Visitor Center opens

Several hundred people were in attendance for the Grand Opening celebration of the Chilo Lock #34 Visitor Center Saturday, Aug. 27.

Lock #34 is the site of the old lock and dam on the Ohio River that lowered and raised boats to enable them to continue to travel on the Ohio River all year. Previous to the construction of 51 locks and dams on the river, year-round travel was impossible because the water level was often too shallow, many times less the five or six feet deep. The powerhouse that today houses the visitor center and museum powered the wickets (small dam sections) that allowed the lowering and raising of the river here.

Chris Clingman, Clermont County Park Director, said,

William Stearns, a member of the Clermont County Park board, speaks at the Grand Opening Celebration of the Lock #34 Museum and Visitor Center in Chilo, August 27. Seated to his right are Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Lindsey. Lindsey served as the head lockman and diver at the site 1947-64. He was the ribbon cutter for the event and had a bench dedicated in his honor.

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