Lock 48 is part of the extensive Ohio and Erie Canal constructed between 1825 and 1847. The canal provided a water route between the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico and gave a reliable form of transportation for Ohio's agricultural products and natural resources. After 1855 the railroads began to impact the canal, and in 1913 the canal system came to an abrupt end. However, the Ohio and Erie Canal played an important role in the United States economy at a time when the country was establishing itself as a new nation.