This Day in History: State Approves Shinnecock Locks

May 13, 1919, was the day the New York State Legislature voted to let the town of Southampton start to build the locks in the Shinnecock Canal.

The locks raise or lower the water height, depending on the tide, to allow boats to navigate the canal at all times. The Shinnecock Canal, a man-made waterway, connects the Great Peconic Bay and Shinnecock Bay, which have different water heights and tide cycles.

Source: General Laws of the State of New York, 1919