Photo Club goes on another canal shoot

After shooting all we cared to at the Lock 1 North historical park in New Bremen, we loaded up our gear and headed on south on State Route 66 a little over 24 miles to Lockington, home to the remnants of 5 locks that lowered boats 67 feet below the elevation of Lock 1 N in New Bremen.

Parking is located in a bowl-shaped area, which results in hiking either a longer, easier route or a shorter steeper route to reach Lock 1 South. The state has done some maintenance on its walls and from its southern end, you could easily view Lock 2 South.

It is a gentle slope down to the lock and the area has been nicely mowed. The red brick lockkeeper’s house on the left is now a private residence. It has been updated enough since the 1800s that you might not associate it with the canal. From the top of Lock 3 South the final two locks come into view. Lock 5 South has been braced with heavy timbers to prevent its walls from caving in. A little further south is the northern remains of an aqueduct that spanned Loramie Creek.

It is not easy to get to the bottom of its wall and the creek bank maybe 20 feet from it, but once down, you get a good view of the southern end of the aqueduct, the massive wall you just climbed down, and a sense of appreciation for the skill and effort those early workers used to construct these massive structures without today’s heavy machinery.

Following a strenuous climb to the top of the wall, the gentle slope described earlier, seemed a little more steep, but that was offset by the fact that the wind did not seem as strong and the chill was less.  Before long, we were traveling back the way we came, but after a few miles, turned onto Landman Mill Road. A little farther on, we arrived at the site of the Loramie Mill (no longer standing) and Lock 7 South, which is visible from the road (we observed no indication of the location of Lock 6 South).

With a lot of good photos and memories, we headed back to St. Marys to get Joe’s car and say our good-byes. If you search Rex Dolby on Facebook, you can see some of the pictures he took and possibly decide to make the trip yourself when the weather is more to your liking.

The Van Wert Area Photography Club’s next meeting is Thursday, November 9, at 7 p.m., at 114 S. Race St. in Van Wert.