Cheatham Lock is the next lock upstream from my stretch of the Cumberland, sitting about halfway between Clarksville and Nashville, so any run from here to downtown Nashville goes through it. I wanted to know the place pretty well before I ever show up at the signal cord, so I dug through what the Corps and a few others have published and this is what I found.
Where it is
The Corps puts Cheatham Lock at Cumberland River mile 148.6 in Cheatham County, Tennessee, about 10 miles northwest of Ashland City. Some other Corps documents say mile 148.7 for the dam, which I'm pretty sure is just rounding. Below the dam the river is the upper end of the Lake Barkley pool that runs down through Clarksville, and above it you're on Cheatham Lake.
Size, lift and hours
The chamber is 800 feet long and 110 feet wide with a normal lift of 26 feet, and the Corps lock page says it operates 24 hours a day, every day. Twenty-six feet is a pretty modest lift next to Barkley's 57 or Old Hickory's 60, so in my head it's the easy one of the three, if any lock is easy, and that's a big part of why I figure it'll be my first.
A little history
The Corps page says the lock was authorized in 1946, construction started in 1949 and it opened to traffic in August 1951. The Cheatham water control manual gives 1952 for operations, and the Tennessee Encyclopedia lists Cheatham with a 1959 date in its run of Cumberland dams, which I think is the dam and power plant finishing up. I honestly don't know how to square all three, so I'm just telling you all three. Either way it came well before Barkley Dam downstream, which the encyclopedia dates to 1966.
The dams turned a river that used to run low and rocky in late summer into a staircase of lakes, and that story is in our film, Film 04: The Cumberland, and in the Cumberland River history post.
How busy it gets
A 2018 DVIDS story said Cheatham handles about 1,000 recreational lockages a year and called it one of four locks on the Cumberland, while the water control manual puts recreational lockages somewhere in the 500 to 1,000 range. Add the commercial tows the river still carries and you can see why a pleasure boat ends up waiting sometimes.
Locking through
I wrote the whole step-by-step in How to Lock Through on the Cumberland. The gist is you hang back off the approach, pull the small-craft signal cord or call the lock, wait for a green light or one long horn, idle in at no-wake speed and tie off to a floating mooring bit, then kill the engine and keep life jackets on until you get one short horn to leave. Commercial traffic gets priority under federal rules, so I'd plan the day so a wait doesn't wreck it.
Cheatham Lake marinas
The Corps marina list for Cheatham Lake names Riverview Marina in Ashland City, Commodore Yacht Club and Rock Harbor Marina in Nashville, and Harpeth Shoals Marina near the Harpeth River. I haven't been to any of them, I'm just passing along names off the Corps list, so call ahead about fuel and transient slips.
Ashland City is the closest town and sits right on Cheatham Lake with Riverview Marina there. The Harpeth comes into Cheatham Lake too and Harpeth Shoals Marina takes its name from it, though with a boat Doreen's size I'll be sticking to the main channel. Keep going upstream and you get to Nashville, and I covered riverfront docking and the rules there in The Cumberland River in Nashville.
Safety stuff
The Corps' general lock safety guidance says to stay off the dam side, since water moving through the gates and the powerhouse makes current you can't really see from the surface. The tailwater below a dam is where fishermen love to be and it's also where a lot of that current is, and both above and below the lock there may be tows lining up. Stop! Look! Lock! is worth a read before your first trip.
For my own trip I'd like to go on a weekday if I can, with a full tank or a plan for fuel at one of the Cheatham Lake marinas, two long lines and fenders, the VHF, life jackets for everybody and some water and snacks in case we end up sitting a while. If I mess something up you'll probably read about it here.
FAQ
Where is Cheatham Lock and Dam?
On the Cumberland River at about mile 148.6, in Cheatham County, Tennessee, about 10 miles northwest of Ashland City, according to the Corps of Engineers.
How big is Cheatham Lock?
The chamber is 800 feet long and 110 feet wide, with a normal lift of 26 feet.
Is Cheatham Lock open to recreational boats?
Yes. The Corps says the lock operates around the clock, and recreational boats lock through, with commercial traffic getting priority. Check Corps lock notices for maintenance closures.
When was Cheatham Lock built?
The Corps says it was authorized in 1946, started in 1949 and opened in August 1951. Other sources give 1952 for operations and 1959 for the overall project, so dates vary by source.
