An Inquisitive Visitor's
Guide to the
Ohio & Erie Canal and Towpath Trail
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An Inquisitive Visitor's
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Lock 24 South (Portage Summit Level) - Blue Hole Lock - Reed's Lock - Felver Lock
White Eyes Creek Culverts
Lock 25 South (Portage Summit Level) - Wild Turkey Lock
Lock 25 looking east
About the Lock: Lock 25 is alive and well today. It sits a short distance north of US 36 and was unharmed by the highway's construction and expansion. Some of the lock stones have fallen, but it is in fairly good shape. The spillway tumble on the north side is still partially intact as well. A vintage photo can be viewed here. The lock sits on private property off of TR 509. I do not know why the lock was called Wild Turkey Lock, but it is one of the more interesting names given to any of the locks on the Ohio & Erie Canal.
Location: Canal Lewisville is located in Coshocton County northeast of the city of Coshocton off of US 36.
History: The town was platted in 1832 by James Ravenscraft, the county surveyor. The Ohio & Erie Canal ran right through the middle of town which became a shipping point for good, mainly grains. There were several large warehouses on the north side of the canal. Not much manufacturing was done in Canal Lewisville, especially large scale operations due to the lack of a lock in the town for water power. Today, the canal prism is visible in town but no longer contains the waters that fueled its early growth. Unlike Dover to the north, Canal Lewisville has kept the prefix to the town name to denote its history as a canal village.
<< Continue North | Continue South >>
The Silliman Survey pictures of the canal are courtesy of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water. I colored them for the explanations above. |
About
the Lock: Lock 24 was still in existence into the late 80's but
was removed when the modern buildings were placed there. The spillway passed on the
north side while the towpath remained on the south side. However,
the lock could be crossed via a bridge on the downstream end of the
lock. The bridge also crossed the tumble and the path that crossed
it connected to a road north of the lock. After the demise of the
canal, a farmer filled in the lock so he could use it as a lane. A
nearby nursery apparently has used some of the lock stones for an
embankment. The area around the former lock site is now known as
Unusual Junction, a small shopping and dining area that has as its
centerpiece the 1895 Fredricktown Station and authentic railroad
cars. The shopping complex boasts a large selection of sauces from
around the world. Below the lock was a waste weir that emptied into
the Tuscarawas River. Just below the weir was a large basin.
About
the Culverts: Near the present intersection of US 36 and SR 93
was the location of the twin White Eyes Creek Culverts. As you can
see from the plat map to the left, there were two forks of the creek
that were spanned by the canal over stone culverts. It is
interesting that the route of the canal wasn't just made a short
distance north so that it would only have to span the one part of
the creek on one culvert instead of having to construct two. Nothing
remains of either culvert today.%20looking%20east.jpg)