Ohio & Erie Canal and Muskingum River Waterway Overviews

This canal was on the east side of the state. The Miami and Erie Canal was on the west side of the state.

ohio-voyager

I'm saving some information I came across while looking for a lock on the Muskingum River.

• Locks 32, 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39
• Lock 38 photo in comment
• Lock 37, 14 Mile Lock
• Detailed maps

Ron bishop posted
Imagine the difference should these waterways be navigable and in use today.
[I don't normally include an "at" clause, but in this case it is very important: "

 is at Safe Harbor Aqua Yacht.

" My reaction when I first saw this post was that only recreational boats could use it. But when I noticed where he was at, I realized that is exactly what he would want.]

A waterway between the Ohio & Erie Canal and the Ohio River was created by building locks and dams from 1836 to 1841 on the Muskingum River. This allowed steamboats to go upriver all the way to Zanesville, OH. The locks were 35'x160'. [hmdb] The waterway had 10 dams and 11 locks. 10 of the locks are still operational. "It is the only remaining system of hand-operated locks in the nation." [OhioDNR]

Most sources specified the lock dimenstions as 35'x160'. But ASCE specifies 36'x184', which allows boats up to 160' long to use the canal. It was one of the first complete slackwater navigation systems for steam-powered vessels in the USA.

• #11 at Ellis is no longer operational (Ellis seems to have become a ghost town.)
• #10 in Zanesville, a double lock: 7 photos, 1 photo
• #9 in Philo: 3:22 video of "history in your own backyard"
• #8:
• #7 in McConnelsville: 3:46 video demonstrating the operation of the lock
• #6 at Stockport:
• #5:
• #4 at Beverly: 1:51 video about the reopening
• #3 at Lowell: 7 phptos and some river system history
• #2 near Devola: 3 photos, 1 of which has the Valley Gem stern wheeler
• #1 was removed after the Belleville Dam raised the Ohio River level. Original lock wall    Replacement (larger) double-lock wall

Google

NewsAndSentinel
The double lock and the dam in Marietta was removed in the 1960s after the Ohio River was raised by the construction of the large lock and dam in Belleville.

It took five years after the flood of 1913 to repair the system. The USACE quit supporting the waterway in 1948. The state took back ownership in 1958 and restored the system for recreational use, [OhioHistoryCentral]

 

Mike Tewkesbury posted
Southeastern Ohio's Muskingum River and its navigation system of ten hand-operated locks date back to 1837 when local settlers recognized the potential of the river to be used as a shipping route for steam powered vessels. It is one of the earliest navigational systems built for steamboats in the United States. Once these locks and dams were in place, commercial shipping flourished for nearly 70 years, but was ultimately replaced by rail and motorized transportation shortly after the turn of the century. Today the system is used mainly by pleasurecraft and fishing vessels between Zanesville and Marietta stretching over a distance of 90 miles. Pictured is Lock and Dam Number 2, known as Devols Dam, just north of Marietta.
Ron Bishop shared

A gallery of 29 photos

25:48 video