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Ohio inventions and firsts · Achievement · 1825-1832

Ohio and Erie Canal

Ground was broken July 4, 1825 at Licking Summit near Newark; the 308-mile canal with 146 locks linked Lake Erie and the Ohio River, with the first boat from Akron to Cleveland on July 3-4, 1827. Floods in 1913 ended the system.

At a glance

Year
1825-1832
Company
State of Ohio
Place
Cleveland to Portsmouth (groundbreaking at Licking Summit near Newark), Licking County ZIP 43055 · Licking County

The story

In the early 1800s farmers in Ohio's interior could grow plenty of grain but could not get it to market cheaply. Roads were bad, and wagon hauling ate the profit. New York's Erie Canal had shown that canals could work, and Ohio decided to build its own link from Lake Erie to the Ohio River.

The legislature authorized the Ohio and Erie Canal on February 4, 1825, and ground was broken on July 4, 1825 at Licking Summit near Newark. The first section, from Akron to Cleveland, opened in 1827, and the entire 308-mile system was done by 1832. It had 146 lift locks and climbed about 1,206 feet.

Ohio grew rich on it. In the 1840s the state was the third most prosperous in the country, owing much of that growth to the canal. Revenue peaked between 1852 and 1855, and then railroads took over; freight ended in 1861.

The Great Flood of 1913 destroyed aqueducts and locks, and most of the canal was abandoned. Segments survive as trails managed by the National Park Service and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Timeline

  • 1825-02-04: The Ohio legislature authorizes the canal. (Columbus, OH) source
  • 1825-07-04: Ground is broken at Licking Summit near Newark. (Newark, OH) source
  • 1827: The first section, Akron to Cleveland, opens. (Akron / Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1832: The 308-mile canal is complete. (Cleveland to Portsmouth, OH) source
  • 1852-1855: Canal revenues peak. (Ohio) source
  • 1861: Freight operations on the canal end. (Ohio) source
  • 1913: The Great Flood destroys aqueducts and locks. (Ohio) source

What it changed

  • 308 miles, 146 locks, from Lake Erie to the Ohio River.
  • Ohio was the third most prosperous state in the 1840s, partly thanks to the canal.

Why it matters

Made Ohio the third most prosperous state by the 1840s per the source.

Places in Ohio to see

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.