“No colony in America was ever settled under such favorable auspices as that which has just commenced at the Muskingum. If I was a young man, just preparing to begin the world, or if advanced in life and had a family to make provision for, I know of no country where I should rather fix my habitation…” — George Washington, 1788
George Washington, in the above quote, was speaking of the Northwest Territory, which he had begun to explore as a surveyor well before he became the hero of the Revolutionary War. The territory, bounded to the east and south by the Ohio River, was instrumental in the growth of the new nation. Its first permanent settlement, Marietta, was established on the Ohio at the mouth of the Muskingum River.
The Muskingum begins at the confluence of the Walhonding and Tuscarawas rivers at Coshocton and flows 112 river miles to the south before emptying into the Ohio at Marietta. It’s the largest river totally within the Buckeye State’s boundaries, and the watershed drains more than 8,000 square miles. Much of that land today still looks as it did during Washington’s time: rugged, rolling, forested hills.
The Muskingum River flows 112 miles and empties into the Ohio River at Marietta.
When Ohio gained statehood in 1803, leadership recognized the potential of the Muskingum to facilitate the opening of Ohio and the entire Midwest for increased trade and development. As a result, in 1837, the legislature began funding construction of a series of 11 locks and dams on the river, spending $1.6 million over the next four years (roughly the equivalent of $1.4 billion today) for what was one of the most extensive — and expensive — public works projects of its kind in America at the time.
Amazingly, those locks and dams are still in operation. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s the only system of hand-operated locks left in the nation. Collectively, those various locks and dams make up the Muskingum River Parkway State Park.
Today, most of the water traffic on the Muskingum is recreational rather than commercial — cruisers, pontoon boats, fishing boats, water-skiers, personal watercraft, and the like — and for those boaters, the locks are operated free of charge.
Those without their own boats have a way to enjoy the river as well. The Valley Gem sternwheeler is a 158-foot, diesel-powered, double-decked excursion boat owned and operated by Jason Sands and his wife, Heather. They offer various river trips on both the Ohio and the Muskingum beginning in the spring and running through fall from the Valley Gem’s Marietta dock.
“We have sightseeing tours, dinner cruises, dinner theaters, music cruises, lock cruises, and private charters available,” Jason says. “There’s something for everyone, with trips lasting anywhere from a couple of hours to all day.”
On a perfect day last summer, my wife and I boarded the Valley Gem along with 71 passengers and a crew of about half a dozen for the seven-hour “Lockapalooza” cruise, which traverses locks on both the Muskingum and the Ohio.
River locking systems raise and lower boats from one pool of a river to another. Before the Muskingum system was built, larger craft could only use the river during high-water periods of the year, because the river was naturally shallow.
On our cruise, the pilot, Don Sandford, nudged the Valley Gem up the Muskingum toward historic Devola Lock, narrating our adventure as we went. He expertly jockeyed the boat into the narrow open lock, and a pair of lock workers manually closed the twin gates behind us, just as was done nearly 200 years ago. We then slowly, magically rose the 13 feet to the next pool before being released to continue our journey upstream.
After a while, we turned around and headed back downstream, and after locking back through the Devola Lock, we turned upstream on the Ohio River to the Willow Island Lock and Dam. The contrast between the two locking systems — historic versus modern — couldn’t have been more dramatic.
Constructed to accommodate powerful, modern-day commercial tow boats pushing multiple barges, the Willow Island locks (there are two) are fully automated and dauntingly immense, especially if you are inside one of them as the water gradually rises or falls. The larger of the two locks measures 110 feet wide by 1,200 feet long — the length of four football fields!
If you’d like to schedule a trip on the Valley Gem or its sister boat, the Major/Riviera, call 740-373-7862 or visit www.valleygemsternwheeler.com. For more information about Muskingum River Parkway State Park, see the Ohio Department of Natural Resources website: www.ohiodnr.gov.
W.H. “Chip” Gross is Ohio Cooperative Living’s outdoors editor. Email him with your outdoors questions at whchipgross@gmail.com. Be sure to include “Ask Chip” in the subject of the email. Your question may be answered on www.ohiocoopliving.com!
