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In: fox locks, fox river boating, fox river locks, Fox River Locks History, Fox River Navigational System Authority, General

The Fox Locks pre-date the Civil War, so there is a large body of historical information on the system. We are lucky to have an amateur historian on staff, and these are excerpts from Scott Thompson’s greater research into the system.

A brief history of boats cruising the Fox

A boat built for combat was hauling logs from Canada on the lock system after WWII. According to an article in the Appleton Post Crescent from Sept 28, 1946, the PlusWood Company purchased such a craft. The LCT (Landing Craft -Tanks) was perhaps built for beach landings in Europe towards the end of WWII, but was never used in combat. 

You can see the PlusWood working its way through the Kaukauna Locks in the photo below. We believe the view is downstream towards Lock #2 with a view of the lock tender house on the left side of the canal. Not many photos available of that house!

The history of the locks is intertwined with the boats that cruised the Fox River. In 1891, the tugboat christened as, “U.S. Lake Survey No. 1”, was soon renamed to honor Gouverneur Kemble Warren who was a civil engineer and Army general who fought at Gettysburg during the Civil War. The General G.K. Warren tug worked the lower Fox River and canals until 1920.

A few historical documents tell a story about the people working on these boats and what life on the river was like. A checklist of “Serviceable Engineer Property” was created when the General GK Warren tug was delivered to Kaukauna in 1892.  The variety of items range from axes to blankets to sugar!

In 1904, Thomas Lee was classified as a “laborer” and this is his pay stub representing a day’s work on a canal boat working on the upper dam in Appleton. On additional forms his work description was, “Operation and care of canals and other Fox River Navigation” but look closely at his day rate of pay of $1.50.

Original Article

Blog – Fox Locks

Blog – Fox Locks

https://foxlocks.org/blog/history-shorts-working-on-the-river/

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In: appleton fall colors, boating fox river, depere fall colors, dePere lock, Events, fox locks, Fox Locks in the News, fox river boating, fox river fall colors, fox river locks, Fox River Locks History, Press Releases

The weekend of October 1&2 will be our final events for the 2022 season and we are hoping for great weather!

Back by popular demand, our FREE Fall Colors Weekend will again give you the best option for viewing the colors of the season from the Fox River. No locks fees needed, just bring your boat, your family, and cruise through the locks. That weekend, locks will be open as follows:

  • All five Kaukauna Locks 10am-6pm
  • Little Rapids 10am-6pm
  • De Pere Lock 10am-6pm

If you don’t have a boat, please bring the kids to watch the locks in action. The DePere lock is along the pedestrian paths at Voyager Park and all five Kaukauna locks are accessible via the new Kaukauna Locks trail. Ample free parking is available at both locations.

We’ve been rained out a few times this summer, so we’re hoping Mother Nature cooperates on Sunday, October 2 for a guided tour of the Appleton locks. Christine Williams from the Appleton Historical Society will share the stories of how the locks and Appleton grew up together. You’ll learn how the locks were built before Wisconsin became a state and how generations of lock tenders were on call to open the giant lock gates for commercial and recreational river traffic.

This is a walking tour that will travel the 1.5 miles from Appleton lock 1 located in the shadow of Riverview Gardens to Appleton lock 4 located at River Heath.

Original Article

Blog – Fox Locks

Blog – Fox Locks

http://foxlocks.org/2022/09/12/plan-today-for-a-busy-final-weekend-on-the-locks/

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In: appleton fall colors, boating fox river, depere fall colors, dePere lock, Events, fox locks, Fox Locks in the News, fox river boating, fox river fall colors, fox river locks, Fox River Locks History, Press Releases



The weekend of October 1&2 will be our final events for the 2022 season and we are hoping for great weather!
Back by popular demand, our FREE Fall Colors Weekend will again give you the best option for viewing the colors of the season from the Fox River. No locks fees needed, just bring your boat, your family, and cruise through the locks. That weekend, locks will be open as follows:

  • All five Kaukauna Locks 10am-6pm
  • Little Rapids 10am-6pm
  • De Pere Lock 10am-6pm

For all you boaters, this is your last chance this season to get your boats out of the water for winter storage. We didn’t want to charge you a locks fee for giving those boats an off-season home! Please remember we will not be opening the locks before winter after this weekend.

If you don’t have a boat, please bring the kids to watch the locks in action. The DePere lock is along the pedestrian paths at Voyager Park and all five Kaukauna locks are accessible via the new Kaukauna Locks trail. Ample free parking is available at both locations.

We’ve been rained out a few times this summer, so we’re hoping Mother Nature cooperates on Sunday, October 2 for a guided tour of the Appleton locks. Christine Williams from the Appleton Historical Society will share the stories of how the locks and Appleton grew up together. You’ll learn how the locks were built before Wisconsin became a state and how generations of lock tenders were on call to open the giant lock gates for commercial and recreational river traffic.

This is a walking tour that will travel the 1.5 miles from Appleton lock 1 located in the shadow of Riverview Gardens to Appleton lock 4 located at River Heath. Parking is a bit tight so we suggest parking at Telulah Park and walking down the hill to lock 4.

Original Article

Blog – Fox Locks

Blog – Fox Locks

http://foxlocks.org/2022/09/12/plan-today-for-a-busy-final-weekend-on-the-locks/

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In: appleton locks, boating fox river, Events, fox locks, Fox Locks in the News, fox river locks, Fox River Locks History, Fox River Navigational System Authority, Press Releases

The official summer season is over and to mark the end of a busy season, we held a year-end celebration. In attendance—the people who keep the locks functioning and who literally open the gates for you. These are unique jobs that are rooted in the state’s history. When barges and paddle boats used the river as the main transportation route through Northeast Wisconsin, lock tenders and their families lived in homes at the lock. Their job was to open the gates any time a vessel approached, day or night.

Today our traffic is almost all recreational and the lock tenders don’t live at the locks, but they are still there to open the massive gates to let boat traffic through.

Our lock tenders, maintenance team, support staff, and board members gathered to thank everyone for their hard work. This year marked the first we went all cashless, and lock tenders rallied to the task of checking electronic passes.  We also acknowledged some milestones in service to the system and recognized these folks:

  • Austin Cords, 2 years of service
  • Kathy Lemmer, 2 years of service
  • Joe Holschuh, 2 years of service
  • Dick Vande Hey, 3 years of service
  • Jeremy Cords, 5 years of service
  • Pat Spaay, 6 years of service
  • Scott Thompson, 14 years of service

To top off the evening, our team was treated to a cruise on the Fox River with Captain Dave Peck of River Tyme Tours launching out of River Heath. We thank all of our lock tenders and support teams for their great work and look forward to seeing them next season!

Lock tenders and guests celebrated the end of the ’22 season at Poplar Hall, near Appleton lock 4.

Lock tender Mike Bye shows off his customized shirt!

Executive Director Phil Ramlet and Board Member John Vette.

Phil Ramlet recognizes Jeremy Cords for 5 years of service.

Phil Ramlet recognizes Dick Vande Hey for three years of service.

Phil Ramlet recognizes Pat Spaay for six years of service. Pat is a jack of all trades at the locks!

Phil Ramlet thanks Joe Holschuh for opening the locks for two years.

Kathy Lemmer is thanked for being a lock tender for two years–yes, women can open the lock gates, too!

It’s a family affair for the Lasees! Joe is the official lock tender, but his son Elijah accompanies him on most of his shifts.

Phil Ramlet with our engineering partner Tim Bolwerk from Westwood Professional Services.

Our resident historian Christine Williams with Tim Vosters. Tim’s family was lock tenders for generations.

Lock tenders young and old celebrate the end of the boating season!

Original Article

Blog – Fox Locks

Blog – Fox Locks

http://foxlocks.org/2022/09/08/fox-locks-team-celebrates-end-of-season/

Fox Locks

On:
In: appleton locks, boating fox river, Events, fox locks, Fox Locks in the News, fox river locks, Fox River Locks History, Fox River Navigational System Authority, Press Releases

The official summer season is over and to mark the end of a busy season, we held a year-end celebration. In attendance—the people who keep the locks functioning and who literally open the gates for you. These are unique jobs that are rooted in the state’s history. When barges and paddle boats used the river as the main transportation route through Northeast Wisconsin, lock tenders and their families lived in homes at the lock. Their job was to open the gates any time a vessel approached, day or night.
Today our traffic is almost all recreational and the lock tenders don’t live at the locks, but they are still there to open the massive gates to let boat traffic through.
Our lock tenders, maintenance team, support staff, and board members gathered to thank everyone for their hard work. This year marked the first we went all cashless, and lock tenders rallied to the task of checking electronic passes.  We also acknowledged some milestones in service to the system and recognized these folks:

  • Austin Cords, 2 years of service
  • Kathy Lemmer, 2 years of service
  • Joe Holschuh, 2 years of service
  • Dick Vande Hey, 3 years of service
  • Jeremy Cords, 5 years of service
  • Pat Spaay, 6 years of service
  • Scott Thompson, 14 years of service

To top off the evening, our team was treated to a cruise on the Fox River with Captain Dave Peck of River Tyme Tours launching out of River Heath. We thank all of our lock tenders and support teams for their great work and look forward to seeing them next season!

Lock tenders and guests celebrated the end of the ’22 season at Poplar Hall, near Appleton lock 4.

Lock tender Mike Bye shows off his customized shirt!

Executive Director Phil Ramlet and Board Member John Vette.

Phil Ramlet recognizes Jeremy Cords for 5 years of service.

Phil Ramlet recognizes Dick Vande Hey for three years of service.

Phil Ramlet recognizes Pat Spaay for six years of service. Pat is a jack of all trades at the locks!

Phil Ramlet thanks Joe Holschuh for opening the locks for two years.

Kathy Lemmer is thanked for being a lock tender for two years–yes, women can open the lock gates, too!

It’s a family affair for the Lasees! Joe is the official lock tender, but his son Elijah accompanies him on most of his shifts.

Phil Ramlet with our engineering partner Tim Bolwerk from Westwood Professional Services.

Our resident historian Christine Williams with Tim Vosters. Tim’s family was lock tenders for generations.

Lock tenders young and old celebrate the end of the boating season!

Original Article

Blog – Fox Locks

Blog – Fox Locks

http://foxlocks.org/2022/09/08/fox-locks-team-celebrates-end-of-season/

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In: Events, fox locks, Fox Locks in the News, fox river locks, Fox River Locks History, Fox River Navigational System Authority, History & Fun Facts, Press Releases

By Mary Schmidt, Fox Locks Marketing

We’re used to seeing pontoons, pleasure boats, and kayaks through the Fox Locks, but imagine if a pleasure cruiser longer than a football field were to go through a lock. You’d need a really big lock and that’s what we saw on a recent cruise on the Danube River. Our tour passed through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary where we crossed through several locks—most during the overnight hours. We were on board the Avalon Passion, one of the Avalon line’s river cruisers—at 443’ long and 39’ wide, the ship can be a tight fit in a lock if there are other boats present. As a comparison, our locks are between 35’-37’ long!

We started the cruise at Regensburg, Germany, then crossed beautiful hills on the way to Passau, Germany. The Jochenstein Lock is in the Wachau Valley near Passau and provided excellent views through the locks.

The captain invited us onto the bridge to watch the process, but as soon as we were in the lock, he steered the ship from controls located on the port and starboard sides of the ship. There, he got a closer look at the clearance on the sides of the lock—at some points it was only a few inches. Please watch this short video to get an idea of what it’s like to travel through locks that have been in use for commercial and pleasure crafts for years.

Original Article

Blog – Fox Locks

Blog – Fox Locks

http://foxlocks.org/2022/07/18/a-trip-through-european-locks/

Fox Locks

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In: Events, fox locks, Fox Locks in the News, fox river locks, Fox River Locks History, Fox River Navigational System Authority, History & Fun Facts, Press Releases

By Mary Schmidt, Fox Locks Marketing

We’re used to seeing pontoons, pleasure boats, and kayaks through the Fox Locks, but imagine if a pleasure cruiser longer than a football field were to go through a lock. You’d need a really big lock and that’s what we saw on a recent cruise on the Danube River. Our tour passed through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary where we crossed through several locks—most during the overnight hours. We were on board the Avalon Passion, one of the Avalon line’s river cruisers—at 443’ long and 39’ wide, the ship can be a tight fit in a lock if there are other boats present. As a comparison, our locks are between 35’-37’ long!

We started the cruise at Regensburg, Germany, then crossed beautiful hills on the way to Passau, Germany. The Jochenstein Lock is in the Wachau Valley near Passau and provided excellent views through the locks.

The captain invited us onto the bridge to watch the process, but as soon as we were in the lock, he steered the ship from controls located on the port and starboard sides of the ship. There, he got a closer look at the clearance on the sides of the lock—at some points it was only a few inches. Please watch this short video to get an idea of what it’s like to travel through locks that have been in use for commercial and pleasure crafts for years.

Original Article

Blog – Fox Locks

Blog – Fox Locks

http://foxlocks.org/2022/07/18/a-trip-through-european-locks/

Fox Locks

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In: dePere lock, fox locks, Fox Locks in the News, Fox River Locks History, Fox River Navigational System Authority, History & Fun Facts, Important information, Little Chute lock, menasha lock, What's going on?

Another fantastic season for the Fox Locks is in the books! Thank you to all of you who traveled through the locks and every year we hope to make improvements in the experience. Many don’t remember that the locks system has not been in operation since the early 1980s, so an entire generation has grown up without the experience of traveling through the historic lock system.

Speaking of history, here’s a quick look at notable dates and events for the lock system:

1825 Construction of Erie Canal completed, idea of connecting Green Bay and Prairie du Chien via water becomes reality.

1848 Wisconsin becomes a state.

1849 Construction begins on Fox & Wisconsin River improvements

1851 Contracts awarded for lock construction at Kaukauna and Little Chute

1866 Wisconsin Improvement Company, owner of the lock project, declared bankruptcy

1870 Green Bay and Mississippi Canal Company takes over management of the locks

1872 United States Army Corps of Engineers acquires navigational control of the waterway

1886 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers abandons Wisconsin River portion of locks system

1922 Dredging for commercial traffic on the Fox River halts

1959 Last vessel navigates the full length of the Fox River

1982 Army Corps of Engineers recommends the lock system is dismantled

1984 Local citizens and elected officials start a campaign to fund and keep the locks open

1993 Individual locks named to the National Register of Historic Places, part of the National Park Service.

2001 State statute 237 creates the Fox River Navigational System Authority

2004 Ownership of the lock system is transferred from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the State of Wisconsin

2005 Repair and renovation begins on the lock system

2015 All locks are restored to full operational functionality

Fall 2015: Menasha Lock voluntarily closed due to discovery of Round Goby in Little Lake Butte des Morts.

Original Article

Blog – Fox Locks

Blog – Fox Locks

http://foxlocks.org/2019/09/16/fox-locks-timeline-history-at-a-glance/

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