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 four 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 four 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 9.8 feet of lift as it moves crafts from the 698.66 feet above sea level upper pool to the 688.88 foot above sea level lower pool. It can be filled in five minutes and four seconds, while it can be discharged in two minutes and fifty-four seconds. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Date of construction: Corps of Engineers. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |