Locations and Trailheads
Travel the path of the canal in this picturesque journey from Cleveland to Portsmouth

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Upper Basin - Mudport Basin

The Monticello III docked on the canal near the Upper Basin

About the Area: After leaving Canal Lewisville, the canal turned southwest and entered the first of Roscoe's three basins, the Upper Basin. The basin was more or less just a triple wide section of the canal. Today, part of the basin is still watered and is the home of the Monticello III, a fully functional canal boat that can be ridden on a section of the canal just like the St. Helena III in Canal Fulton. The Monticello II is also located at the basin but on dry land as it has been retired. Part of the boarding area for the canal boat ride contains lock stones from Lock 28 further south near Adams Mills.

Middle Basin

The Middle Basin looking west

About the Area: The second of Roscoe's three basins was appropriately enough called Middle Basin. It had a more typical basin shape than the Upper Basin. It is still watered today. In the winter, the basin was used as an ice pond during the canal era and an ice house was located there. It was later turned into a dance hall and now serves as an aquatic center. The area around the Middle Basin is known as Lake Park.

Walhonding Aqueduct

The current footbridge in the place of the Walhonding Aqueduct looking south

About the Aqueduct: To cross the Walhonding River, a large aqueduct was built. The Walhonding Aqueduct was 310 feet long and 15 feet wide. It was supported by four stone piers that had a distance of 50 feet between them. The aqueduct was repaired and rebuilt several times because of maintenance problems stemming most likely from its size. In the winter, the leaking water from the flume would freeze into large icicles that were very picturesque (left). The aqueduct, like most others today, does not exist. In its place is a footbridge that connects the Lower and Middle Basins and provides access from Roscoe Village to the Monticello III canal boat via the Three Rivers Bikeway. Another vintage photo can be viewed here.

Lock 26 South (Portage Summit Level) and Lock 27 South (Portage Summit Level) - Double Locks

Lock 27 and the remaining portion of Lock 26 looking north

About the Locks: When the canal was originally built, there was one lock in this location at the end of the aqueduct. It had a lift of 12 feet but since it was located at the downstream side of the aqueduct, it would sometimes run the aqueduct dry while filling with water to raise the boats. So the single lock was converted into two separate locks, each with a lift of 7 feet. This results in the sometimes confusing numbering of the locks south of here. In some places, Lock 27 was considered Lock 26a and the three locks south of it were #'s 27-29. In other places, Lock 27 is labeled as such and the subsequent locks are numbered from 28 to 30. This is one reason why canawlers used other names for the locks rather than the numbered ones.

It doesn't appear on the Silliman maps that the locks had any spillway. This makes sense since the backed up water behind the closed doors of Lock 26 could just empty from the aqueduct into the Walhonding River. The towpath ran along the east side of the locks and a multi use trail sits in its location today. A locktender's house was located on the west side of Lock 27.

Lock 27 is the only one of the two still in existence today. The very southernmost stones of Lock 26 sit at the north end of Lock 27 but since Lock 26 was connected to the aqueduct, most of it was removed by the time the pedestrian bridge was put in the aqueduct's location. The sign by Lock 27 states that it is Lock 26, but it is actually Lock 27, unless you subscribe to the Lock 26 and 26a numbering system.   After the demise of the canal, Pearl Nye built a home on the foundation of the locks and called it Camp Charming. Nye was a former canal boat captain whose life was the canal. He might be considered the first modern canal enthusiast as he made it his goal to keep the Ohio & Erie Canal remembered for posterity. His stories and songs are still around today and help modern enthusiasts better understand the history of the canal. The historic photo shows Captain Nye and Camp Charming which was partially constructed of materials from an old canal boat.

Lower Basin - Roscoe Basin - Junction of the Walhonding Canal

Roscoe Basin looking south from near Lock 27 and the Triple Locks of the Walhonding Canal

About the Area: The third basin in Roscoe was the Lower Basin, commonly called the Roscoe Basin. It is an important link on the canal since it was the junction of the Ohio & Erie Canal and the Walhonding Canal, the third such junction encountered from the north (excluding the small feeder canals). The Walhonding Canal left the Lower Basin via the Triple Locks which are still in remarkably good condition. It stretched 25 miles north and never realized its full potential, later becoming a feeder for the O&E Canal. The basin itself is intersected by US 36 today. The remains of the Wally Flyer passenger train, which was built after the canal ceased operations, can be seen rising above the water.

Roscoe Village

Entrance to the Roscoe Village Visitor Center

Location: Roscoe Village is located west of SR 16 and the city of Coshocton. The visitor center can be reached by turning north on North Whitewoman Street while the village itself is accessible by veering left on North Whitewoman Street after turning off of SR 16.

History: Roscoe was originally laid out by James Calder in 1816 and he named the new town Caldersville. The canal was built through Caldersville instead of Coshocton on the other side of the Muskingum River despite the fact that Coshocton was the bigger of the two towns. The canal brought prosperity to Caldersville and a large addition to the town was laid out by a canal engineer named Leander Ransom and his partner Noah Swain, who changed the name of the new larger village to Roscoe after a famous English author. Being a junction of two canals helped the town grow even further and soon it became an important stop along the canal route. One of the canal's tollhouses was located in the town and is still standing today (picture). Among the town's many businesses was a boat yard where a good number of boats were built for use on the canal.

Just as Roscoe was becoming an important Ohio town, the railroad came through Coshocton and the resulting switch in the modes of transportation of goods sent Roscoe into decline. The canal was used less and less as a form of commercial transportation and Roscoe's fortunes went away as well. The area became rundown and nearly forgotten. It was annexed by the city of Coshocton in 1957.

A Coshocton businessman by the name of Edward Montgomery and his wife Frances set up a foundation in 1968 to restore Roscoe Village. Today, Roscoe Village is a living museum to the canal era. A visitor center was opened and visitors can take a ride on the Monticello III canal boat.

The canal still exists east of the town where the canal boat operates but it has been buried in Roscoe Village itself by SR 16. As you are driving past Roscoe Village on SR 16, you are in the canal bed itself.

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Historic photos courtesy of Dave Meyer.