The Lock Keeper’s House

The Lock Keeper’s House is one of the oldest buildings in DC. It has a sign outside of giving the history of the old building, but I will give you a little bit more info to add to it.
Constitution Avenue used to be Tiber Creek — the canal — that brought in exports and imports to the District of Columbia. The Lock Keeper resided in this house with his wife and 13 kids. It was his responsibility to collect tolls and manage those coming in and out of Tiber Creek. After the Civil War the canal became polluted with waste and eventually they cleaned up the canal, and paved over it. The canal actually does still run beneath the road, but once the road was paved, they did indeed keep the Lock Keeper’s House as a historical reminder of what was once there.
They are planning to renovate the building and open it up to the public. It is just a matter of when … will it happen.

One of the oldest buildings in DC. Built in 1833, this house sheltered the lock keeper who also collected tolls and kept records of commerce on the C&O Canal.
Interesting to see how canals were originally planned as a vital mode of transportation in DC but fizzled out after a couple decades.