Work began here in Rotterdam in 1908 on Erie Barge Canal Lock 8. In addition to constructing Lock 8, engineers built a three-span moveable dam (about 510 feet wide) that raises boats heading upstream as much as 15 feet when the dam is activated. Many people mistake the dam for a bridge, (which it is not) but a walkway that allows for necessary maintenance. Beneath the dam's trusses are steel frames each containing a giant steel plate. Below the dam's base, a concrete sill constructed on the river bed spans the river's width. When these frames are swung open and lowered by chains onto the sill, they form a dam.
Dam gates can be adjusted up or down almost like window shades, to control the volume of water and its rate of flow. Raising or lowering the dam must be carefully coordinated with the lock operators downstream to prevent the release of too much water which might flood the river bank banks. Therefore, lock gates downstream must all be raised or lowered accordingly.
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=130555
This 1,603-acre state reforestation area consists mostly of a granite plateau ranging in character from bare rock outcrops to relatively fertile valleys. A sheer stone cliff over 100 feet high rises from Payne Lake to overlook the Payne Lake Public Fishing Access Site to the east. This state forest was named for a unique nearby rock formation that once served as an outdoor podium from which traveling clergy preached to the local pioneers.
https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/8013.html
http://lion-tales.blogspot.com/2012/07/northern-new-york-pulpit-rock.html
In the news:
Negro Brook in Onchiota was recently renamed to the John Thomas Brook, for a 19th century Black settler.
https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/stories/john-thomas-brook-name-change
Paul Smith’s College professor Curt Stager led the effort for changing the name of Negro Brook. The source of John Thomas Brook is located near Kate Mountain in the town of Franklin. From there, it flows south to Twobridge Brook one mile northwest of Bloomingdale.
The new name pays homage to Thomas, who escaped slavery and started a farm near Bloomingdale. Stager filed the application with the U.S. Board of Geographical Names, which approved the proposal for John Thomas Brook at its April 13 meeting.
The application received letters of support from the town of Franklin, Franklin County, ADI, Historic Saranac Lake, Paul Smith’s College, Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center, North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association and local residents.
Also of interest is this Adirondack Explorer article about exploring the Negro Brook, which is described as a flatwater in an area known as the "Oregon Plains" full of thickets, blowdown and rapids that make for difficult paddling despite being a relatively flat part of the Adirondacks.
https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/outtakes/negro-brook-thickets-blowdown-rapids
... one of the few places in New York where cars can drive on left-hand side of the road, at least for three blocks.
