Schuylkill navigation system lock 25. I believe.

Hello everyone. First my apologies. We are not in Berks County we are in Schuylkill County, and I could not get this video to stabilize so it's shakiness is quite noticeable.
Years before the Philadelphia and Reading railroad ran coal from Schuylkill County to Philadelphia the Schuylkill Navigation system had that job. Construction began in 1815 and was completed in 1827. The canal ran the length of the Schuylkill river from Pottsville PA to Philadelphia PA. Towns along the northern end would include Schuylkill Haven, Auburn, Leesport and of course the city of Reading.
As time passed the railroads took over. The Philadelphia and Reading worked with the canal for a few years but that was fleeting as rail was becoming king. The section of canal north of Port Clinton was abandoned only a few decades after its completion and the PRR built its Schuylkill division right on top of sections of the canal. I am not well educated in Schuylkill canal history so anything you have to offer would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for watching. 6/23/24

[@paulbergen9114]

The stonecutters certainly had full employment for a decade. Just the thought of looking at all those piles of stone and trying to match up pieces to fit is mind-boggling. Thanks for taking the hike to show the size of these locks

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

Literally a puzzle made of stone, and it had to hold water. Amazing! It was neat to walk inside.

[@nickmad887]

Thank you Kevin the Family loves all your videos,

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

A great big thanks to you and your family!

[@burtont3773]

Wow. I’m amazed at the condition if it is from 1821. Beautiful find. Looks like the locks I found on the Genesee Valley Canal in western NY. The large, square notches, of course, were for the gates. The smaller vertical, shallow notches, held wood planks that boats would rub against. According to my stone mason friend, each were hand chiseled into the flat stone.

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

Hey there Burton. I actually haven't nailed down the exact date, however construction went on from 1815 to 1827 so it could be older or younger. This section was abandoned sometime in the 1850's or 1860's I believe. The PRR started building their Schuylkill division in 1888-1889 and this obliterated some of the canal path.

[@davestrang8585]

The lock painted a unique historical picture 🎉

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

Thank you Dave. This is the first Schuylkill navigation lock I've ever come across. Such a thrill!

[@johnnicoline7632]

Amazing stone work, the northern red tipped steel beaked wood pecker made those holes, definitely was their handy work Kev.

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

😆🤣😂 Holy $hit that one is legendary. Could you imagine if I'd snapped a picture of one in action. It would be the hottest thing on KZbin.

[@johnnicoline7632]

@@kevinsalsbury2118 you sure would have, a once in the lifetime pic it would of been. Hilarious

[@FireLarry]

Your videos are very interesting Kevin. I enjoy them. 👍

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

Right back at you Larry.

[@808TheDuck]

Such an interesting (and historical) find!

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

Thank you very much Charles. Couldn't believe the condition it was in after all this time.

[@samuelt5131]

Amazing that it's in such good condition for being that old. The canal builders probably thought their work would be used for one hundred years or more. So they built accordingly.

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

I couldn't agree more Samuel. When this was being built there was no such thing as railroads. This was the best transportation available and it was built accordingly.

[@jamesburnside3023]

Excellent video enjoyed it cool location

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

Thank you very much James. This was a great find! I have been trying to find an intact Schuylkill canal lock for a while now. I literally threw my hands up in the air when I saw it. Have a great night.

[@christopheralan5666]

Did the Horse n buggy guys hire the natives to build this? unreal!! amazing whoever built it!!

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

😆 You're actually not far off. They definitely would have needed horse carts to get those stones to the proper locations. Probably built by Irish immigrants, but I could be wrong about that.

[@norduferhandel4512]

I believe there are some Union canal ruins along the Schuykill river along Rt 10 and Rt 724 also.

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

Excellent tip. I'm certainly going to check into this. Thank you kindly.

[@myboringadventures]

There didn't happen to be a frame of a stone house next to the lock? There use to be a Lock,and the lock keepers house in that area. The one I'm thinking of, may be "upstream" a bit. It's been years since I've been in there. The one I'm talking about, was definitely on private property, and posted. Either way,awesome find.

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

There was indeed a stone frame right next to lock. You are spot on. I had a feeling this was private property but if there are posted signs they are covered right now. Do you know if anything remains of the dam that would have been down river? I couldn't find it.

[@myboringadventures]

@kevinsalsbury2118 as far as a dam, I have no idea. The only reason I know where you are, is that property is/was part of a farm,that a former friend's family ,rented. This was at least 25 years ago. It looks grown in,from what I remember,

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

Thank you for getting back to me. I'm thinking there is another lock to the north. I'm going to see if I can find it but that one may be tricky. Not trying to get shot looking for old stones in the woods 😆

[@myboringadventures]

@kevinsalsbury2118 I do remember, we walked in the old canal,part way,hunting groundhogs. But,that wasn't too far from the lock. If I can find anything on the local Facebook groups, I'll try to pass it along. I've been riding bike on the bartram trail, from Hamburg to Auburn, and I've been definitely trying to look for more remains of the railroad, and the canal.

[@debd.traveler1967]

how high would you guess the walls were? over 10 feet?

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

Good morning Deb. I'm 6 feet tall and this was towering over me. I'd have to say somewhere in the 15 to 18 foot range. I tried finding the damn remains down stream closer to the Port Clinton park area but no luck. I had no clue there was even a path here let alone the lock. I just happened to find a random state game land parking lot and a trail that led me to the tow path. I looked on Google maps terrain feature and saw what looked like a possible lock. Low and behold we found it!

[@MillersRailfan]

Kevin what is the width between each of these walls?

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

That is a great question Steve. Definitely seems taller than wider so I'm going to guess around 12 feet.

[@MillersRailfan]

@@kevinsalsbury2118 thank you Kevin

[@kevinsalsbury2118]

I was just watching a video about the Conestoga Navigation system. It was mentioned that the locks were 22 feet wide. Therefore I am retracting my first answer and adding 10 feet to it. Which actually makes alot more sense.

[@MillersRailfan]

@@kevinsalsbury2118 you are awesome as usual; Kevin