Upstream view of Lock 39 at Mile 74 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath

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Lock 39 is located at Mile 74 on the C&O Canal towpath. It cannot be accessed by vehicle, so reaching it requires hiking or biking 1.3 miles (one way) upstream from the closest parking area, Lock 38. See the Locks and Lockhouses web page for an interactive location map.

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When visiting Lock 39 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, take a look down into the lock from the upstream end and you will see the remains of the lock gate anchored into the ground. It amazes me that such things still exist after being exposed to the elements for over one hundred years.

Remnants of the upstream gate of Lock 39 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Also, some of the lock gate hardware is still mounted into the stone retaining wall on the downstream end of the lock.

Gate hardware remains on the downstream end of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal’s Lock 39

Another feature not seen on many locks along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is the sluice. All locks had them, but today many have been filled in with dirt or are covered in vegetation and hard to spot. In most cases, the sluice was just a rudimentary ditch that ran parallel to the lock. When the upstream gates were closed, the sluice allowed water to flow around the lock instead of backing up into a pool of excess water that could spill over the banks of the canal or put additional pressure on the lock gates. The water emptied back into the canal just past the downstream gates. The idea is similar to that of a spillway on a dam.

Sluice on Lock 39 at Mile 74 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath

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