The West's First Canal

The Ohio & Erie Canal was the first, and among the most successful, of the canals built in the West. Its construction immediately followed completion of the Erie Canal across New York. The Erie Canal linked the East to the edge of the West. The Ohio & Erie Canal pushed the connection into the heartland. Before the canal, it took 30 days to travel by land from Akron to New York City. By canal, it took just 10 days.

The State of Ohio constructed the Ohio & Erie Canal. Two key factors influenced its decision to select the Cleveland-to-Portsmouth route for the canal. First was access to water. Ohio has a number of rivers that could have been used to water the canal. But the chosen route offered a good solution for a major challenge presented by Ohio’s geography: the continental watershed divide that separated waters flowing south to the Gulf of Mexico and north to Lake Erie. Because rivers do not cross the divide, another source of water was needed for the canal. Summit Lake in Akron offered this source of water. Politics also influenced the route choice. Land speculators Simon Perkins and Paul Williams, the founders of Akron, offered to donate large parcels of land for the canal, an incentive that sealed the route selection.

The ground-breaking for the Ohio & Erie Canal was celebrated at a dedication ceremony at the Licking Summit on July 4, 1825. Taking advantage of the connection to the Erie Canal, officials decided to build the Ohio & Erie Canal in sections starting from the north. The first section, from Cleveland to Akron, opened in 1827 followed by Akron to Massillon in 1828, Massillon to Dover in 1829, Dover to Newark in 1830, Newark to Chillicothe in 1831 and Chillicothe to Portsmouth in 1832.

Constructing the canal represented a monumental task, accomplished in a remarkably short time given the magnitude of the work. The canal was a hand-dug, 308-mile, 40-foot-wide, four-foot-deep ditch with 151 lift locks that raised and lowered boats through elevation changes. It took many people to plan and build the canal, from James Geddes, who made the original survey and became chief engineer, to the Irish and German immigrants and hired farmers who toiled at the manual labor of digging the canal.

The Ohio & Erie Canal was owned and maintained by the State of Ohio, but canal boats were most often operated by captains who owned their own boats as private businesses. John Malvin, a Baptist preacher and leader in Cleveland’s black community, was a rare African American canal boat captain. James A. Garfield, who later became the 20th President of the United States, worked for a canal boat as a muleskinner, driving the mules that pulled the boats.

Life on the canal took a on a character of its own. The captain’s family often lived on board the canal boat, accomplishing everyday tasks of cooking, washing and minding children. Businesses such as taverns catering to canal boats sprung up at locks, giving people a place to stop while waiting to lock through. Stories of a rough and seedy life marked by drinking and fighting is contrasted with efforts to maintain refinements despite the challenge of living along the canal. These stories can be explored at places like Gleeson’s tavern, which is now Canal Visitor Center adjacent to Lock 38 in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and Mustill Store in Akron, which houses exhibits in a canal-era grocery store at Lock 15.

The canal launched the growth of Ohio’s economy and communities. Within one year of its opening, merchants from Buffalo, New York, increased their purchases from Cleveland's wheat market from 1,000 bushels annually to more than 250,000. Growth in industry was stimulated by access to transportation. Mills, foundries, and distilleries located along the canal to utilize it for waterpower and transportation. With the growth stimulated by the canal, Ohio’s population grew from 581,295 in 1820 to 1.98 million in 1850, making it the third most populous state in the union. Cities, such as Akron and Cleveland, grew from small towns into prosperous communities.

For 25 years, canals were the principal means of transportation of both freight and passengers within Ohio. The rise of railroads starting in the 1850s began to mark the end of the canal era. Nevertheless, the canal remained in operation until a major flood in 1913 damaged it beyond repair.