Last updated: October 10, 2024
Place
C&O Canal Lock 57
Quick Facts
Amenities
2 listed
Toilet - Vault/Composting, Water - Non-Potable
Along the 184.5 miles of the canal are 74 lift locks. These locks were put into place to help boats overcome the 605-foot elevation change between Georgetown and Cumberland. The C&O Canal is like a staircase, canal boats traveled along the flat sections and used the locks to take a “step up or down” about eight feet. The locks typically had hand-operated miter gates that were simple and followed Leonardo da Vinci’s original 1485 design. Entering the lock was the most demanding part of canalling.
Lock 57 was completed in 1840 by James Wherry. It is made of limestone from two quarries: Cacapon and Little Tonoloway in Hancock. This is the last masonry lock for a while (the next 13 locks upstream are composite locks due to lack of funds and availability of local building stone). The lock wall on the riverside has been repaired with concrete. On the other side of the lock is a bypass flume that allowed water to bypass the lock to water the level below. Below the towpath on the hill are the remains of a two-and-a-half-story lockhouse.
Lock 57 was completed in 1840 by James Wherry. It is made of limestone from two quarries: Cacapon and Little Tonoloway in Hancock. This is the last masonry lock for a while (the next 13 locks upstream are composite locks due to lack of funds and availability of local building stone). The lock wall on the riverside has been repaired with concrete. On the other side of the lock is a bypass flume that allowed water to bypass the lock to water the level below. Below the towpath on the hill are the remains of a two-and-a-half-story lockhouse.