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 20 South (Portage Summit Level) - Garfield Lock - Daugherty Lock - Tucker's Lock
Business located near the former location of Lock 20
About the Lock: Lock 20 was located on the eastern outskirts of Newcomerstown. It no longer exists today but a business just off of US 36 is called "Lock 20 Auto Ltd." and indicates the area that the lock was located in. The lock is buried near US 36. I've been told that the location of the lock is easy to find, but I haven't seen it yet. Just past the location of the lock, the canal turns toward Newcomerstown while US 36 continues in a westwardly direction north of the location of the canal. One of the names of the lock (Garfield Lock) comes from the fact that Abram Garfield, the father of President James A. Garfield, was contracted to build the lock on this section of the canal but defaulted on the contract and never actually built it himself. I've also been told that Garfield was contracted to build the sections of the canal around the lock but the lock itself. A large spillway passed the lock on its north side, which means that the towpath crosses sides of the canal at some point between Locks 19 and 20. It looks as if the spillway had two tumbles on the picture of the lock from the Silliman Survey.
Newcomerstown
Location: Newcomerstown is located south of US 36 to the west of I-77. It can be driven to by turning south from US 36 on SR 258 and then turning west on either Canal Street or State Street. It is in Oxford Township in Tuscarawas County.
History: The history of
Newcomerstown significantly predates the coming of the Ohio & Erie Canal.
As early as 1750, white settlers were based in the area as traders. By the
end of the 1760's, the Delaware Indians had settled in the area under the
leadership of Chief Newcomer. The Native American settlement was called Gekelmukpechunk but it became known to white settlers as Newcomerstown.
They built many log cabins in the settlement, including a larger one that
the chief lived in. The Delaware Indians moved to Goschachgunk (Coshocton)
in 1775 leaving a small number of white settlers alone in settlement. In
1827, John Tufford laid out the original plat for Newcomerstown. The canal
passed right through the center of town.
Lock 21 South (Portage Summit Level) - Newcomerstown Lock
<< Continue North | Continue South >>
The Silliman Survey picture of the canal is courtesy of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water. I colored it for the explanation above. The historic photo of Lock 21 is courtesy of Dave Meyer. |
Not
much of the canal still exists in Newcomerstown today but its
location can be found by driving down Canal Street. The canal was on
the north side of the road through town. Eureka Hardware (left) is
the current business to occupy the building that was built in the
1830's to house the Miskimen General Store. The Temperance Tavern
Museum building was built in 1841 and was once a hiding place on the
Underground Railroad. Newcomerstown is also
the hometown of Woody Hayes and Cy Young, the former the famous Ohio
State Football coach and the latter the winningest pitcher in Major
League Baseball history.