John Hollis Bankhead Lock & Dam, On Warrior River below Port Birmingham, Kellerman, Tuscaloosa County, AL

Significance: The original 1915 dame (tone only one of the original 17) remains, though not easily accessible to the general public. The current dam is 1,400 feet wide, 77 feet high with a lift of 69 feet. The John Hollis Bankhead Lock and Dam is located on the Black Warrior River about 31 miles below Port Birmingham. The uppermost dam on the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway, the first Bankhead Dam was the last to be constructed in the original development begun in the 1890s. Modernization of the original 1915 lock and dam began in 1966. In 1963 Alabama Power Company completed a powerhouse immediately below the dam on the right bank. The new lock was opened in 1975 and completed in 1980.
Survey number: HAER AL-137
Building/structure dates: 1915 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1936 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: ca. 1951 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1970 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1975 Subsequent Work