1.8 A CASE STUDY: LOCKVILLE THEN AND NOW 1.8.1 LOCKVILLE HISTORY When the Ohio & Erie Canal was planned, it passed several miles north of the politically influential Fairfield County seat of Lancaster. Upset at being left off the canal route, the community persuaded the engineers to locate farther south so Lancaster interests could build a “lateral” canal (later extended to Athens as the Hocking Canal) to connect with the O&E at today’s village of Carroll. West of that point the canal turned northwest to begin its descent into the valley of the Scioto River, along which the steepest part was at the northern edge of Bloom Township. Here a flight of eight closely-spaced locks lowered the canal to Little Walnut Creek, which was dammed to enable boats to float across it and also to provide a water supply. Since it would take time for canal boats to pass through so many locks, enterprising local folks laid out a village - appropriately named Lockville - to develop businesses to serve canalers and their passengers. Today those eight locks are among the canal’s most impressive surviving features. Eight-acre Lockville Canal Park contains locks 11 (named Upper Lockville), 12 (Tenant), and 13 (Rowe), all easily accessible to visitors; locks 14 through 18 are on private property. The park is also home to the historic Hartman No. 2 wooden covered bridge. It did not cross the canal but was moved here in 1967 from a rural road east of Lancaster to save it from demolition. Built in 1888, it is a 48-foot-long “queenpost truss” bridge.
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OHIO & ERIE CANAL SOUTHERN DESCENT HERITAGE TRAIL STRATEGIC PLAN
