 It was designed by world renowned engineers Major S. Sewell and Ben Johnson and built by the Furst-Clark Construction Company.The lock consisted of six-foot-thick concrete walls and large wooden gates that were operated by a hand-driven rack-and-pinion mechanism.Part of the Everglades Drainage District, the lock played a vital role in early operations of the New River Canal, a major transportation artery connecting Fort Lauderdale, the Everglades, and Lake Okeechobee.