Lockington Locks
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Lockington Locks Historical Area
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Southern end of Lock One after a rainstorm
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| Location | Miami and Erie Canal between Lockington and Washington Township |
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| Nearest city | Lockington |
| Coordinates | 40°12′34″N 84°14′38″W / 40.20944°N 84.24389°WCoordinates: 40°12′34″N 84°14′38″W / 40.20944°N 84.24389°W |
| Area | 45 acres (18 ha) |
| Built | 1833 |
| NRHP Reference # | 69000147 |
| Added to NRHP | December 17, 1969 |
The Lockington Locks are a group of canal locks on the former Miami and Erie Canal in Lockington, Ohio, United States. Built beginning in 1833, the locks opened for regular use in 1845. The system consists of seven locks: six together at one end, and a seventh at the southern end. Along with features such as basins to allow canal boats to turn around, the locks stretch for 3.75 miles (6.04 km) between Lockington in far southern Shelby County and Washington Township in far northern Miami County.
As constructed, the locks were at the southern end of the Loramie Summit, which stretches 21 miles (34 km) from Lockington north to New Bremen. Lockington was a leading point on the canal: besides its locks, the village is the site of the junction of the canal with Loramie Creek, which it originally spanned with an aqueduct, and the village lay at the end of a feeder line that brought large amounts of water from the Lewistown Reservoir near Ohio's highest point in nearby Logan County. This small canal was designed to meet the main line at Lockington because the Summit included the canal's highest elevation of 944 feet (288 m) above sea level. As canal boats came north to Lockington, they were lifted by 67 feet (20 m): Lock 48, 10 feet (3.0 m); Lock 49, 11 feet (3.4 m); Lock 50, 11 feet (3.4 m); Lock 51, 11 feet (3.4 m); Lock 52, 12 feet (3.7 m); and Lock 53, 12 feet (3.7 m). Boats would typically take several hours to pass through the locks; as a result, the village of Lockington (originally named "Locksport") was founded to provide services to idle boatsmen and passengers. The individual locks at Lockington were constructed of large limestone blocks weighing as much as 500 pounds (230 kg); their floors were wooden, and their gates were made of the wood of the white oak.
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