Glossary

Glossary of Canal Terms

Aqueduct: A bridge over a river to carry the canal, canal boat and pulling team when damming the river was not possible. Some aqueducts were covered like covered bridges. Made with stone foundations with stone or wood supports and a wooden basin on top to carry the water along the side was built the walking area for the towpath. Later, some were built with steel cable to reinforce their strength. This practice was started on the Sandy & Beaver canal by a German Engineer, John Roebling. He later went on to design the Brooklyn Bridge.
Canal or the canal prism: For the Ohio & Erie Canal, it was a ditch 309 miles long dug by hand over a period of 7 years (1825-1832). At the waterline, the canal was 40' wide; at the bottom of the canal, it was 28' with a total depth of 4'. This "ditch" changed Ohio from being one of the poorest states to one of the richest and a highly industrialized state.
Culverts: Just like a aquaduct but built over a creek, and usually built entirely out of stone with arches over the creek.
Gristmill: A large grainery mill, usually found at a lock using the overflow for water power to operate the mill's large stone wheels to grind the grain.
Guard Locks: Like a Lift Lock but with walls of dirt rather than stone between the gates, used when the canal was crossing a Slack Water. This lock's primary function was to prevent the flooding of the canal. When the water level rose due to a spring thaw or heavy rains, the gates would be closed to prevent the excess water from entering the canal. If a boat needed to get through, it would then travel through the lock just like the lift locks.
Locks: A device used to raise or lower a boat to the next section of the canal. During the construction of the canal, the canal had to climb up and down a total of 1218 feet. To do this, it used a series of 151 locks. A lock is a large structure 90 ft. long by 15 ft. wide, usually with stone and later cement walls, with two large gates at both ends. Each gate had a butterfly valve in the bottom of the gate called a wicket.
Quarry: A large field where the dirt was removed from a hill to uncover sandstone. The sandstone was cut from the wall of rock and cut down into blocks for building structures or cut round for grinding wheels. Imperfect stones were hauled north to Lake Erie to become Cleveland's breakwater.
Slack water: When the canal needed to cross a river, a dam would be built to raise the river to the canal level, the boats would then cross the river in the "still water" side. This was called the slack water. The mules or horses would then cross on top of the dam.
Sluice: An overflow with a gate built in the wall of the canal side nearest to the river. This was used to regulate the water level of the canal. Useful during dry seasons to slow the amount of excess water running out of the canal into the river to maintain the water height needed for boat travel.
Towpath: A dirt path built along side the canal in which the mules would travel on as they towed the boats down the canal. The towpath was built two feet above the water level and 10' wide with the canal side of the towpath 9" higher for rainwater to run off away from the canal. This helped to prevent the flooding of the canal also, it prevented dirt and debris from being washed into the canal
Weight lock: There was only one used on the Ohio & Erie Canal. It was like a lock but, when the water was lowered, the boat set on a large scale to weigh the boat. This was used to charge the boats to use the canal by the weight of the cargo it was hauling.
Wending Basins: A large cut out or wide area like a cove that boats would use to park out of the traffic's way. This was used by boats while waiting their turn to enter a lock or for a "rest area" to sleep in at night.

This Site Sponsored by

myWaverly.com

Share this page with a Friend

or send yourself a reminder :)

This Site created by

Cyberspace Publishing

Canal Days Contact Info:
Kay Hamilton - Coordinator - (740) 947-7131
Cheryl Proehl - Events Coordinator - (740) 947-6922
Lennie Carrico - Food Booths Coordinator - (740) 289-4283
Frank Proehl - Sound & Electrical Coordinator - (740) 947-6922
Jean Ramsey - "Father Of The Year" Contest Coordinator - (740) 947-8187
Sherry Stiers - Queen Pageant Coordinator - (740) 947-3072
Julie Miller - Baby Contest Coordinator - (740) 947-5256
Bruce Ferrell - Security Coordinator
Tom Fosson - Webmaster
or email: canaldays@mywaverly.com