Lockhouse 28 at Mile 49 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath

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Lock and Lockhouse 28 are located at Mile 49 on the C&O Canal towpath. They cannot be accessed by vehicle, so reaching them requires hiking or biking .8 mile (one way) upstream from the closest parking area, the Point of Rocks Boat Ramp. See the Locks and Lockhouses web page for an interactive location map.

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Construction on the C&O Canal in this area was delayed for a few years while the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company and the B&O Railroad (Baltimore and Ohio) fought a court battle over land rights. The land between the river and the mountains is very narrow, so trying to fit both a canal and a railroad wasn’t going to be easy. B&O had purchased the land, but C&O claimed that it owned the rights to it because the land was once owned by the Potomac Company, another canal company that C&O had absorbed. This resulted in a four-year lawsuit, and while C&O won, construction on this section came to a halt. Other sections in the area were completed in 1834; Lock 28 wasn’t finished until 1837. Despite the legal victory, the Maryland General Assembly ruled that the rights had to be shared. The final deal was that the canal would be built closest to the Potomac River and the railroad would have to blast its way through the mountains above the canal.

Downstream view of Lock 28 at Mile 49 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath

Along with the lock itself stands Lockhouse 28. 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 Chesapeake and Ohio 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 C&O 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 28 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 the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. See the Lockhouse Rentals web page here on National Park Planner for more information.

Lockhouse 28 at Mile 49 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath

Lockhouse 28 is just as it was when it was built back in 1837. While some of the other houses have been outfitted with electricity, staying here is just like camping, but in a house. There is no heat, no electricity, and no running water (a portable toilet is outside). The house is furnished as it might have been in the 1830s. There are two bedrooms with two twin beds and two trundle beds—beds that slide out from under the main bed—enough for eight people overall. Keep in mind that no linens or pillows are provided other than comforters and mattress pads. A sleeping bag is a good option if you have one.

Cooking is done outdoors on a grill, and you can eat outside at the picnic table or inside on the dining room table. Dishes, pots, and pans are provided, but you must clean up after yourself, including washing dishes. The closest water source is 1.4 miles away. A wash pan is provided.

Because Lockhouse 28 is nearly a mile from the closest parking area—all other rental lockhouses have parking on site—I’m not sure if it has much appeal to those visiting the park by vehicle. I suspect it will draw more interest from the hikers and bikers who are traveling multiple nights on the canal, especially since such travelers are already accustomed to camping at the rustic campsites along the towpath.

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 lockhouses. 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 had to spend 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. To make a reservation, see the C&O Canal Trust’s Canal Quarters web page.

Note: Train tracks run right behind the house and trains do come by during the day. I camped near the tracks and never heard anything at night, but I can’t make any guarantees because no night trains may have been scheduled for that day. I suppose that if the lockkeepers had to put up with trains, having to do so now just adds to the authenticity of the stay.

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