Easy Way to Travel

At first glance, this 1830s photograph depicts various watercraft on a river. However, this body of water is very much of the man made variety and played a pivotal role in the development of Ohio commerce and transportation. This image shows a section of the Ohio Erie Canal, a series of man made waterways that connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River system.

Throughout the early 1800s, Ohio lawmakers were coming to the conclusion that a canal system would be greatly beneficial to the infrastructure of the state. Money and materials were allocated to the Ohio Canal Commission, which surveyed, engineered, and constructed the canal system. This also included the locks which would help raise and lower watercraft through terrain changes. The project was incredibly expensive and heavily relied on loans and the patronage of businessmen and other investors who could benefit from the canal. The first loan consisted of four hundred thousand dollars. Upon completion, over forty million dollars had been spent. Thousands of workers were recruited for the work, most of whom were newly-arrived Irish immigrants in need of a job.

By the 1830s the canal was mostly complete and was considered worth the costly effort. While travel over land by horse may have been quicker at the time, it was far more cost effective to travel on the canals, especially when it came to transporting goods to and from far-flung markets. The effectiveness of the canal for the transport of goods, workers, and pleasure boats helped boost the Ohio economy, and was heavily used in the years leading up to the American Civil War.

But compared to the time and money spent on this expensive venture, it seems the canals were only useful for a relatively short amount of time. They were expensive to maintain and prone to damage. By the late 1800s most of the canals were disused, dried up, and in overall poor condition. The railroad took the place of the canals, faster and even more efficient and reaching far past the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River.

Sources

“Ohio Erie Canal at Groveport Photograph.” Ohio History Connection. Accessed February 19, 2019. https://cdm16007.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p267401coll32/id/14859

“Ohio and Erie Canal.” National Park Service. Accessed February 19, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/ohioeriecanal/oec.htm.

“Ohio and Erie Canal.” Ohio History Connection. Accessed February 19, 2019. http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Ohio_and_Erie_Canal