Canal Lock 50

Canal Lock 50
Portsmouth, OH 45662

740-357-2070   |  http://www.sciotoheritagetrail.com/
Daylight Hours
Free

Canal Lock #50

Lock 49, located between locks 48 and 50, is at Rushtown. It still exists but is not accessible to the public. About three miles to the south, remains of a stone culvert may be visible beneath a railroad bridge. At West Portsmouth, once called Bertha, Lock 50 is readily visible from an adjacent parking lot.

Lock 49, located between locks 48 and 50, is at Rushtown. It still exists but is not accessible to the public. About three miles to the south, remains of a stone culvert may be visible beneath a railroad bridge. At West Portsmouth, once called Bertha, Lock 50 is readily visible from an adjacent parking lot.

The area around closely-spaced locks 50, 51, and 52 was called Union Mills because of the industries there. The post office name was Bertha, and today this is West Portsmouth. A distillery and its warehouse were on the west bank above Lock 50, and a headrace began there and extended below Lock 51, where it powered Moss’s Union Flour Mill. Lock 52 was a little farther south. Today only Lock 50 survives and can be easily viewed from a parking lot along Route 482. The lock is in a hollow beside the elevated southbound lanes of the four-lane Route 104, and historical markers at the parking lot provide additional information about the canal in this area just outside Portsmouth. Look carefully at the top stones on the far side of the lock’s downstream end. There are grooves cut into the stone by the many towropes that rubbed against it as boats locked through over a period of many decades.

This canal feature is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Ohio and Erie Canal Southern Descent Historic District.

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Notes for Travelers

A series of interpretive markers are located adjacent to a parking area, which overlooks Lock 50. Lock 50 is not physically accessible and is in unrestored condition and could be dangerous. Visitors should view the lock from the safety of the parking area.

The Scenic Scioto Heritage Trail offers covers an 84-miles a journey through the rugged, heavily wooded Appalachian hill country and through an area rich in history, full of river lore and native American influences. There are currently 41 points of interest along the trail that enables the traveler the opportunity to capture the full flavor of the region and experience the varied topography and natural beauty of the area. More information is available at the website below.

http://www.sciotoheritagetrail.com

Lock 50, located in West Portsmouth and the Portsmouth Floodwall Murals are separate entries in the Southern Descent Heritage Trail.

The Scioto County Visitors Center is located in Portsmouth’s Boneyfiddle Historic District and adjacent to the Floodwall Murals. The historic district has many examples of early 19th to early 20th century architecture and is worth a visit.

https://www.portsmouth.org/travel-tourism/

The Southern Ohio Museum is located in a handsome restored Beaux Arts style former bank building at 825 Gallia Street in the heart of downtown Portsmouth. The building currently houses two permanent installations featuring the largest single collection of works by native son and well-known American Scene painter Clarence Holbrook Carter (1904-2000) and “Art of the Ancients,” containing 10,000 prehistoric Native American objects from the Charles and William Wertz Collection. There are also galleries for current art exhibitions, a gift shop and a small performing arts theater. Check the website for current and upcoming events and exhibitions.

https://www.somacc.com/



Credits

Jeff Darbee, Nancy Recchie, David Meyer

Additional Resources

Meyer, David. Life Along the Ohio Canal – Licking Reservoir to Lockbourne and Columbus Feeder

Meyer, David. Life Along the Ohio Canal in the Scioto River Valley