Growing up in Columbiana County, Ohio, Beaver Creek and the Sandy & Beaver Canal have always been fascinating and wonderful to me. One of my treasures is a well worn copy of Max Gard and William Vodrey Jr.'s long out of print 1952 book THE SANDY AND BEAVER CANAL. And a secret goal of mine for the last 25 years has been to photograph all the surviving locks. I finally did get started on my project back in 2001, but it has been slow going since I am unable to drive and have to rely on others for transportation.

I got a kickstart towards that goal in March of 2003 when I was contacted by Bob Heidel. Bob now lives in central Pennsylvania, but he was born and raised in East Liverpool. As a boy, he hiked the Eastern Division of the canal with his father Richard Heidel over a period from 1954-58, while his father photographed the locks and dams. Both of them photographed many of the locks again in the 1970's. Their pictures were on slides that were warping and deteriorating from time. Bob wanted them to go to a place where they would be seen instead of forgotten in the basement of a museum. So here they are for you to enjoy.

Bob's call also lit a fire under me to get my project completed. And thanks to my wife and a few other willing drivers, I am as complete with the Eastern Divison as I can be. Just short Lock 34 due to landowner issues. The Middle Division is also "complete" with the Western Division showing a few very small gaps. There will be continual revisions as time permits. It is a "life project". - Jerry King

Note: I have been revamping the lock numbering system used on the site to more closely match that of the 1854 auction sale of the Sandy & Beaver Canal. It's almost, but not quite complete. See A note on Lock Numbering for the reasoning behind this.

Copies of Max Gard and William Vodrey's THE SANDY AND BEAVER CANAL are available on CD from John Horn.

For sale now are prints of many photos I have taken of the Canal. This link will take you to my photo business website where you can purchase prints of the Canal, including a number of panoramic shots.