Lock and Lockhouse 27 at Mile 41.5 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

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Lock and Lockhouse 27 are located at Mile 41.5 on the C&O Canal towpath. There is no parking at the site. The closest parking area is at the Monocacy Aqueduct, and from there Lock 27 is .7 miles (one way) downstream. See the Locks and Lockhouses web page for an interactive location map.

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Lock 27 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is also know as Spinks Ferry Lock due to a Potomac River ferry that operated a quarter mile upstream. When the canal opened, ferry traffic had to travel down the towpath to Lock 27 in order to get to the main road at the time, Monocacy Road.

The masonry portions of Lock 27 are still in excellent condition, but no wooden parts remain (the wooden footbridge is a modern replacement). However, some of the metal gate hardware is still attached to the stone walls at both ends of the lock. This is not rare, but even metal hardware does not survive on all locks along the canal.

Gate hardware on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal’s Lock 27

View of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal from the downstream end of Lock 27

Running parallel to the lock on the berm side (opposite the towpath) is a ditch that is now filled with grass and other weeds. This is the sluice. When the upstream gates are closed, the sluice allows 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 empties back into the canal just past the downstream gate. All locks had sluices, but today many have been filled in with dirt or are covered in vegetation and hard to spot.

Sluice of Lock 27 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Along with the lock itself stands Lockhouse 27. 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.

Lock and Lockhouse 27 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Operating the lock was a year-round, 24-hour-a-day job. When a canal boat approached, the captain would blow a horn 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!

Lockhouse 27 appears to be in good condition, but it is not open to the public. This is likely due to there being no nearby parking.

Lockhouse 27 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

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