Menasha Lock

From June 28, 2012

The Menasha Lock is part of the historic Fox River lock system. Constructed between 1848 and the late 1870s, this system was once part of a twenty four lock system that connected the Great Lakes with ports on the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.  This hand-operated lock permits passage of boaters from Little Lake Butte des Morts to Lake Winnebago. In the early 20th century, Menasha and Neenah were among the world’s largest producers of paper. From the 1850s through the early 1900s, the steamboats, tugs, and freighters that passed through the Menasha lock fueled this industry, bringing in timber from the north and carrying paper to ports throughout the world. There is an unoccupied two story side gabled lock tender house at the lock site that is not on the National Historic Register.

The Menasha Lock has been operated continually from the 1850’s to the present. In the early 1970’s a major reconstruction occurred and steel gates were added. In 2004, the Fox River Navigational System Authority (FRNSA) was established by the State of Wisconsin to revive the system.

UPDATE:  The Menasha lock was closed in 2015 due to the discovery of the round goby, an invasive fish species populating the Great Lakes, and reopening any time before 2023 is uncertain at this time.