Merrill Lock No. 6

Merrill Lock No.. 6 is the remainder of a historic lock with weir on the Ohio River in Industry, Pennsylvania in the United States. The remaining buildings house a restaurant in the present and are entered in the National Register of Historic Places.

Construction phase

The dam was (now a part of the boroughs of Industry) established in the town of Merrill, near the mouth of Raccoon Creek and was part of the canalization of the Ohio River. Construction began on June 2, 1892, several years before most other dams have been tackled by the river. The end of 1903, the construction was almost finished. Within a year, the missing lock gates were installed and completed the ancillary structures. The operation was launched on August 3, 1904; the project had cost a total of 1,123,441.80 U.S. dollars. The building complex was given the name of William Emery Merrill, an officer of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, who was responsible for the establishment of the first permanent dam on the Ohio River in Pennsylvania.

Building details

No Lock. 6 was built of concrete and had a length of 180 m and a width of 33 m. The first Scheusentore were made ​​of pine wood, but were later replaced by steel gates. The lock is located at the northern end of the dam, which consists of a 201 m long spillway, a weir and two other locks. In addition, three buildings. The three-storey engine house is a square building with an edge length of about 18 m and housed the technical devices that were necessary to operate the lock. Two similar looking two and a half storey buildings were used for accommodating the lock keeper and the rest of the operating personnel. All three buildings were built of brick on a concrete foundation and have a slate roof.

The only change was the drive of the lock, as at the beginning of the 1920s the machines of coal were converted to oil firing. This change had an effect only inside the building, the grounds were not affected.

Closure

After further downstream in 1936 Montgomery Lock and Dam were built, put the lock system on their operation. Because of the historical integrity of the installation built in the Romanesque Revival style buildings were registered on September 4, 1980 to the National Register of Historic Places. At this time the buildings were abandoned for almost 45 years, but were still in literally original condition, which makes the system unique. The house of the lock keeper was later removed. After a reconstruction of early 2000 an inn was opened with the name of Lock 6 Landing in the former engine house. Because of its location on the river, the restaurant operates a marina for the transiting boaters.