Gatehouse Park in South Hadley

Gatehouse Park in South Hadley

Gatehouse Park (LOCATION) is only opened for special occasions. Notice that the two gatehouses are really old gatehouses with additions added to their tops. You can tell this by their brickwork. The westernmost of the two gatehouses was made in 1848. It is now on top of the apron for the 1900 masonry dam. The easternmost gatehouse was put in place in 1900 but it is not on a plan of the 1900 masonry dam so it perhaps was an afterthought. The South Hadley Navigation Canal and the Bardwell Industrial Canal were combined in 1848 into one canal that served as both a power canal and a navigation canal. The 1848 wooden dam raised the river water enough so that the middle and northern portions of the South Hadley Navigational Canal were not needed. This dual use lasted until 1862 when the navigation ended. From then until 1977 the southern half of the canal was a power canal only.

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