was the construction of locks and dams to lift vessels to Lake Winnebago. The dams began at De Pere and continued to Lake Winnebago at Menasha. The greatest concentration of locks was in the reach between Kaukauna to the Cedars, where the Great Kauklin and La Petite Chute falls had to be bypassed. Martin began construction in 1830. His promotions for laborers reached Europe and had the direct impact of promoting immigration directly to the area. Irish settlers settled the town of Wrightstown. Dutch settlers founded Little Chute (La Petite Chute) and Holland. By 1850, Martin's company had folded and was taken over by the State of Wisconsin. The Lower Fox locks and dams were completed by 1856, with the completion of the Little Chute and Menasha Locks. Over time, the dams and locks were improved, combined and updated. In the end 17 locks were constructed, each with about of lift. Each lock was long and wide. Dredging was required on many of the short canals and slack-water sections to maintain a deep channel. Travel and commerce on the Lower Fox proved to be the most profitable of all reaches. Boats carried passengers, mail and a host of products. The total tonnage along the Fox Waterway remained between 150,000 and 300,000 tons through the early 1930s. Local industry along the river, using the power of the various falls, provided a steady market for goods. Regular steamboat travel continued until the 1900. Even here, however, railroads dominated transportation. Traffic declined sharply. In 1983, the entire system was put into "caretaker" status and the Federal government stopped all maintenance. The state of Wisconsin operated the locks through the 1987 navigation season. After the 1987 navigation season, canals were drained and lock gates were permanently sealed. The lock at Rapide Croche was sealed shut to prevent sea lampreys from reaching Lake Winnebago. Recently, the system has been undergoing a refurbishment with plans to make navigation a reality again. Summary In the end, the Fox–Wisconsin Waterway did not become the natural extension of the Erie Canal. There were two technical problems that were not effectively solved for the Waterway: control of the sand bars of the Lower Wisconsin and the low flow of the Upper Fox. Economically, the Waterway failed to compete with the canals in the Chicago area or with the reliability of railroads. Current situation Each of the Waterway reaches is being