Sandy and Beaver Canal Locks 12, 11, 10, and 9.

I often wondered what lock this one was.  It is located on Furnace Road below Lisbon, just up from Camp McKinley.  When I met John Horn of the Sandy and Beaver Canal Association, which was a pleasure, I asked him about it.  I expected to hear several things, like Oh that is number 2 or that was not even on the lock system.  There is this little tiny stream that runs beside it and would never work for the size of Lock this is.  It is a good 20 feet high at least.  So when he said Oh, that's lock number 12, I was shocked.  "Are you sure!"I asked with my jaw gaping open (I was that shocked).  "Yes.  There are several locks above that one.  1 is gone because Rt 172 went through there, but most of the rest from 12 back are there."  said John oh so pleasantly.

So last week Kim (that's me) and Mike (my husband) decided to go and look for some of these locks.  At first we thought we wouldn't find any.  We walked and explored the area, which is quite beautiful.  All of a sudden Mike found these steps.  They are right in the middle of the woods, and I couldn't get up to them fast enough! Sure enough, climbing these moss covered stairs to seemingly nowhere actually lead us to.....

 Lock #11 (I think)   It is more than half gone, though it is right beside the road.   We took dozens of pics of it and I would have been quite happy with this.  We almost stopped and called it a day, but I said we should walk a little farther up, just to be sure there were no more close.  I was glad I did.

Here is Lock #10 (again I think.   There are also Dams and they are different.  The numbering system also has two different numbers for several locks so it is not certain what these are numbered, by me at least.   This Lock is one of my all time favorites.  There are still timbers and boards on the floor of this lock.  I was like a kid at Christmas.  It made me remember why I love discovery adventures.  I know I didn't discover these, but for me they are a personal find.  My goal is to get pics of all the remaining locks.  One of those things on my bucket list.  :)

And while still standing in Lock 10, we could see Lock 9(?).  Much smaller than 10, but still a lock I had never been to.  As it turns out the locks in that area are numbered 2-12.  13 and 14 were located where Camp McKinely is today.  15-21 were all along the creek running beside Lisbon, but they are all gone.  Even in the 195's, when the Sandy and Beaver Canal book was written, these locks were long gone. 
Tomorrow, Oct 22, there is a Sandy and Beaver Canal Event down at Lock 57, just over the PA line.  It starts at noon!  I am so going to be there!  Hope to see you there, too!