Went for a little ride this morning.....pic heavy!

Had an itch to go back down to the Sandy/Beaver Canal this morning to try and locate lock #26 that my son and I couldn't find this last fall, armed with knowing where it was to be located this time, I found it right away, a very steep hill to descend to reach it, the pic doesn't do it justice!, it was no fun coming back up!!, but very much worth seeing this lock, this lock had a dam built off of it to create a slack-water, the white oak timbers that were used to construct these dams are still in the water at this location making it a very special lock to see, I couldn't help but have to touch the timbers the hard work'n gents did over a 170 years ago!!, was shocked at how wide these dams really were, they had to be at least 30' thick from front to back and must have stood at lest 15' high and 60' across, one of the pics shows the dam abutment on the opposite side of the river from the lock, also got a pic of a very old growth white pine and a sycamore tree along the way, both trees had to be at least 11' in diameter at the base!, I added a few pics to show just how beautiful it is down in this valley, and of the tow path and the lock, the only remaining face stone is the hinge point for the lock gate, and note the drilling marks one one of the lock stones, must have been a real site for the canal goers of the time!!......enjoy!!......

 

More pics.....

 

A few more.......

 

A pic of the William McKinley house (yes, the former president), and what's left of Rebecca Furnace which is almost directly across from the house, and an old Ashland filling station.......

 

Neat to see historical pictures. Thanks for sharing! Happy Easter.

 

Thanks, and Happy Easter to you Sean.......yep, it was a great time and I'm glad I went down to see this spot again, a beautiful morning indeed!.........

 

That's just a hop, skip and a jump from me old 040.

 

It's more work than its worth, at the low btu rating it has.

I'd only cut that up into firewood if it fell on its own, or it died.

 

Cool pics! Thanks for sharing

 

Great pics buddy ! I'm totally jealous of your morning Happy Easter !

 

I wish I was right there with you on your hike/exploration. The work folks did back in the day by horse/oxen power is mind boggling. Thanks!!!!!

 

Thanks for the great comments guys, I must say, though the lock isn't in that great of shape, it's that with the dam timbers still in the water that is impressive, it really gave me a much better feel just how big and complex this eastern division of the canal must have been, it gave me a whole new respect for how this canal was built and for the gents that did it, this trip will not be forgotten, if anything it'll make me want to go back more often, this area in southeastern Columbiana county is beautiful, and again, it must have been one heck of a trip for the canal goes even though it only lasted four years from canal completion in 1848 until the cold run reservoir dam breech/collapse in 1852........

 

Yepper L/P, I've been right through your stomp'n grounds, got a buddy that lives in East Rochester, the area just south of you was the middle division of the canal, it had no locks and was a flat elevation, if you haven't been to the eastern division of the canal, you really should check it out, you won't regret it.......

 

This is a spot that a friend should be with you, once I was down the hill and looked back up, I knew it wasn't going to be fun climbing back up and was wishing my son was with me on this trip, all I kept saying to myself was "don't sprane my ankle or get hurt in anyway", if it happened, it would have been nearly impossible to get back out by myself, I watched my every step very carefully!, and when I did start my climb back out, I kept thinking of the scene in the movie "first blood" when Sly was climbing up the very steep hill before reaching the cliff!.......

 

I did a search for canals in your state, there's one that looks very interesting called the Clinton-Kalamazoo canal, not sure how far you are from it, but looks like it would be fun for you to check it out if it's not too far away, was built during the same time period as the canal I was just at yesterday........

 

Wanted to correct this as to where the middle division starts and ends, it's a 14 mile stretch from the ghost town of lockport (rt172 and Furnace rd.) to Kensington, the western division is from Kensington to Bolivar and there were 33 locks in the western division, so there should be locks just south of you......

 

From what little I did read about the C/K canal, it sounds like it went bust as well, but some progress was made and locks were built, though they claim none still exist, but their locations are known......