Canal era

While some buildings date from the American Revolutionary War era, the village name was a result of the "Schuylkill Navigation" canal. The canal required construction, in the early 1820s, of a set of locks at that point along the Schuylkill River. Locks #54 and #55^[3] were built on farmland acquired from John Frick and the village became known as Frick's Locks. The village thrived due to the economic stimulus of the canal. Eventually the commercial canal traffic declined toward the turn of the century and gave way to the railroad. Frick's Locks had become the singular Frick's Lock after the Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley Railroad arrived and built a station with the latter name. The canal was filled in starting in 1942. While the railroad eventually declined after Conrail was formed on April 1, 1976, the village remained inhabited until near the end of the 20th century.

Nuclear era

In the 1960s, the then Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO) began the process of building the Limerick Nuclear Power Station immediately across the river from Frick's Lock. The station went on line in 1986. During the project, PECO acquired all the land around the station site, which included Frick's Lock. There are possibly conflicting stories as to the residents being bought out and relocated nearby and one that describes a 48-hour notice forced eviction. In any event the buildings were vacated and simply boarded up. There is evidence that some of the buildings were later occupied by an environmental study company retained by PECO.

Present day

In the late 1990s Paul S. Frick (1925-2014), in an effort to preserve the property along with family history, began compiling all of the historical information and then hired Estelle Cremers who lived in the area, to assist him. Paul paid for all the costs and work that led to the property being listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 21, 2003. In February 2011, East Coventry Township partnered with Exelon Corporation to preserve and protect the historic site. Under this new agreement, Exelon effectively donated the land and eleven historic structures at Frick's Lock Village to East Coventry Township, valued at an estimated $1 million. In addition, Exelon will spend close to $2.5 million to stabilize and rehabilitate these historic structures.^[4]
As of late 2021, the majority of the old buildings are now surrounded by a substantial fence with padlocked gates. A few older buildings outside the fence near the parking lot have imagery of windows affixed where windows would be and imagery of doors where doors would be. Another building near the parking lot has public restrooms, but those doors are frequently locked with no signage to explain if the restrooms are temporarily or permanently closed.
In January 2022, access to the parking lot outside the village fence has been blocked with a new padlocked gate, presumably controlled by East Coventry Township. Lacking any other public parking nearby, Frick's Lock stands to lose its stature as a trailhead for the Schuylkill River Trail that passes within a few dozen yards of the fenced-in village.

As of September 2023, there are clean, functional restrooms and the parking lot is unlocked. Just past the parking lot are closed gates with no trespassing signs that bear the Exelon corporate logo.