Last updated: October 10, 2024
Place
C&O Canal Lock 68
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 68, also known as Crabtree’s Lock, was completed in late 1849 or early 1850. It is the 10th of the upper 13 locks that was constructed as a “composite lock”, or a lock made with more than one material. It is made of kyanized (treated) wood and uncut stone. The use of wood created many problems and some sections eventually had to be replaced 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.
The nickname of the lock comes from two generations of the Crabtree family serving as locktenders in the two-and-a-half story lockhouse that is adjacent to the lock.
At this site, there is also an old steel and wooden bridge that once connected Rt. 51 to a ferry that crossed the Potomac River to South Branch Depot (later known as French Station on the B&O, and then, just South Branch) in West Virginia. The bridge was rebuilt in 1865 and again in 1918. The original was a wood pivot bridge that was destroyed during the Civil War. The current bridge follows a Warren Truss design.
On the other side of the lock is the Potomac Forks Hiker-Biker Campsite.
Lock 68, also known as Crabtree’s Lock, was completed in late 1849 or early 1850. It is the 10th of the upper 13 locks that was constructed as a “composite lock”, or a lock made with more than one material. It is made of kyanized (treated) wood and uncut stone. The use of wood created many problems and some sections eventually had to be replaced 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.
The nickname of the lock comes from two generations of the Crabtree family serving as locktenders in the two-and-a-half story lockhouse that is adjacent to the lock.
At this site, there is also an old steel and wooden bridge that once connected Rt. 51 to a ferry that crossed the Potomac River to South Branch Depot (later known as French Station on the B&O, and then, just South Branch) in West Virginia. The bridge was rebuilt in 1865 and again in 1918. The original was a wood pivot bridge that was destroyed during the Civil War. The current bridge follows a Warren Truss design.
On the other side of the lock is the Potomac Forks Hiker-Biker Campsite.