Shepherdstown River Lock
The Shepherdstown River Lock is one of only three river locks on the Canal. Built from gray limestone and meant to draw traffic from the Virginia side of the Potomac […]
Lock 37 (Mountain Lock)
Lock 36
This gray limestone lock is located just down the hill from the former Fort Duncan, built in 1862 by the Army of the Potomac to protect Harpers Ferry. Harpers Ferry […]
Guard Lock for Dam 3
Just upstream from the Dam No. 3 site, you’ll find the remains of the guard lock for the dam. Made of gray limestone, this inlet lock also acted as a […]
Lock 35
Lock 34
Lock 33
Lock 33 of the Canal was a place of commerce situated close to the town of Harpers Ferry, just across the Potomac from town. The lock also sits below Maryland […]
Lock 32
Lock 31
Remains of Lock 30
The town of Brunswick, where you’ll find the remains of Lock 30, is one of several towns with direct access to the Canal. In addition to the lock, Brunswick is […]
Lock 29 (Lander)
The lock itself is constructed of granite from the Patapsco and white flint stone from across the river in Virginia. It’s just a half mile downstream of the 100-foot long […]
Lockhouse 28
Lockhouse 28, located at Lock 28, is the most remote of all the Canal Quarters lockhouses, located nearly a half mile from the nearest parking. This rustic retreat was completed in […]
Lock 27, Spinks Ferry
Spink’s Ferry was an established Potomac crossing long before the Canal was built. Josias Clapham licensed the ferry way back in 1757. Because the approach to his ferry landing was […]
Lock 26 (Woods Lock)
Lock 26 has aged beautifully. It is currently filled in, to keep its empty walls from collapsing into a pile of stones. The stone foundation of its house has been […]
Goose Creek River Lock
Lock 24 “Rileys” & Seneca Aqueduct
The C&O Canal had 11 aqueducts and 74 lift locks… but one was both a lift lock and an aqueduct! This engineering marvel is located at mile 22.7, at the […]
Lock 23 (Violettes Lock) & Dam No. 2
Named for Alfred Violet (or Violette), who was the last locktender to work this lock, Violettes Lock is a double lock made of the red sandstone distinctive of the Seneca quarry. […]
Lock 22 “Pennyfield”
Located at mile 19.63 on the C&O Canal, Pennyfield Lockhouse at lock number 22 is a quiet place of escape for those seeking from the hectic pace of life in […]
Lock 21 (Swains Lock)
The history of Lock 21 and the Swain Family will forever be intertwined. Swain Family members can be traced back to the original construction of the Canal, and their tradition […]
Lock 20
Probably the most well known of the “Six Locks”, Lock 20 stands beside the famous Great Falls Tavern. Great Falls Tavern had a dual function as serving as lockhouse 12 […]
Lock 18
Lock 18 is located just below the break of Great Falls. The towpath here was often washed out leading to the building of the guard wall and guard gate at […]
Lock 19
Lock 19, though mainly constructed with Seneca red sandstone, has coping stones possibly taken from older structures, one of the stones that make up this lock is inscribed May 24, […]
Lock 16
The sandstone that once made up Lock 16 has largely been replaced by brick along the Lock walls. In this lock there are inscriptions in the coping stone on the […]
Lock 17
Lock 17 was famous among canal boatman during the canals operational years often being referred to as the “Crooked Lock”. This lock opens up into a spacious pool 300′ long […]
Lock 15
Lock 15 is the start of another series of locks known as “Six Locks”, which carries the canal up 50 feet and past Great Falls. Unlike “Seven Locks” which were built […]
Lock 14
Lock 14 is the last of the “Seven Locks”. This lock along with Lock 15 had to be rebuilt between November 1871 and January 1872. Locks often had to be rebuilt […]
Lock 13
Standing in the shadow of the bridge that now passes above it Lock 13 is often overlooked. However this lock features a bypass flume with stonework that is in exceptionally […]
Lock 12
Lock 12 begins what is the closest concentration of three Locks in the Seven Locks series. In this stretch of three Locks the canal prism stretches from the original 60 […]
Lock 11
Like Lock 10, Lock 11 also features a lockhouse. This lockhouse unlike the one at Lock 10 is an exhibit describing the drop gate lock and the life of the […]
Lock 10
Many canal stories involve the canal’s continuous reinvention of itself. For example, when it became clear that the railroad was far superior to the canal in connecting the Chesapeake Bay […]
Lock 9
Lock 9 though located very closely to Lock 8 was built a little differently. Though Lock 8 was the first lock to be built with red sandstone, Lock 9 was […]
Lock 8
From the south, “Seven Locks” (locks 8-14) raise the C&O Canal more than 50 feet in a little over a mile as it approaches the American Legion Bridge at the […]
Lock 7
Lock 6
When you happen upon the lockhouse nestled beside Lock 6, whether by walking, biking, or driving past, you wouldn’t know that this quaint house along the canal had witnessed so […]
Lock 5, Guard Lock and Brookmont
Lock 4
Lock 4 is the last of the four lock raising the canal in under half a mile. Stone for the first four locks was boated 40 miles upstream from a […]
Lock 3
The aptly named Lock 3 is the third lock in the quick succession of four locks starting with Lock 1. At this lock a bust of Supreme Court Justice William […]
Lock 2
Lock 2 is the second lock from the start of the canal in Georgetown. Here The Green Street Bridge had to be rebuilt to new heights in order to allow […]
Lock 1
Lock 1 is the beginning of a series of four locks in quick succession to one another at the beginning of the canal. These locks lift the canal in less […]
Mile Marker 0.0/Tide Lock
One of the most important misconceptions visitors to the C&O Canal have is that the canal started at Georgetown and headed west. That is not quite true. Groundbreaking did not […]