Near Inglis in Levy County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Inglis Lock
Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, February 18, 2021
1. Inglis Lock Marker
A Stairway to the Top of the Canal
Lake Rousseau sits almost 30 feet above the western edge of the Cross Florida Barge Canal. How do you move a barge up 30 feet? You build a lock.
Think of a lock like water stairs. A barge enters the lock chamber, which then fills with water. The barge floats up with the rising water and exits out the other side. Inglis Lock used 10 million gallons of water each time it raised or lowered barges — that's enough to fill 250,000 bathtubs!
A Busy Body of Water
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers planned to build an additional lock east of the town of Dunnellon, 10 miles from here. Plans included dredging a channel through Lake Rousseau. This area would have become a major shipping complex, with barges and recreational vessels waiting to pass through locks at each end of Lake Rousseau.
Erected by Florida State Parks.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Waterways & Vessels.
Location. 29° 1.487′ N, 82° 37.029′ W. Marker is near Inglis, Florida, in Levy County. Marker can be reached from Southeast 90th Avenue, 0.3 miles south of Florida Route 40, on the right when traveling south. Marker is located near the southwest
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Inglis Main Dam (approx. 0.9 miles away); Inglis Bypass Spillway (approx. 1.2 miles away); Inglis Island Overlook (approx. 1.3 miles away); Felburn Park (approx. 2.6 miles away); Withlacoochee Bay Trail (approx. 7.4 miles away); Historic Crystal River Train Depot (approx. 8.6 miles away); Crystal Street Historic Oak Canopy (approx. 8.6 miles away); Site of the Discovery of Phosphate in Florida (approx. 8.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Inglis.
More about this marker. Adjacent marker, "Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway," is replicated at multiple locations along the greenway.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway
Also see . . .
1. Inglis Lock Recreation Area. Located near the western end of the Cross Florida Greenway, the Inglis Lock has been non-operational since 1999. The Cross Florida Greenway’s West Zone field office is located here with staff who primarily work from State Route 200 to the Gulf of Mexico.
Courtesy Florida Memory
2. Marker detail: Canal Construction
Machines moved thousands of tons of earth to build this section of the Cross Florida Barge Canal.
2. Construction of the Inglis Lock (vintage photograph). Lock was part of the Cross Florida Barge Canal project. (Submitted on February 27, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
3. Inglis Lock Recreation Area. Inglis Bypass is a manmade canal constructed to divert water from the Withlacoochee River as part of the Cross Florida Barge Canal... a failed public works project from many years ago. The bypass canal includes a spillway to regulate fresh water flow into the lower Withlacoochee. The original plan for the bypass included a lock to allow boat traffic along the canal. (Submitted on February 27, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Courtesy U.S Army Corps of Engineers
3. Marker detail: Never-completed Dunnellon Lock
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers diagram shows the never-complete Dunnellon Lock.
Courtesy Florida Memory
4. Marker detail: Canal Construction (aerial view)
An aerial view overlooking construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal. The Gulf of Mexico is visible at the top of the photo.
5. Marker detail: Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway
The Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway sits on land purchased in the 20th century for a shipping canal across the state. The prolonged political struggle over the canal shows how dreams of progress and preservation shaped Florida.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, February 18, 2021
6. Inglis Lock Marker
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, February 18, 2021
7. Inglis Lock (interior)
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, February 18, 2021
8. Inglis Lock
Credits. This page was last revised on March 7, 2021. It was originally submitted on February 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 696 times since then and 102 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. submitted on February 27, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
