Wells Lock and Dam No. 3 was built from 1867 to 1874 by the Kanawha Navigation Company at a cost of $60,000. The dam is 289 feet long with a 42-foot-wide base anchored to bedrock. The lock chamber is 22 feet wide and 125 feet long with an 11.8-foot lift. The Federal Government purchased it in 1905 and partially rebuilt it in 1908. Federal operation of the project for commercial navigation on the Little Kanawha River ended in 1951.