Side Cut Locks
The Side Cut section of the Miami and Erie Canal was completed in 1842 to provide a water connection from the canal down to the river at Maumee. It was two miles long with six limestone locks.
Canal locks acted like elevators to raise and lower canal boats by changing the water levels. When the large wooden gates were closed, an opening in each gate, called a wicket, allowed water to flow into the lock. When the water was high enough, a canal boat could float to a higher elevation.
The Maumee River was too shallow during the summer for the heavier river crafts traveling from Toledo, so in 1850 the Side Cut was abandoned.
Marker can be reached from West River Road ½ mile south of Ford Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
