Upstream end of Lock 11 at Mile 9 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath

---

Lock and Lockhouse 11 are located at Mile 9 on the C&O Canal towpath. They are just 300 yards upstream from Lock and Lockhouse 10, which has vehicle parking. See the Locks and Lockhouses web page for an interactive location map.

---

Lock 11 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. Many of these and others in the area were lengthened on the upstream end by ten feet to accommodate longer boats, but Lock 11 was not one of them. You can tell which locks were lengthened because the upstream gates were converted from miter gates to drop gates.

A miter gate has two doors that meet at an angle pointing upstream. The pressure of the downstream flowing water keeps them shut naturally. These are easily identified by their long, wooden balance beams, or levers, which are used to open and close the gate doors.

Rotting balance beam on Lock 11 at Mile 9 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath

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. Drop gates are identified by the gears and pulleys next to the gate. (Drop gates can be found on Locks 12 and 10, both a short walk from Lock 11).

Drop gate hardware on a canal lock

Miter gates on the downstream end of Lock 11 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Downstream end of Lock 11 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Along with the lock itself stands Lockhouse 11 (not open to the public). A lockhouse is the residence of the person who is hired to operate the lock. In the canal era, this was almost always a man, but Lock 11 is unique in that it is the only lock on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal that once had a female lockkeeper, Elizabeth Burgess. She was hired when Lock 11 opened in 1835, though she was required to hire a male assistant.

In addition to a yearly salary, the lockkeeper 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.

Lockhouse 11 at Mile 9 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath

Another interesting feature of Lock 11 is the original mile marker on the property. Miles along the C&O Canal are marked by mileage markers similar those found along modern highways. The wooden posts you see today were put in place by the National Park Service because most of the original stone markers are long gone. The original Mile 9 stone marker is one exception.

New and old mileage posts at Mile 9 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

The Mile 9 marker is one of the few original mile markers on the Chesapeake and Ohio

Back to the Top