Canals

Early White settlers living along the Ohio River and Lake Erie had more immediate access to commercial markets and trade beyond Ohio, but farmers and merchants in central Ohio and other parts of the state were especially landlocked due to dense forests and unnavigable rivers. In the early 19th century, constructing a statewide canal system appeared to be the most efficient and cost-effective solution to Ohio’s problem. After 15 years of petitions from state officials, the Ohio Legislature created the Canal Commission to oversee land surveys, resulting in the 1825 Act that launched the construction of two major north-south canal routes – the Miami and Erie Canal from Cincinnati to Toledo and the Ohio and Erie Canal from Portsmouth to Cleveland.

Central Ohio would benefit from the 308-mile-long Ohio and Erie Canal, which was complete in its entirety in 1833. Although canals brought economic prosperity and connected Ohioans, the canal era was short-lived. By the time the Miami and Erie Canal was complete in 1845, canals were already threatened by the rapidly increasing number of railroad lines. By 1856, canals operated at a net loss, and by the 1860s the number of miles of railroads had far surpassed those of canals. Use of Ohio’s canals continued to decline throughout the Civil War, when the state leased canals to private companies and many sections were either abandoned or fell into disrepair. In 1903, Ohioans voted to rehabilitate Ohio’s canals, but in 1913 damage from the flood was too great and efforts to rebuild were squelched.

Canals of Ohio map

Construction of Ohio and Erie Canal started in 1825 – leveling and clearing land, digging and puddling canals, and constructing 146 locks. The state paid contractors who were in charge of sections of the canal, who then hired laborers for construction. These laborers were largely farmers and their sons living near stretches of the canal, many being German and Irish immigrants.

Courtesy of Ohio History Connection

Canal Boat on the Miami and Erie Canal

Life around the canals was prosperous and profitable. Mills and other businesses cropped up along the canals as merchants shipped materials like wood, coal and iron ore, as well as food goods like pork, oats and whiskey. This 1890s photograph shows a group riding a boat along the Miami and Erie Canal, with buildings along the canal in the background.

Courtesy of Ohio History Connection

Lock 30, Ohio and Erie Canal

Several locks, the mechanism used to raise and lower canal boats at a point with changing water levels, or parts of them, are still visible today. Some are preserved by local historical societies, such as Lock 30 in Peninsula, Ohio.

Courtesy of Kevin Payravi via Wikimedia Commons

Columbus Feeder Canal map

This section of an 1887 Sanborn map shows the Columbus feeder canal starting around West Main and Jewett Streets, just south of today’s Bicentennial Park. More than 1,000 people gathered at the Statehouse in 1831 to celebrate the opening of the feeder canal. Columbus residents knew the impact the canal would have, “converting this sleepy little town to a veritable metropolis.” (Columbus Dispatch, August 13, 1939)

Columbus Feeder Canal

Taken in 1908, this photograph shows two men standing on a bridge overlooking the Columbus feeder canal, around W. Main St.