The lock was built between 1908 and 1911 and lifts boats 18 feet. The original Champlain Canal was completed in 1823 and was a great impetus to the growth and development of the town of Saratoga and villages of Schuylerville and Victory. A large basin was located in Schuylerville and was the nucleus of commercial activity, with many warehouses and related businesses being built in the area. As the canal boats became larger, the canal was moved from the old hand-dug channel to the Hudson River, with a series of new, larger locks that could accommodate bigger boats and raise and lower them greater heights. (Courtesy author's collection.) 

A construction site of Lock 5 is pictured with the new Champlain Canal just north of the village of Schuylerville. The Liberty Wallpaper Mill can be seen in the background. (Courtesy Tim and Deb Lagoe collection.) 

The construction for Lock 5 along the expanded barge canal cost approximately $1,000,000. That amount is roughly equivalent to about $31,000,000 today. (Courtesy of Tim and Deb Lagoe collection.)

The walls of the new canal at Lock 5 are partially completed in this c. 1910 image. (Courtesy Tim and Deb Lagoe collection.) 

This view shows the generators in the Lock 5 powerhouse. The plant had the capability of generating all of the power needed to operate the lock. (Courtesy Tim and Deb Lagoe collection.)