Fricks Locks Historic District

Last updated

Fricks Locks Historic District
Fricks lock-1.jpg
Old house with Limerick Nuclear Power Plant in background
USA Pennsylvania location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Nearest city Pottstown, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 40°13′21″N75°35′47″W / 40.22250°N 75.59639°W / 40.22250; -75.59639
Area18 acres (7.3 ha)
Built1824
Architectural styleFederal, Swiss Bank House
NRHP reference No. 03001188 [1]
Added to NRHPNovember 21, 2003

Fricks Locks Historic District or more simply Frick's Lock is an abandoned village, along the also abandoned Schuylkill Canal, in the northeast portion of East Coventry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. This 18th-century village outlasted the canal, being abandoned in the late 20th century with the construction of the adjacent Limerick Nuclear Power Plant. The village on about 18 acres of land were listed as a historic district by the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. [2] Frick's Locks is considered a modern ghost town and, although private property, attracts visitors.

Contents

History

1906 topographic map of Frick's Lock showing canal and railroad. The nuclear plant was built to the northeast on hill 269. Frick's Lock.png
1906 topographic map of Frick's Lock showing canal and railroad. The nuclear plant was built to the northeast on hill 269.

Canal era

While some buildings date from the American Revolutionary War era, the village name was a result of the "Schuylkill Navigation" canal. The canal required construction, in the early 1820s, of a set of locks at that point along the Schuylkill River. Locks #54 and #55 [3] were built on farmland acquired from John Frick and the village became known as Frick's Locks. The village thrived due to the economic stimulus of the canal. Eventually the commercial canal traffic declined toward the turn of the century and gave way to the railroad. Frick's Locks had become the singular Frick's Lock after the Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley Railroad arrived and built a station with the latter name. The canal was filled in starting in 1942. While the railroad eventually declined after Conrail was formed on April 1, 1976, the village remained inhabited until near the end of the 20th century.

Nuclear era

In the 1960s, the then Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO) began the process of building the Limerick Nuclear Power Station immediately across the river from Frick's Lock. The station went on line in 1986. During the project, PECO acquired all the land around the station site, which included Frick's Lock. There are possibly conflicting stories as to the residents being bought out and relocated nearby and one that describes a 48-hour notice forced eviction. In any event the buildings were vacated and simply boarded up. There is evidence that some of the buildings were later occupied by an environmental study company retained by PECO.

Present day

In the late 1990s Paul S. Frick (1925-2014), in an effort to preserve the property along with family history, began compiling all of the historical information and then hired Estelle Cremers who lived in the area, to assist him. Paul paid for all the costs and work that led to the property being listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 21, 2003. In February 2011, East Coventry Township partnered with Exelon Corporation to preserve and protect the historic site. Under this new agreement, Exelon effectively donated the land and eleven historic structures at Frick's Lock Village to East Coventry Township, valued at an estimated $1 million. In addition, Exelon will spend close to $2.5 million to stabilize and rehabilitate these historic structures. [4]
As of late 2021, the majority of the old buildings are now surrounded by a substantial fence with padlocked gates. A few older buildings outside the fence near the parking lot have imagery of windows affixed where windows would be and imagery of doors where doors would be. Another building near the parking lot has public restrooms, but those doors are frequently locked with no signage to explain if the restrooms are temporarily or permanently closed.
In January 2022, access to the parking lot outside the village fence has been blocked with a new padlocked gate, presumably controlled by East Coventry Township. Lacking any other public parking nearby, Frick's Lock stands to lose its stature as a trailhead for the Schuylkill River Trail that passes within a few dozen yards of the fenced-in village.

As of September 2023, there are clean, functional restrooms and the parking lot is unlocked. Just past the parking lot are closed gates with no trespassing signs that bear the Exelon corporate logo.

Ghost town

Entrance to Frick's Lock, with a sign forbidding entrance to the site. Note the burned-out residence. Fricks lock-3.jpg
Entrance to Frick's Lock, with a sign forbidding entrance to the site. Note the burned-out residence.

Because of its reputation as a modern ghost town, Frick's Lock attracts many curious individuals and groups, including ghost hunters. Its isolated location and abandoned status also attracts vandals. The inclusion of the Frick's Lock in the 2005 book, Weird Pennsylvania, and numerous web photo essays of the buildings have increased its popularity. The web sites have also documented its increased deterioration, including the aforementioned vandalism and the collapse of some porch structures.

As of March 2008, Frick's Lock remained a hotbed for thrill-seeking amateur urban archaeologists and vandals. Interest grew after a fire destroyed the Lock Tender's House in February 2008. Since then, Exelon has made numerous attempts to clean up debris from the property and to close up open wells and open buildings. Vandals continue with their destruction of the buildings.

Police are now attempting to discourage the continued vandalism by citing all unauthorized people found on the property with trespassing.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernville, Pennsylvania</span> Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Bernville is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 955 at the 2010 census. Bernville is bordered by Penn Township to the north, east, and south and by Jefferson Township to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Coventry Township, Pennsylvania</span> Township in Pennsylvania, United States

East Coventry Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,068 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania</span> Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Upper Providence Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, the township population was 21,219.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware and Raritan Canal</span> United States historic place

The Delaware and Raritan Canal is a canal in central New Jersey, built in the 1830s, that connects the Delaware River to the Raritan River. It was an efficient and reliable means of transportation of freight between Philadelphia and New York City, transporting anthracite coal from eastern Pennsylvania during much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The canal allowed shippers to cut many miles off the existing route from the Pennsylvania Coal Region down the Delaware, around Cape May, and up the occasionally treacherous Atlantic Ocean coast to New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Canal (Pennsylvania)</span> United States historic place

The Union Canal was a towpath canal that existed in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States during the 19th century. First proposed in 1690 to connect Philadelphia with the Susquehanna River, it ran approximately 82 mi from Middletown on the Susquehanna below Harrisburg to Reading on the Schuylkill River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limerick Generating Station</span> Nuclear power plant in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, US

The Limerick Generating Station is a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania located next to the Schuylkill River in Limerick Township, Montgomery County, northwest of Philadelphia. The facility has two General Electric boiling water reactor (BWR) units, cooled by natural draft cooling towers. According to its owner, Constellation Energy, the two units are capable of producing 2,317 megawatts of power, which combined would provide electricity to around 2 million households. Constellation owns and operates this facility following their separation from Exelon Corporation in 2022. With the exception of refueling outages, Limerick Generating Station continuously operates at 100% power. The plant is connected to the grid, and transmits power, via multiple 500kv transmission lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schuylkill Canal</span>

The Schuylkill Canal, or Schuylkill Navigation, was a system of interconnected canals and slack-water pools along the Schuylkill River in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, built as a commercial waterway in the early 19th-century. Chartered in 1815, the navigation opened in 1825, to provide transportation and water power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivy Ridge station</span> SEPTA Regional Rail station

Ivy Ridge station is a SEPTA Regional Rail station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Located at Umbria Street and Parker Avenue in Northwest Philadelphia, it serves the Manayunk/Norristown Line. The initial station was built in a minimalist design similar to that of Elm Street, Norristown. The current station has a 204-space parking lot. In FY 2013, Ivy Ridge station had a weekday average of 602 boardings and 582 alightings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Pennsylvania</span>

This is a list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania. As of 2015, there are over 3,000 listed sites in Pennsylvania. All 67 counties in Pennsylvania have listings on the National Register.

Oaks is an unincorporated community located in Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is 18 miles (30 km) northwest of Philadelphia and its boundaries are defined in large part by the village's position at the junction of Perkiomen Creek and the Schuylkill River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mont Clare, Pennsylvania</span> Village in Pennsylvania, United States

Mont Clare is a village in Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The village is located on the left bank of the Schuylkill River opposite Phoenixville and Chester County. Mont Clare is at the site of the former Jacobs' ford. Mont Clare hosts the only functional lock and one of only two remaining watered stretches of the Schuylkill Canal. Mont Clare was the birthplace of the infamous outlaw Sundance Kid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swatara State Park</span>

Swatara State Park is a 3,515-acre (1,422 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Bethel, Swatara and Union Townships, Lebanon and Pine Grove Township, Schuylkill Counties in Pennsylvania in the United States. 8 miles (13 km) of Swatara Creek lie within the park's boundaries, which are roughly formed by Pennsylvania Route 443 to the north and Interstate 81 to the south. The park is in a valley in the ridge and valley region of Pennsylvania between Second Mountain (north) and Blue Mountain (south).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh Canal</span> United States historic place

The Lehigh Canal is a navigable canal that begins at the mouth of Nesquehoning Creek on the Lehigh River in the Lehigh Valley and Northeastern regions of Pennsylvania. It was built in two sections over a span of 20 years beginning in 1818. The lower section spanned the distance between Easton and present-day Jim Thorpe. In Easton, the canal met the Delaware and Morris Canals, which allowed anthracite coal and other goods to be transported further up the U.S. East Coast. At its height, the Lehigh Canal was 72 miles (116 km) long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leiper Canal</span>

Early in the 19th century, the Leiper Canal built in 1828–29 during the middle of the American canal age ran about 3 miles (5 km) along Crum Creek in Delaware County to its mouth in eastern Pennsylvania's Delaware Valley carrying its owner‘s quarried products to docks on the Delaware River tidewater until 1852.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal</span> Canal in Pennsylvania and Maryland

The Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal between Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, and Havre de Grace, Maryland, at the head of Chesapeake Bay, provided an interstate shipping alternative to 19th-century arks, rafts, and boats plying the difficult waters of the lower Susquehanna River. Built between 1836 and 1840, it ran 43 miles (69 km) along the west bank of the river and rendered obsolete an older, shorter canal along the east bank. Of its total length, 30 miles (48 km) were in Pennsylvania and 13 miles (21 km) in Maryland. Although rivalry between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland, delayed its construction, the finished canal brought increased shipments of coal and other raw materials to both cities from Pennsylvania's interior. Competition from railroads was a large factor in the canal's decline after 1855. Canal remnants, including a lock keeper's house, have been preserved in Maryland, and locks 12 and 15 have been preserved in Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Rock Dam (Schuylkill River)</span> Dam in Chester / Montgomery counties, Pennsylvania

The Black Rock Dam is a low head dam in the Schuylkill River. Originally constructed as a stone filled, timber crib dam in the early 19th century by the Schuylkill Navigation Company, the dam was one of dozens built to create a slack water pools for the Schuylkill Navigation System. The dam is a contributing property of the "Schuylkill Navigation Canal, Oakes Reach Section" registered historic district. The dam is located between Phoenixville and Mont Clare in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA.

The Ghost Town Trail is a rail trail in Western Pennsylvania that runs 36 miles (58 km) between Black Lick, Indiana County, and Ebensburg, Cambria County. Established in 1991 on the right-of-way of the former Ebensburg and Black Lick Railroad, the trail follows the Blacklick Creek and passes through many ghost towns that were abandoned in the early 1900s with the decline of the local coal mining industry. Open year-round to cycling, hiking, and cross-country skiing, the trail is designated a National Recreation Trail by the United States Department of the Interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Bend Farm</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

River Bend Farm is a historic farm located in East Coventry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania in a bend of the Schuylkill River near Pottstown. The farm house is a good example of early Chester County construction techniques, being built with stuccoed stone walls and pegged rafters. The farm was owned, but not lived in, by Michael Hillegas, the first Treasurer of the United States. It was also owned by members of the Joshua family political dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pottstown Landing Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

The Pottstown Landing Historic District is a national historic district that is located in North Coventry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birdsboro station (Reading Railroad)</span>

The Reading Company used two passenger railway stations in or near Birdsboro, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad built a station on its Main Line in Exeter Township, on the opposite side of the Schuylkill River from Birdsboro. The Wilmington and Northern Railroad established a freight line to Birdsboro in 1870, but it was not until after its merger with the Reading Company that its passenger station was built in the borough.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Estelle Cremers, 2002, NRHP Nomination Form Fricks Locks Historic District Enter "public" for ID and "public" for password to access the site.
  3. "Schuylkill Navigation" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2006. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
  4. $2.3M restoration of Frick’s Lock Village unveiled