The Davis Island Lock and Dam Site on the

Ohio river The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

Avalon, Pennsylvania Avalon is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Ohio River, downstream from Pittsburgh. The population was 4,762 at the 2020 census. It is a residential suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. History On De ...

, is the site of the former Davis Island

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

that was completed in 1885. The lock and dam existed from 1878 to 1922, designed by William Emery Merrill and the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

. The Davis Island Lock and Dam was the first dam that was constructed on the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

. It officially opened on October 7, 1885, with a large dedication ceremony. The Davis Island Dam was the largest Chanoine dam built in the 19th century, and one of the first concrete structures built by the Army Corps of Engineers. It was the first of 51 Chanoine type dams that were built by the Corps of Engineers between 1878 and 1929. The dam was dismantled in 1922, when it was replaced by the

Emsworth Emsworth is a town in the Borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, England, near the border of West Sussex and located at by the south coast of England. It lies at the north end of an arm of Chichester Harbour, a large and shallow inlet fr ...

Locks and Dam less than a mile downstream of the original site. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on August 29, 1980 and designated as a

National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark __NOTOC__ The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United State ...

by the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

in 1985. It is now owned by the West View Water Authority and is used primarily to pump water from the Ohio River, which then goes on to be purified and is used by the surrounding communities for drinking.

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Locks on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania Dams in Pennsylvania Dams completed in 1885 United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Dams on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Transportation buildings and structures in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania United States Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks