The Girard Canal section of the Schuylkill Navigation System was part of a canal network built along a river that dropped 618 feet over 108 miles, with still water for mule-towed canal boats created by a series of 32 dams, 23 canals, and 109 lift locks. Each lock could change a boat’s elevation by about 8 feet between upstream and downstream canals, using small butterfly valves called wickets near the bottom of the lock door to flood or drain the lock until pressure equalized and the main doors could be opened. A jammed wicket gave rise to the phrase “sticky wicket,” though that meaning is now rarely associated with the phrase. The canals, locks, and dams were built by large work crews using rudimentary tools such as shovels, pickaxes, and wheelbarrows, and sickness was frequent in the difficult living conditions. Dams along the river created stretches of placid water, sometimes extending 3 miles behind a dam, where canal boats traveled directly on the river before entering one or more locks behind the dam to manage changes in elevation. The canals were usually built very close to the river, though in some places they diverged to reduce digging, and their width and depth balanced construction cost against expected traffic. Growing traffic in the Schuylkill Navigation System led to two upgrades, while canal banks remained vulnerable to breaches, especially during heavy rains or flooding. Lock 60 in Mont Clare has been restored to working condition, and Frick’s Lock in East Coventry awaits restoration.