Leesport Lock House
Encyclopedia
The Leesport Lock House is a house accompanying a lock
on the Schuylkill Canal
in Leesport, Pennsylvania
, USA
. The house was built adjacent to the Leesport Lock to allow canal barges to move quickly up and down the canal. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 9 1977.
, on the east bank of the Schuylkill River
. Adjacent the Lock House is a car wash, situated on the foundation of the lock. The lock walls can still be seen behind the car wash.
The Lock House is across the street from the Union Fire Company of Leesport and the ambulance station of the Schuylkill Valley EMS.
. The Schuylkill Navigation Company was chartered to build a series of navigation improvements in the Schuylkill River, allowing coal
from the Coal Region
to be delivered from Port Clinton
to the ports in Philadelphia. The Schuylkill Navigation Company was the only means of carrying coal en-masse to Philadelphia for twenty years, until the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad was completed in 1841. Within only four years, the railroad was hauling three times the amount of coal as the Schuylkill Canal.
Although the canal continued to carry nearly two million tons of anthracite up through 1859, the Reading Railroad continued to transport more than the canal. In 1860, use of the canal started to decline. In 1869, a coal miners strike caused a shortage of material to be transported, a drought saw a severe drop in water levels in the canal, and severe flooding later damaged many portions of the canal. The Schuylkill Navigation Company struggled to find money to repair the damage, until it was ultimately leased to the Reading Railroad in 1870. By 1890, traffic on the canal was carrying less than a tenth of the cargo as it had during its most prosperous years.
However, the Lock House remained a symbol of economic growth in the Leesport area. Ultimately, both the canal and the railroad served to develop Leesport's economy.
Several relevant artifacts of the lock house and other paraphernalia from the Schuylkill Canal can be found at the Hoss's Restaurant located just south of Leesport on the nearby Route 61
.
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
on the Schuylkill Canal
Schuylkill Canal
Schuylkill Canal is the common, but technically inaccurate, name for the Schuylkill Navigation, a 19th-century commercial waterway in and along the Schuylkill River in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The "canal" was actually a system of interconnected man-made canals and slack-water pools in the...
in Leesport, Pennsylvania
Leesport, Pennsylvania
Leesport is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,805 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Leesport is located at ....
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The house was built adjacent to the Leesport Lock to allow canal barges to move quickly up and down the canal. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 9 1977.
Location
The Lock House is located on Wall Street in Leesport, PennsylvaniaLeesport, Pennsylvania
Leesport is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,805 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Leesport is located at ....
, on the east bank of the Schuylkill River
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
. Adjacent the Lock House is a car wash, situated on the foundation of the lock. The lock walls can still be seen behind the car wash.
The Lock House is across the street from the Union Fire Company of Leesport and the ambulance station of the Schuylkill Valley EMS.
History
The Lock House was originally built in 1834 by the Schuylkill Navigation CompanySchuylkill Canal
Schuylkill Canal is the common, but technically inaccurate, name for the Schuylkill Navigation, a 19th-century commercial waterway in and along the Schuylkill River in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The "canal" was actually a system of interconnected man-made canals and slack-water pools in the...
. The Schuylkill Navigation Company was chartered to build a series of navigation improvements in the Schuylkill River, allowing coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
from the Coal Region
Coal Region
The Coal Region is a term used to refer to an area of Northeastern Pennsylvania in the central Appalachian Mountains comprising Lackawanna, Luzerne, Columbia, Carbon, Schuylkill, Northumberland, and the extreme northeast corner of Dauphin counties....
to be delivered from Port Clinton
Port Clinton, Pennsylvania
Port Clinton is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 288 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Port Clinton is located at ....
to the ports in Philadelphia. The Schuylkill Navigation Company was the only means of carrying coal en-masse to Philadelphia for twenty years, until the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad was completed in 1841. Within only four years, the railroad was hauling three times the amount of coal as the Schuylkill Canal.
Although the canal continued to carry nearly two million tons of anthracite up through 1859, the Reading Railroad continued to transport more than the canal. In 1860, use of the canal started to decline. In 1869, a coal miners strike caused a shortage of material to be transported, a drought saw a severe drop in water levels in the canal, and severe flooding later damaged many portions of the canal. The Schuylkill Navigation Company struggled to find money to repair the damage, until it was ultimately leased to the Reading Railroad in 1870. By 1890, traffic on the canal was carrying less than a tenth of the cargo as it had during its most prosperous years.
However, the Lock House remained a symbol of economic growth in the Leesport area. Ultimately, both the canal and the railroad served to develop Leesport's economy.
Today
The Lock House and surrounding grounds have been restored to their 1880-1910 condition and are maintained by the Leesport Lock House Foundation and the Berks County Parks and Recreation Department. The Lock House also hosts an annual Strawberry Festival and Antique sale in early June. The Lock House is also available for small social gatherings or group meetings.Several relevant artifacts of the lock house and other paraphernalia from the Schuylkill Canal can be found at the Hoss's Restaurant located just south of Leesport on the nearby Route 61
Pennsylvania Route 61
Pennsylvania Route 61 is an -long state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The route is signed on a north–south direction, from U.S. Route 222 Business in Reading to U.S. Route 11 and U.S. Route 15 in Shamokin Dam. PA 61 meets up with Pennsylvania Route 54 in Ashland and these...
.
See also
- Schuylkill CanalSchuylkill CanalSchuylkill Canal is the common, but technically inaccurate, name for the Schuylkill Navigation, a 19th-century commercial waterway in and along the Schuylkill River in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The "canal" was actually a system of interconnected man-made canals and slack-water pools in the...
- Philadelphia and Reading Railroad
- Schuylkill Canal AssociationSchuylkill Canal AssociationThe Schuylkill Canal Association is a non-governmental organization that maintains the Oakes Reach and Lock #60 of the Schuylkill Canal as a public recreation area and historical site...