Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park | LOCK AND LOCKHOUSE 10

Upstream drop gate of Lock 10 at Mile 8.8 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath

Upstream drop gate of Lock 10 at Mile 8.8 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath


Lock and Lockhouse 10 are located at Mile 8.8 on the C&O Canal towpath. There is a twelve-car parking lot for the site just off of Clara Barton Parkway. See the Locks and Lockhouses web page for an interactive location map.


Lock 10 is one of seven locks within a 1.1-mile span of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, all of which are appropriately known as the Seven Locks. The lock is a popular spot for kayakers and canoeists for there is canoe launch on the Potomac River just a short walk from the parking area.

Lock 10 is unique in that its upstream gate is a drop gate and not a typical miter gate. A miter gate has two doors that meet at an angle pointing upstream. The pressure of the water keeps them shut naturally. A drop gate, on the other hand, is a single door that opens by falling in the upstream direction like a tailgate on a pick-up truck and closes by being hoisted back in place with mechanical gears. It cannot fall downstream because it rests against notches in the stone retaining walls of the canal.

Illustration of a drop gate

Illustration of a drop gate

Backside of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal's Lock 10 drop gate

Backside of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal’s Lock 10 drop gate

The upstream gate was converted to a drop gate when the entire lock was lengthened ten feet on the upstream end so it could accommodate larger boats. The C&O Canal Company figured that if a new gate had to be built anyway, might as well try out the drop gate technology. Only a few locks in this area were enlarged, and the longer boat idea never gained much ground.

Unlike the other drop gates at Locks 5, 6, 7, 9, and 12, the hardware at Lock 10 is still in working order, though the cables have been cut so that the lock cannot actually be opened and closed. You can, however, spin the wheels and see the gears work.

Drop gate hardware of Lock 10 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Drop gate hardware of Lock 10 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Drop gate hardware of Lock 10 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Drop gate hardware of Lock 10 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

The downstream end of the lock was never modified, and the miter gate remained in place.

Downstream view of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal from Lock 10

Downstream view of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal from Lock 10

Downstream miter gate of Lock 10 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Downstream miter gate of Lock 10 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Along with the lock itself stands Lockhouse 10. A lockhouse is the residence of the man who is hired to operate the lock. In addition to a yearly salary, he and his family—almost all lockkeepers were family men—lived in the company provided lockhouse and had use of an acre of land for farming. Those who tended multiple locks got extra money per lock, up to two. The locks had to be very close together for the C&O Canal Company to assign multiple locks to one person.

Operating the lock was a year-round, 24-hour-a-day job. When a canal boat approached, the captain would blow a whistle to notify the lockkeeper. If it were nighttime, somebody had to wake up and go to work. Of course that’s the benefit of being a family man—your kids had to get up for the late night and early morning arrivals!

While such houses once stood at nearly all locks on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, very few survive today. Of those that do remain, most are not open to the public, at least not on any regularly scheduled basis. This makes Lockhouse 10 even more special because it can be rented for overnight stays by those wanting an authentic canal and lockhouse experience. The C&O Canal Trust maintains seven such houses for rent within Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. See the Lockhouse Rentals web page here on National Park Planner for more information.

Each of the seven lockhouses available for rent represents a different time period. Lockhouse 10, though built in 1828, has been outfitted with electricity, heating and air conditioning, and running water, and it is furnished as it might have been in the 1930s. The house has two bedrooms with enough beds, trundles, and cots for eight people. Keep in mind that no linens or pillows are provided other than comforters and mattress pads. I suggest bringing a sleeping bag if you have one.

View of Lockhouse 10 from the opposite side of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

View of Lockhouse 10 from the opposite side of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Some of the other rental houses have no modern utilities and represent lockhouses from the early 1800s. If you don’t mind spending $110 for a lack of luxury, I highly recommend staying at least one night in one of the rustic houses. I stayed in Lockhouse 22 and Lockhouse 49. The former has no utilities at all and the latter has electricity and heat only. I purposely avoided the modernized houses because I wanted to experience a night close to how those living on the canal back in the 1800s spent every night of their lives. I stayed in Lockhouse 22 on a hot and miserable day and had to deal with mosquitoes, and while I can’t imagine many people wanting to pay good money to put up with such hardships, spending one night to learn what people of the past had to deal with was worth every penny I spent, every drop of sweat I spilled, and every mosquito bite I endured. Of course, if the weather is nice—early spring or late fall—heat and bugs are not an issue. I stayed in Lockhouse 49 in late September and the weather was perfect, so I can’t complain about a thing.

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Last updated on June 22, 2024
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