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.

The Rodrick Bridge, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, was a historically significant bowstring arch truss bridge located in Jackson Township, Coshocton County, Ohio. Erected in 1872, the bridge spanned the Walhonding River, serving as a vital link in the county's rural transportation network. The structure was an exemplary representative of the metal bowstring arch truss design, a patented engineering innovation of the mid-to-late 19th century that utilized prefabricated wrought-iron components. This lightweight yet sturdy design allowed for rapid assembly and provided a cost-effective, durable solution for crossing the region's waterways during a period of rapid agricultural and industrial expansion in post-Civil War Ohio.

Architecturally and technologically, the Rodrick Bridge is highly significant as a rare surviving monument to early American iron bridge engineering. It showcases the pivotal transition from traditional wooden and stone bridge-building methods to the use of structural iron, which paved the way for modern steel bridge design. Furthermore, the bridge reflects the prominence of Ohio's nineteenth-century metal fabrication and bridge-building industries, which led the nation in the design and mass production of metal truss bridges. By facilitating reliable year-round travel across the Walhonding River, the Rodrick Bridge played a crucial role in the socio-economic development of the Walhonding Valley by connecting isolated farming communities to regional market centers.