Rush Township near McDermott in Scioto County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Ohio & Erie Canal

Ohio and Erie Canal Locks 48 and 49 side of marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Grant & Mary Ann Fish, August 5, 2023

1. Ohio and Erie Canal Locks 48 and 49 side of marker

Inscription. Locks 48 and 49
Rush Township, Ohio The Ohio & Erie Canal under construction in this area 1830-1832 would cross the farm of George Herodth, a stone contractor. He built the Elbow Lock, Camp Creek Culvert and more. While the canal was being dug, wife Elizabeth often cooked for 60 or more hungry workers. George promised his wife when his contract was up he would build her a Baptist Church on their property. Until then members met in homes. Some workers attended the services and helped George burn bricks to build the church called Bethany. Slaves traveled this area and in 1861 workers left their jobs to join the war causing Ohio to privatize canal until 1877. In 1881 the GAR formed, holding meetings in the church for living veterans.

Bethany Baptist Church
Brush Creek Aqueduct In 1898 Rev AK Murphy raised money for a new church at present location dedicated May, 1900 costing $3,000. Stained glass windows were installed with sponsors names including some canal workers and GAR members. While passengers waited for boat to get weighed and go through locks, they viewed a grist mill, sawmills, boat yard, the Peter Brown

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Flour Mill, the Brush Creek Aqueduct and Falls. Some stopped at the English General Store, visited the gun powder mill until it exploded, the nearby station housing canal animals, fished in the Scioto River, went to church or rested. After locking through all boarded the boat continuing on to the next lock and anxious to reach their destination.

Erected 2012 by Scioto County Canal Society.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Bridges & Viaducts • Industry & Commerce • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Ohio and Erie Canal series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1830.

Location. 38° 50.406′ N, 83° 1.296′ W. Marker is near McDermott, Ohio, in Scioto County. It is in Rush Township. It is on Ohio Route 104 0.1 miles north of Simpson Road, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 8131 Route 104, Mc Dermott OH 45652, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southern Ohio Hill Country.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Ohio River Valley,

in Appalachia,

Ohio and Erie Canal Bethany Baptist Church side of marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Grant & Mary Ann Fish, August 5, 2023

2. Ohio and Erie Canal Bethany Baptist Church side of marker

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Lock 48 (approx. half a mile away); Boyhood Home of Wesley Branch Rickey (approx. 1.1 miles away); Lucasville Cemetery / Captain John Lucas Founder of Lucasville (approx. 3 miles away); Ted Strickland Ohio's 68th Governor Boyhood Home (approx. 3.4 miles away); Boyhood Home of Roy Rogers (approx. 3.7 miles away); Scioto County KIA-MIA Memorial (approx. 7.2 miles away); Civil War Memorial (approx. 7.2 miles away); Portsmouth Fire House #1 (approx. 7.3 miles away).

Marker with the church in the background image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Grant & Mary Ann Fish, August 5, 2023

3. Marker with the church in the background

Credits. This page was last revised on August 20, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 7, 2023, by Grant & Mary Ann Fish of Galloway, Ohio. This page has been viewed 570 times since then and 58 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 7, 2023, by Grant & Mary Ann Fish of Galloway, Ohio. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.