Y-Bridge, Dam, Canal and Locks #10 on Muskingum River in Zanesville, OH

Bridge: (Satellite)

Dam: (Satellite)
Locks: (Satellite)

Bridges Now and Then posted
The covered Y-Bridge at Zanesville, Ohio, stood from 1832 to 1900. (Times-Recorder)

Bridges Now and Then posted
The three way Y-bridge at Zanesville, Ohio, c. 1900.

Mark Howell commented on the above post
Here's a closer view of the central pier in the Licking and Muskingum Rivers, you can see the toll collectors little shack at the upper right. When the covered bridge was dismantled in 1900, quite a few old coins were found atop the pier where they had dropped through the cracks of the tollkeeper's shed in the earlier years when a toll was still charged. It used to be a rather rough town, with a number of fights on the bridge, the police finally stopped patrolling the bridge and just hung a box of bandages near the center to let the combatants tend their own wounds.

Below is a low flow over the dam's main spillway. I looked for more photos of the dam because I've never seen a spillway design like this one before. It appears to be sloped for several feet and then it has a series of curved drops.

TpOUZsf.jpg via Bridge Hunter

radusta friedley, Jul 2019

Bob Kreager, Jun 2017

Donna caught a particularly high downstream river level. It is interesting that this heavy flow is in November instead of the Spring.

Donna Powell, Nov 2018

I've found quite a few other high-flow photos, but this is the only other low-flow photo I have seen.

Steve Gray, Oct 2018

"This working double lock still operates as it did when it was built 170 years ago....

Lock #10’s status as a double lock, with two chambers for raising and lowering boats, makes it unique in the region. The journey through the lock takes about half an hour, with approximately half a million gallons of water displaced by each chamber during the process.
In 1836, the state began building dams and locks on the river to improve its navigability. The dams made the depth of the river more uniform, but necessitated the use of locks to traverse them." [AtlasObscura, has several photos]

Satellite

The 1836 date in the above quote answers a question that has been on my mind: Was this built as a millrace that was converted to a navigation channel by putting locks at the end or was the canal dug for navigation? The 1836 date implies it was purpose built as a navigation channel. I'm reminded that this was during the canal craze. But the building between the river and the canal indicates that some people might have used the canal to power water wheels.

1919 Zanesville Quadrangle @ 1:62,500

(new window)  An overview of the dam, railroad bridges and Y-bridge.


(new window) A closeup of the dam