Lock No. 1, or Sewell Lock, was designed by world renowned engineers Major S. Sewell and Ben Johnson and built by the Furst-Clark Construction Company of Biltmore. It was part of the Everglades Drainage District and played a vital role in early operations of the New River Canal, a major transportation artery connecting Fort Lauderdale, the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee. The system was operational in 1912 and remained in use until the construction of highways and railroads in the 1930s. The lock consisted of six-foot-thick concrete walls and large wooden gates that were operated by a hand-driven rack-and-pinion mechanism. The lock was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 for its role in reshaping South Florida in the early part of the 20th century.