Talk:Pennyfield Lock

Latest comment: 3 years ago by Gog the Mild in topic GA Review

National Archives Catalog edit

The PDF from the National Archives Catalog may have some information that could be added here –

  • "Washington, DC SP Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park". National Archives Catalog.

There are 1540 pages: 42-4, 878-82, 897-99 and 1339 are about Pennyfield but there may also be other sections of interest. EdwardUK (talk) 12:48, 21 July 2020 (UTC)Reply

GA Review edit

This review is transcluded from Talk:Pennyfield Lock/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Gog the Mild (talk · contribs) 14:20, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply


I have done a little copy editing. Please flag up anything you are not happy with.

All good! TwoScars (talk) 19:47, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • Caption: "Pennyfield Lock and lock house 2020". Insert 'in'?
Inserted "in". TwoScars (talk) 19:47, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • Caption: "Approaching the Pennyfield Lock". Perhaps add the year?
I tried to find the year when I was writing the article, but could not. TwoScars (talk) 19:47, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • Caption: "R. Selby was Lock 22 keeper in 1865". How does this relate to the image?
In the lower right side of the image, one can see "R.Selby L.K.". This is lock 22, and Selby was lock keeper at the time. Further west along the canal, one can see "G.W.Pennifield L.K.". At the time, Pennifield was working at a different lock—potentially causing confusion for someone looking at the map. I like the map simply because it shows where the lock is—not far from the Muddy Branch. I changed the caption to read "R. Selby was Lock 22 keeper in 1865, while G. Pennifield worked at a different lock further upriver." (Also mentioned in text.) Always open to suggestions. TwoScars (talk) 19:47, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
Optional: pass some of this on to the reader in the caption? Gog the Mild (talk) 20:17, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • Caption: "Beginning of Pennifield Obituary". Lower case o; perhaps add 's to "Pennifield"?
Made change. TwoScars (talk) 19:47, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • Lead: "from the 1830s through 1923"; Article: "The C&O Canal closed for the season in November 1923" "Charles remained as lock keeper until the canal closed in 1924". I understand the reasons for the lack of precision, but it is confusing for a reader. Possibly delete "in 1924" from the last quote?
Deleted "in 1924" and added "permanently" in front of "closed". Lock keepers still had some responsibilities during the offseason, just not as many. TwoScars (talk) 19:47, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • "subject to low water at times and floods". This doesn't really work. Suggest deleting "at times".
Deleted "at times". TwoScars (talk) 19:47, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • "the additional benefit". Additional to what?
The lock keepers got to live in the lock house and use company land for farming. Changed prose to say "On August 7, 1830, an individual listed only as "Wright" was recommended and approved as lock keeper. His annual compensation was $100 (equivalent to $2,401 in 2019) with the additional benefits of the use of the lock house and the right to use the canal company's land between the canal and the Potomac River below a creek known as the Muddy Branch." TwoScars (talk) 20:51, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • "the elder Pennifield continued to live at the lock". Perhaps add 'house'? Or mention Pennifield House?
Changed to "...the elder Pennifield continued to live at the Pennifield House near the lock house." TwoScars (talk) 20:51, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • "the Pennyfield Lock house remains, the larger Pennifield house fell into disrepair". "house" → 'House' ×2.
Capitalized "House" for both cases. TwoScars (talk) 20:51, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • "The Pennyfield Lock house" 'House'
Capitalized "House". TwoScars (talk) 20:51, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • "available to the public". I am not sure what "available" means. Is there a better word? 'open' perhaps?
Changed sentence to "The Pennyfield Lock House is one of seven restored lock houses on the C&O Canal available to the public for overnight stays as part of the Canal Quarters Program managed by the C&O Canal Trust." TwoScars (talk) 20:51, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply

Optional: not needed for GA.

  • There are, IMO, too many images.
Always open to suggestions. Any particular images that you think are unnecessary? The images fit within the sections on my Mac—are they a problem on your screen? Either of the two images in the Background section could be dropped, and I could not find the date for the "Approaching....". I really like maps—just about everything I have ever done except Hoosier cabinet has a map. TwoScars (talk) 20:51, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • The prose ends halfway down the newspaper clipping for me, and I have relatively small image preferences. I see your dilemma, and it doesn't effect the GAN decision. Sadly, IMO, the image least relevant to the topic is the map. Gog the Mild (talk) 21:23, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • "between the two canal ends" → 'between the two ends of the canal'.
Made change. TwoScars (talk) 20:51, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • "according to records". There is no need to add this.
Dropped it. TwoScars (talk) 20:51, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • "while President". Lower case p.
Made change. TwoScars (talk) 20:51, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply

A great little article. Nice work. Gog the Mild (talk) 14:20, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply

Thank you for looking at this. I will use what I learned here to clean up two more articles, and write one more, about nearby locks on the canal. TwoScars (talk) 20:51, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
  • And done. Thanks for being so responsive and so swift. Promoting. I enjoyed that. As and when the other articles get to GAN, feel free to give me a ping; I may well be able to review them. Gog the Mild (talk) 21:23, 3 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
Good Article review progress box
Criteria: 1a. prose ( ) 1b. MoS ( ) 2a. ref layout ( ) 2b. cites WP:RS ( ) 2c. no WP:OR ( ) 2d. no WP:CV ( )
3a. broadness ( ) 3b. focus ( ) 4. neutral ( ) 5. stable ( ) 6a. free or tagged images ( ) 6b. pics relevant ( )
Note: this represents where the article stands relative to the Good Article criteria. Criteria marked   are unassessed