{"nrhp_refnum":"74001480","name":"Lockville Canal Locks","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Off Pickerington-Lockville Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lockville","county":"Fairfield County","state":"OH","lat":39.82095435300005,"lon":-82.7417748712767,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-09-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A group of seven canal locks and the connecting channel along the old Ohio Canal at Lockville, in northwestern Fairfield County, Ohio. The locks were built about 1830 with sandstone block walls.","why_significant":"The locks were part of the Ohio-Erie Canal System, and Lockville has the largest concentration of locks in Ohio. They lay in a difficult stretch of the canal that dropped over 205 feet through thirty locks. The canals gave central and southern Ohio a cheap way to move goods before railroads spread.","narrative":"Seven sandstone canal locks and a section of channel near Lockville in Fairfield County, Ohio, remain from the Ohio Canal. Built about 1830 as part of the Ohio-Erie Canal System, which ran from Cleveland to Portsmouth, they saw their first boat on October 7, 1831. Lockville has the largest concentration of locks in Ohio. They sit on a hard stretch of canal where the route fell more than 205 feet through thirty locks and water was scarce, so a feeder ditch was dug. Several locks were rebuilt in 1862-63 under a contract held by Samuel Doyle. The canal was abandoned early in the 20th century, and the State of Ohio sold the locks and right of way in 1916. Today the stone walls survive, though the gates are gone, the channel is largely filled in, and one lock has partly collapsed. The locks reflect how canals lowered shipping costs for goods reaching Ohio markets before railroads became widespread.","period_of_significance":"1830's-1880's","architect_builder":"Samuel Doyle (contractor for rebuilding of several locks, 1862-63)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as deteriorated and altered. Lock gates are missing, and the walls of most locks are intact. Lock 12 has a partly collapsed wall, and lock 14 has been converted to an animal pen. The canal channel is mostly filled in.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.52936-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/74001480.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001480/7f84d85a69-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001480/7f84d85a69-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Wdzinc","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lockville_Canal_Locks.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Wdzinc</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lockville_Canal_Locks.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988253","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137802649"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/fairfield-county/lockville-canal-locks-74001480/"}