"Elevation and Sections of Well Hole of the
Lowerlift Gate on North Side of the New Locks of the Louisville & Portland
Canal"
Delineated by H. Werner, 1872
Ink and wash on paper with margin tape sewn on
28 3/4" x 49 1/2"
National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Office
of the Chief of Engineers
Louisville & Portland Canal
In 1830 the Louisville and Portland Canal, a 50-foot-wide,
man-made waterway opened for traffic. It allowed river boats to bypass
the falls on the Ohio River at Louisville, Kentucky. After the Civil War,
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers widened the canal to 90 feet and made
other improvements. This drawing shows some of the new lock mechanisms
and masonry walls.