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Pawtucket Gatehouse
Pawtucket Gatehouse
1847
Building History
The Pawtucket Gatehouse was built in 1847, overlooking the Pawtucket Dam, and is the largest gatehouse on the Lowell Canal System. The gatehouse was constructed to control the flow of water into the Northern Canal, a function that it still performs today. Built in the Italianate style, it is similar in appearance to its contemporaries on the canal system, the Moody Street Feeder Gatehouse and the Tremont Gatehouse.
Ten sluice gates control the flow of water from the Merrimack River into the Northern Canal.
The sluice gates were originally operated by a mechanical system that consisted of a turbine which transmitted power to the hoisting screws on each gate through a series of pullies, belts, and shafts.
Most of the original equipment, including the turbine, is intact. Early in the 20th century, electric motors replaced the turbine as the primary source of power in the gatehouse.
Most of the original equipment, including the turbine, is intact. Early in the 20th century, electric motors replaced the turbine as the primary source of power in the gatehouse.
Also located in the gatehouse were large testing chambers and other apparatus used by the Locks and Canals’ Chief Engineer James B. Francis in a series of scientific experiments which became part of his famous publication Lowell Hydraulic Experiments.