Steamboat John T. Carson at Brown's Lock on the Barren River, 1899. The construction of locks and dams, beginning in the 1830s, controlled water levels on the Barren and Green rivers making them navigable year round. Home l Early History l Agriculture l Business l Industry l Education l Health and Medicine l Recreation l Religion l Transportation l War l Timeline l Map l Sponsors   Updated December 15, 2000 Created by Donna Parker with contribution from Sandy Staebell, Laura Harper Lee, Lynne Ferguson and Jon Kay. Send comments to KyMus@wku.edu Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001 Western Kentucky University All rights reserved. URL: http://www.wku.edu/Library/onlinexh/rrr1/Pages/Secpages/tr_locksdams.html