The Muskingum River Navigation Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, represents an extraordinary engineering feat of the early-to-mid 19th century and is recognized as the oldest continuously operating, hand-operated slackwater navigation system in the United States. Completed by the State of Ohio between 1836 and 1841, the system canalized 112 miles of the Muskingum River through a series of hand-operated locks and dams. For Coshocton County, situated at the confluence of the Walhonding and Tuscarawas rivers where the Muskingum River officially begins, the navigation system served as a crucial northern gateway. The system integrated the county's abundant natural waterways with a grander regional transportation network, ultimately linking local commerce to the Ohio River at Marietta and, via connecting canals, to the Ohio and Erie Canal.

Historically significant under Criteria A and C for its contributions to transportation, commerce, and engineering, the district is a testament to the transformative "Canal Era" that fueled the economic and industrial development of Coshocton County. The opening of the navigation system allowed Coshocton's agricultural goods, timber, and rich deposits of coal and clay to be transported efficiently and cheaply to southern and eastern markets, sparking a period of rapid population growth and industrialization. Structurally, the surviving hand-operated locks, dams, and lockkeeper homes retain a high degree of historic integrity, illustrating the master craftsmanship and pioneering civil engineering techniques of the period. Today, the district stands as a remarkable living history monument, preserving the legacy of 19th-century American transportation and water management that shaped the economic landscape of Coshocton County and the state of Ohio.