Lock 57 at Mile 139.4 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath (photo by Jerry Edmundson)
Lock 57 is located at Mile 139.4 on the C&O Canal towpath. It cannot be accessed by vehicle, so reaching it requires hiking or biking 1.5 miles (one way) downstream from the parking lot at Fifteenmile Creek Campground. See the Locks and Lockhouses web page for an interactive location map.
The most interesting thing at Lock 57 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is the ruins of the former lockhouse. There are ruins of lockhouses at many locks, but usually it is only the foundation that remains. Here, the chimney is still standing as well. It’s the only chimney ruins I saw on the canal.
Ruins of Lockhouse 57 at Mile 139.4 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath (photo by Jerry Edmundson)
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!
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Last updated on June 21, 2024
