Lock 24

Lock 24 only has one remaining wall, the other destroyed by 1930s roadwork.

NPS/Arrye Rosser

Quick Facts

Location:

Park at Botzum Trailhead, 2928 Riverview Road, Akron, Ohio 44067. Walk north on the Towpath Trail toward Beaver Marsh.

Significance:

A busy canal and railroad village called Botzum once bustled near Lock 24. Now, all signs of the hamlet are gone, and nature has reclaimed the land. Historic photographs and written memories preserve its history.

Designation:

Ohio and Erie Canal District; Ohio & Erie Canalway National Heritage Area; Ohio to Erie Trail; Industrial Heartland Trail Network

Amenities

3 listed

Audio Description, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Wheelchair Accessible

A busy village once thrived nearby at the intersection of Bath and Riverview roads. It prospered because of brisk traffic along the Ohio & Erie Canal. First, a tavern and a store sprung up south of here. By the mid-1800s, 40 to 50 boats passed through daily during the warm months. A rival store, post office, hotel, blacksmith shop, and warehouse opened. The community was platted as Niles and later called Buckeye before taking the name of the most prominent local family: Botzum.

Once the Valley Railway began operating in 1880, Botzum Depot became one of the busiest along the line.

The village faltered during the Great Depression. In the 1930s, the Botzum family sold 800 acres for construction of Akron’s wastewater treatment facility. At the same time, Riverview Road was widened. This partially destroyed Lock 24 and Lock 25 and filled the canal. Botzum briefly boomed as a shanty town, before fading away once all the work was completed.

Tags: cuyahoga valley national park, ohio, midwest, transportation, transportation history, national register of historic places, nr, historic district, cultural landscapes, ohio and erie canal, canal, towpath trail, trail, ohio to erie trail, industrial heartland trail network, ohio and erie canalway, lock, village