Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park | LOCK AND LOCKHOUSE 71

Lock 71 (photo by C&O Canal NHP)

Lock 71 (photo by C&O Canal NHP)


Lock and Lockhouse 71 are located at Mile 167 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath. They are a quarter mile upstream from Lock 70, which has a vehicle parking area. See the Locks and Lockhouses web page for an interactive location map.


By the time construction reached the western end of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, it was obvious that the railroad would replace it in the near future. The C&O Canal Company was in financial trouble, plus it was difficult to get quality stone to the upper reaches of the canal. As a result, contractors were allowed to use whatever type of stone they could find, plus augment construction with wood. Locks that use this combination of materials are called composite locks. Lock 71 is a composite lock, though its wood has long since rotted away. Composite locks were used from Lock 58 through Lock 71.

Along with the lock itself stands Lockhouse 71. 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!

Like the other lockhouses at the far western end of the canal, Lockhouse 71 is made of wood. As you travel towards Georgetown you will find more and more stone lockhouses. As mentioned, quality quarried stone was hard to come by in this area, so the houses were built with wood and the stone was reserved for the locks.

Lockhouse 71 (photo by C&O Canal NHP)

Lockhouse 71 (photo by C&O Canal NHP)

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Last updated on June 24, 2024
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