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Located just west of Schenectady, in Rotterdam, NY, Enlarged Erie Canal Lock No. 23 was put into service in 1842, and took the place of Lock 26 of the original Clinton's Ditch Canal, which was located nearby. Built entirely of large cut limestone blocks laid in a regular ashlar pattern and mortared using hydraulic cement, Lock No. 23 raised or lowered boats by 7.89 feet, from a level of 231 feet at the south end to 239 feet at the north end. Originally built with two standard length chambers (18 feet wide by 110 feet in length), in 1889 the southwest chamber was extended south to a total of 220 feet along the berm side; the width of the added portion of the lock chamber was 20 feet. With its southwest chamber nearly doubled in size, Lock No. 23 could raise or lower "double-headers," (two canal boats lashed together) without interrupting though traffic.

Lock No. 23 was especially significant in the Canal's history. It often was either the first or last lock used by canallers as they chose to either load or unload in Schenectady and use an overland route to and from Albany in order to avoid the time-consuming process of traveling through the 22 locks between here and the Hudson River. During its busiest seasons, the lock was operating with a lockage every 5 minutes (approximately 47,000 lockages per season).

When the Barge Canal was completed in 1918, Lock No. 23 was abandoned, having been replaced by Lock E-8 of the modern Erie Canal. Between 2000 and 2003, students and staff of the Department of Civil Engineering at Union College working with the town re-created the locktender's hut and the wooden pier at the entrance to the chambers. The site was recognized by its listing on the New York State and National Historic Registers in 2008.

The remains of Lock No. 23 are located beside the intersection of Rice Road and Schermerhorn Road in Rotterdam, New York. The Mohawk-Hudson Bike Trail is built on the old towpath and passes right beside the lock.

Below are photographs of the remains of Lock No. 23 -- click on any image to see the full-size version.

"Lock on the old Erie Canal not in use, New York" / John Collier, photographer -- Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Photograph Collection, Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division, Oct. 1941.
Lock 23, Rotterdam - 1956? [Canal Society of NYS, Madden slides]	Aerial view of Lock 23 -- Google Maps, 2021?

Photographs of Lock 23 taken by Howard Ohlhous in 2005 and 2007:

Lock 23, Rotterdam, looking north/northwest - the Mohawk Hudson Bikeway is on the towpath on the right.	Locktender's hut at Lock 23, Rotterdam.	Lock 23, Rotterdam - west chamber, looking south/southeast.
Lock 23, Rotterdam, looking south/southeast - the Mohawk Hudson Bikeway is on the towpath on the left.	Lock 23, Rotterdam - west chamber, looking north.	Lock 23, Rotterdam - east chamber, looking northwest.

For more information about Lock No.23, see The Historical Markers Database under:
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=25101 and https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=93716.