A Peculiar Grave: Gretchen’s Lock

E.H. Gill, a canal engineer, traveled from France to the United States with his wife and daughter, Gretchen, to help build the Sandy and Beaver Canal. Tragically, Gill’s wife drowned during the voyage, leaving him and Gretchen to continue alone. While working on the canal, Gretchen contracted malaria and, before dying, asked her father to bury her next to her mother. She was interred in Lock 41 above Sprucevale.

In 1837, facing a recession, Gill resigned and took Gretchen’s body to return to Europe for reburial. Sadly, their ship was lost at sea during a storm, fulfilling Gretchen’s wish to be with her mother. Legend has it that her spirit occasionally returns to the lock, now called Gretchen’s Lock, whispering, “Bury me with my mother.”

Parking/Trailhead

Beaver Creek State Park Parking, Farthest Lot
Of Sprucevale Road
East Liverpool, OH 43920
(40.705086, -80.585143)

The Hike:
About 0.6 miles, one-way and out and back. Hike to Gretchen’s Lock.
After parking in the group camp parking area, hikers will see the
trail at the far end of the lot, noted by a large, flat rock and sign.
Follow the dirt path straight until the pathway forks, marked by
a blue blaze showing an intersection. Go left to visit Gretchen’s
Lock, just a short distance.

Gretchen’s Lock