Eureka Locks to reopen after being closed since 2003

[Go Big Red!]

Eureka Locks to reopen after being closed since 2003

By Patricia Wolff • For Wisconsinoutdoorfun.com • June 7, 2011

EUREKA – The rebirth of the Eureka Locks is at a critical turning point as members of the Berlin Boat Club and other boating enthusiasts wait for the water level of the Fox River to recede sufficiently to allow for the reconstruction of the gates.

With $262,000 at its disposal – more than half from an anonymous donor, and the rest a no-interest loan – the club has begun to tackle the work with the help of C.R. Meyer of Oshkosh. Once the work is complete, the locks will be operational and that means boaters will be able to navigate the river at Eureka to make their way upstream to Berlin.

Photos: The Eureka Locks.

"This puts Berlin back on the map, navigationally," said Dick Schramer, club treasurer. "In the past we had access to Lake Winnebago but that ceased when the locks became inactive."

The Eureka Locks closed in 2003 when the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources decided against renewing the club's lease on the locks. The club had had a lease with the DNR for at least three decades prior to that. The DNR was not interested in a lease with a club for the state-owned property. The club has since signed a 15-year sub-lease with the town of Rushford where the locks are situated. This makes it possible for the club to rebuild and reopen the locks.

"The town has no financial responsibility but acts as a middle man for the no cost lease. The DNR owns the property. We lease it (from the town) and agree to maintain it, keep up the grounds," said Berlin Boat Club Commodore Ed Kirchhoff.

The Berlin Boat Club is unique in that it is the only club in the United Stares to operate a locks, according to the club Web site.

Berlin Boat Club members had been unhappy with the DNR decision to pull the lease back in 2003, Schramer said.

"The club kind of lost direction for a while and at one time there was talk of disbanding. Some of us got together and said 'Naw, we can't do that.' We got it going again, revitalized it," Schramer said.

About 35 to 40 people participate in club activities these days, Kirchhoff said.

Boaters in this scrappy little club are hopeful the locks will be reactivated by the middle of July to salvage a big part of the summer boating season and bring more people to Berlin to provide the economic boost it needs.

"We used to be the Fur and Leather City and then it was Berlin on the Fox. More like Berlin on a creek," Kirchhoff said.

Without the locks at Eureka, boaters who launch at Berlin are limited to travel a mile or two upstream and downstream of Berlin. Once the locks open they will be able to travel all the way to New London or farther. On the flip side, boaters from outside the area will be able to travel to Berlin, Kirchhoff said.

Once the water level is low enough, workers will remove the gates and disassemble the iron parts to determine whether they can be refurbished or must be replaced. New timbers will be stacked up one upon the other and valves will be put into place. Then the gates will be reconstructed and the turn styles rebuilt. Both sides will be electrified, Kirchhoff said.

Money to pay for the work came from a $150,000 anonymous donation and a $112,000 no-interest loan.

The old lock tender's house that stood on the property has been razed so the club is planning to build a storage shed and a gravel pad for a recreational vehicle. The club is looking for a temporary lock tender, perhaps a retired person who might not mind camping there free for the summer in exchange for operating the locks as boaters come through, Kirchhoff said.

The club will hold fundraisers to help cover the cost of ongoing maintenance.