Canal lock with people and boats under a cloudy sky - historic dams and canals

Self-guided · metro area, Oklahoma

Historic Dams and Canals in Lawton, OK

Canals, locks, dams and waterworks near you, the engineering that moved goods and water before the highways.

The Lawton, OK metro area has about 127,590 residents, ranking 324th in the country. The list below comes straight from the published records, with the distance from the center of Lawton, OK and the source for each site.

Hoover dam building entrance with visitors - historic dams and canals — Photo: Varun Venugopal on Unsplash

A person walks beside a canal with boats and houses - historic dams and canals — Photo: Kevin Musumbu on Unsplash

Horse pulling a boat along a canal - historic dams and canals — Photo: Tony Williams on Unsplash

On the record near Lawton, OK

The 12 nearest

15 listed sites on the record match historic dams and canals within 300 miles of Lawton, OK, out of 34 listed sites of every kind within 25 miles.

Fullerton Dam62 miles from the center of Lawton · Structure · Olustee · listed 1976National Register of Historic Places
Lake Overholser Dam74 miles from the center of Lawton · Structure · Oklahoma City · listed 2007National Register of Historic Places
Lake Dam, Wintersmith Park100 miles from the center of Lawton · Structure · Ada · listed 2000National Register of Historic Places
Lake Okmulgee Dam Spillway Cascade150 miles from the center of Lawton · Structure · Okmulgee · listed 1999National Register of Historic Places
Lockesburg Waterworks245 miles from the center of Lawton · Structure · Lockesburg · listed 2007National Register of Historic Places
Shady Lake Dam249 miles from the center of Lawton · Structure · Athens · listed 1993National Register of Historic Places
Bard Springs Dam No. 1250 miles from the center of Lawton · Structure · Athens · listed 1993National Register of Historic Places
Bard Springs Dam No. 2250 miles from the center of Lawton · Structure · Athens · listed 1993National Register of Historic Places
Osage Mills Dam260 miles from the center of Lawton · Structure · Osage Mills · listed 1988National Register of Historic Places
Mineral Springs Waterworks260 miles from the center of Lawton · Structure · Mineral Springs · listed 2007National Register of Historic Places
Crystal Springs Dam271 miles from the center of Lawton · Structure · Norman · listed 1993National Register of Historic Places
Cove Lake Spillway Dam--Bridge274 miles from the center of Lawton · Structure · Corley · listed 1995National Register of Historic Places

Distances are straight-line from the center of Lawton, OK. Many sites are private property or working buildings - view them from the public way. See them on the map.

Dams and Canals in Lawton, step by step

1
See every listed site of this kind in the area
2
Sort by distance and pick the closest few
3
Read the record for the year, the builder and the use
4
View from the public way and note what has changed
5
Collect the set and move on to the next county

What people in Lawton, OK ask first

How much does it cost to visit these sites in Lawton, OK?

Most listed sites can be seen from a public road or sidewalk at no cost, and the app is free to use. Some sites are private homes, working churches or museums with their own hours and fees. The record for each one says what it is, so you know before you go.

Where does the information on these sites come from?

From published records: the National Register of Historic Places, the Recorded Texas Historic Landmark program, and the Georgia Historical Society and Georgia Department of Natural Resources marker program. Every site on the page names its source.

Are these buildings open to the public?

Some are, many are not. Churches, courthouses and libraries usually keep regular hours. Houses, barns and mills are often private and best seen from the road. The record for each site tells you which kind it is.

What does it mean when a site is on the National Register?

It means the property was documented and accepted as historically significant. Listing honors the site, it does not open it to visitors or stop an owner from using it.

How a visit works in Lawton

Step 1
Find the place
Every stop starts as a pin with real coordinates. In Lawton, OK the map shows what is listed around you and how far each one is, so the first decision is where to go, and it takes a few seconds.
Step 2
Read the story
The record behind each marker is kept whole: what happened there, when, who was involved, and why it was worth a sign. You read it standing where it happened, which is the part a textbook cannot give you.
Step 3
Get there under your own power
Walk it, run it, hike it, ride it or drive it. Stops in Lawton, OK are chained into routes that fit the way you move, so a lunch break, a long run or a Saturday drive can all pass through history.
Step 4
Collect it and come back
Each stop you reach counts toward a badge, and a photo or a correction you send makes the record better for the next person. The map remembers where you have been, so the next trip starts where the last one ended.