In 1836, A. J. Swayze built a mill at this canal lock. Josephus Norris eventually purchased the mill. Norris successfully operated it as a combination of a grist, flour, and woolen mill. One buhr was used for corn meal and cattle feed and the others were used for flour. Norris' Mill had a daily capacity of 100 barrels. Around 1880, the woolen operation ceased due to stiff competition from the larger, modernized mills. In 1895, Norris sold the mill and it was dismantled and relocated.

Water from the canal was channeled into a millrace, then it dropped 18 feet and turned a waterwheel. Originally, a tailrace channeled the water into Fur Creek. A dam across Fur Creek forced the water back into the canal below Lock # 5. Flooding destroyed the dam numerous times over the years. Fed up, Norris leased some land from Sam Hedges and built a tailrace that paralleled the canal to Lock # 5.

A locktender's house was located nearby. It's visible above the canal lock in the engraving above. The locktender was responsible for Lock's # 0-8.

Legend has it, James Garfield got into a fight on top of this canal lock. Apparently, a bully was yelling at Garfield for no reason. Garfield got so angry that he jumped 15 feet across this canal lock and laid the man out.