Four Locks: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, National Park Service
Stevens C and Bailey S. 2008. Four Locks: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, National Park Service. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 600279. NPS National Capital Regional Office. National Capital Regional Office/CLI Database
Four Locks is a component landscape of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The inventory unit is about 950 acres and is located south west of Clear Springs, Maryland. The northern boundary of the project area is the Western Maryland Railroad. Its eastern boundary is the intermittent stream at canal mile 108.49 and its western boundary is Culvert 140 at canal mile 109.90. It also includes all of Prather’s Neck, with the Potomac River as its southern boundary. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park owns 520 acres within the project area, while about 422 acres located on Prather’s Neck is owned either by the state of Maryland or by private individuals. The National Register nomination was accepted by the Keeper on August 9, 1979. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is listed on the National Register under Criteria A and C for its architecture, engineering, commerce, transportation, conservation and military history. The period of significance is listed as 1828–1924. The period of significance for the Four Locks is 1828 to 1924 – the years that span the canal’s construction, operation, decline and final closure. Like the rest of the canal, Four Locks reflects the ascent of canal-based transportation and its ultimate decline in nineteenth-century America. Therefore, the landscape and its events have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history (National Register Criterion A). Illustrative of vernacular and industrial stone construction, the canal landscape also contains individual resources that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction (Criterion C). This CLI finds that the Four Locks cultural landscape retains integrity for its period of significance, 1828-1924 with all seven aspects of integrity represented. While there have been some changes to the landscape, especially in the vegetation, and the loss of some features, the overall integrity of Four Locks is high and the landscape invokes the historic significance of the property. Although Four Locks exhibits strong integrity, the cultural landscape is in fair condition. This is largely due to the condition of the many buildings, ruins and constructed water features that date to the period of significance. Deferred maintenance has left some of these structures in fair to poor condition and stabilization and repairs are needed. Vegetation issues also contribute to the condition of the landscape, especially the loss of cropland and the presence of invasive plant species.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Stevens, Christopher; Bailey, Stephanie
- Date of Issue
- 2008-09-19
- Publisher
- NPS National Capital Regional Office
- Units
- CHOH , NCR
- Keywords
- Agriculture, B&O Railroad, Campground, Canals, Civilian Conservation Corps, Commerce, Degradation of Human Environment, domestic, Engineering, Expanding Science and Technology, hiking trail, Historic Vernacular Landscape, Outdoor Recreation, Picnic Area, Potomac River, Prather's Neck, residential, Shipping and Transportation by Water, Stone Construction, The C&O Canal, The Industrial Revolution, trade, Transportation