SUMMITVILLE, NY — The D&H (Delaware and Hudson) Canal Interpretive Center will host a free lecture about the D&H Canal lock system on Saturday, July 27 at 12 noon. 

Bagels and lox, traditional to the region in the post-canal years, will be served.

Lock No. 50 on the grounds marked the end of the 17-mile Summit Level section—which required no locks—before gradually descending to the Rondout Creek and the Hudson River. That’s why the adjoining hamlet was named Summitville.

Over 100 stone locks were built to raise and lower coal barges along the 108-mile journey between Honesdale, PA and Kingston. Learn how these “water elevators” functioned and about the lock tenders who operated them.

Presenter Bill Merchant is deputy director for collections, historian and curator for the D&H Canal Historical Society in High Falls and is president of the Delaware & Hudson Transportation Heritage Council. He frequently lectures on all aspects of D&H Canal history.

For additional information and to register for updates regarding the event, visit the D&H Canal Interpretive Center at www.sullivanny.us/Departments/ParksRecreation, call 845/807-0287 or email scparks@sullivanny.us.