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Lockport, New York

Lockport
City
Lockport Arts Fest on Main St.jpg
Nickname(s): The Lock City
Location in Niagara County and the state of New York.
Location in Niagara County and the state of New York.
Coordinates: 43°10′11″N 78°41′28″W / 43.16972°N 78.69111°W / 43.16972; -78.69111Coordinates: 43°10′11″N 78°41′28″W / 43.16972°N 78.69111°W / 43.16972; -78.69111
Country United States
State New York
County Niagara
Government
 • Type Mayor-council
 • Mayor Anne E. McCaffrey (R)
 • Common Council
Area
 • Total 8.6 sq mi (22.4 km2)
 • Land 8.5 sq mi (22.1 km2)
 • Water 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Elevation 614 ft (187 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 21,165
 • Density 2,519.7/sq mi (972.9/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 14094-14095
Area code(s) 716
FIPS code 36-43082
GNIS feature ID 0955783
Website http://www.lockportny.gov

Lockport is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 21,165 at the 2010 census. It is so-named from a set of Erie Canal locks within the city. Lockport is the county seat of Niagara County and is surrounded by the town of Lockport. It is part of the BuffaloNiagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The New York State Legislature authorized the Erie Canal's construction in April 1816. The route proposed by surveyors was to traverse an area in central Niagara County, New York, which was then "uncivilized" and free of White settlers. At the time, the nearest settlers were in nearby Cold Springs, New York. As it became known where the proposed canal was to be built, land speculators began to buy large plots along and near the proposed route of the canal. By December 1820, when the exact location of the step locks had been determined, the area that would become Lockport was owned by only fifteen men, many of whom were Quakers.

The canal reached Lockport in 1824, but the locks were not completed until 1825. By 1829, Lockport had become an established village. The community was centered on the locks, and consisted mainly of immigrant Scottish and Irish canal workers, brought in as labor. The workers remained in Lockport after the completion of the locks, giving the city a heavy Celtic influence still discernible today, especially in the Lowertown and North Lockport neighborhoods.


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