Lock 29 is located within the village of
Peninsula. Peninsula was laid out by the Hermon
Bronson in 1824. It was named "Peninsula" because
the Cuyahoga River wrapped around and nearly
enclosed a section of land as the river came within
50 feet of itself, forming a peninsula.
Construction of the Ohio & Erie Canal was started
a year after the town was founded and brought the
booming business of boat building to Peninsula.
Peninsula has maintained its historic appeal
into the 21st century. Many of the buildings that
were built in the early to mid 1800's still exist
and are in use in the historic downtown district.
Lock 29 was washed out like the other locks in
the Cuyahoga Valley during the Flood of 1913 that
ended the canal era in Ohio. The towpath was on the
western side of the canal before the lock but
crossed over to the eastern side on a bridge at the
north end of the lock. The canal then crossed the
Cuyahoga River on the aqueduct and continued south
under the Main Street (Route 303) bridge.
