Lock 31

Lock 31 is the stone remains of a numbered lock on the Ohio & Erie Canal, beside the Towpath Trail between Boston and Peninsula. It is a quick history stop if you are already walking this stretch, rather than a destination that needs a separate trip. The usual approach is south from Boston Trailhead; the lock is about 1.5 miles south of Boston and one mile north of Peninsula.

NPS lists historical interpretation, an audio description and wheelchair accessibility here, but its page does not explain which surfaces along the approach meet that standard. It also notes accessible parking at Boston Store Trailhead.

Lock 31 was one of 44 locks that raised canal boats through 395 feet of elevation change between Cleveland and Akron. The low stonework is a small remnant of a much larger transport system: the locks made the canal's route through the valley navigable.

The numbered lock became known as Lonesome Lock. The name sounds lonely, but a barn, house and sawmill once stood nearby, and canal locks often drew other activity around them. Captain Pearl Nye, born on his family's canal boat, later told stories of robberies and thefts linked to a childhood scare at Lock 31. Folklorists recorded his songs and stories in the 1930s; treat the crimes in those tales as local legend, not established events.