Lockport to Medina, NY

We awoke to a little more rain, but it ended for the day before our 9:00 AM underway. As we prepared to depart for the double 25-foot drop at Locks 35 & 34, it was the first time we didn’t call ahead on the phone or VHF to make arrangements. We had met the Lockmaster in person when we tied up yesterday and just walked over to his office this morning. The people here couldn’t be nicer—not only did he efficiently get us through the locks, he moved a huge driftwood log out of our path with a massive boathook before we left the lock wall, and called the first bridge downstream to let us know we were coming. We went under three lift bridges today, which are road bridges that even our dismasted sailboat is too tall to clear when fully down. The New York Canal Corporation, which runs all of state’s canals, saves some money by having roving bridge operators, which cover two or three bridges. The procedure is to call them and let them know you're coming; they open the bridge, let you under, close it, get in their cars and drive to the next bridge and repeat. It gets complicated when there is two-way traffic, but we only had to wait at one of the three bridges for the operator to arrive.

We cruised 17 miles to Medina, NY, population 6,100, and the largest town in Orleans County. Like Lockport, Medina didn’t exist until the Erie Canal was built, but later became well known for its sandstone, which was used in the Brooklyn Bridge, the State Capital in Albany, Buckingham Palace and thousands of other buildings around the world. Map link: Medina, NY

Building the canal here posed a major challenge—curving around a bend and crossing the Oak Orchard Creek gorge and its 45-foot drop. The solution was to build an aqueduct to carry the Erie Canal over the gorge, with the creek running underneath. Another day, another 19th-century American engineering marvel. The challenge was even greater when the canal expanded in the early 20th century, and was widened while remaining operational. The result was the massive, high-strength concrete aqueduct seen below, with the creek barely visible behind the trees.

We tied up to the free town dock, complete with water and electric, and went exploring. After seeing the aqueduct, we stopped at the house where Frances Folsom lived with her mother and grandmother before marrying President Grover Cleveland in 1886, when she was 21 and he was 49. Fun fact: Cleveland is the only U.S. President to marry while serving in the White House. Creepy facts: Besides the 29-year age difference, Cleveland was law partner and best friends with Folsom’s father, knew “Frankie” from infancy and she called him “uncle Cleve” while growing up. 

Bonus Question: Who was the only U.S. president to never marry? (Answer at end of post).

Our next stop in Medina was the public library, to log into their WiFi and get some personal business done, Then we walked across the railroad tracks to the Medina Railroad Museum, constructed inside an old freight depot, and housing the largest model train set in the state, with a 204 x 14 foot footprint.

Lastly we walked to the grocery store and back, before dinner at Fitzgibbon’s Public House, which had great food, a terrific Irish rock playlist and a nice view of Dragonfly at the dock.

Bonus Question Answer: James Buchanan, our 15th president, remained a lifelong bachelor and was the only president who never married.