Making Connections with the Ohio & Erie Canal

The Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail has become a centerpiece of northeast Ohio’s trail system. It connects Cleveland, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Akron, and points south, inviting exploration of the region by bicycle or foot. It also provides a link in long-distance trails, including the Ohio to Erie Trail from Cincinnati to Cleveland.

The trail represents a modern use for the historic Ohio & Erie Canal, which opened in 1827. The state funded the canal, paying $15,000 per mile. This investment recognized the value of a canal in making connections, not for leisure but for transportation and commerce. In its heyday, the canal played a critical role in the nation’s first, effective transportation system that connected regions of the country.

The travels of Reverend B.W. Chidlaw show how this interstate system worked. In 1836, he traveled over 1,100 miles from New York City to Cincinnati, paying $14.75 in fares on a trip with six stages. His itinerary is one of the stories revealed in A Photo Album of Ohio’s Canal Era, 1825-1913 by Jack Gieck.

Chidlaw departed New York City on a steamboat, traveling 160 miles north on the Hudson River to Albany for $2. From Albany, he crossed New York on the Erie Canal in two stages. A $1.50 fare took him to Utica, in New York’s Mohawk Valley. This valley provided a critical passage to the West, squeezing between the Appalachian and Catskill mountains. Eastern mountains had long provided a barrier to the West. Early canal advocates, including George Washington, focused on the potential of canals to surmount this obstacle. Washington feared the loss of the West to other colonial powers without canals to tie the nation together.

Once in Utica, Chidlaw paid another $3.75 fare to complete his trip on the Erie Canal to Buffalo. He then boarded a Lake Erie steamer for the 193-mile trip to Cleveland, paying $2.50. In Cleveland, he transferred to the Ohio & Erie Canal, traveling 308 miles and paying $4 to reach Portsmouth. For the last 100 miles of his trip, Chidlaw paid a $1 fare and traveled by steamer down the Ohio River to Cincinnati.

Overall, Chidlaw’s trip took about a month. While slow by today’s standards, this was much faster than prior overland travel. Chidlaw encouraged others to venture on the same path. In 1840, he published a book in Welsh, Yr American, to encourage immigration from Wales to Ohio.

The water-based transportation system traveled by Chidlaw had a brief heyday. By the 1850s, trains offered greater speed. Yet, the interstate canal system left its mark. New York City became a financial center. Before the canal era, it was the fourth largest port in the nation after Boston, Philadelphia, and Charleston. By 1830, it exported four times as much as Philadelphia. Buffalo and Cleveland became Great Lakes port cities. Industry and business concentrated around Akron’s closely spaced locks, promoting growth of the city. Small towns such as Boston and Peninsula boomed as service centers for the canal.

Today, connectivity occurs at the speed of light. But when we slow down to enjoy recreation along the Towpath Trail, viewing the remnants of the Ohio & Erie Canal, we can think about Reverend Chidlaw and the others that passed through this area on their interstate travels. Connectivity makes a lot possible in our lives today. The same was true during the canal era.

Learn More

Visit Canal Exploration Center to learn more about the Ohio & Erie Canal and its role in the nation’s first interstate transportation system. Its family-friendly exhibits also highlight how the canal was built, how locks functioned, and daily life along the canal. Be sure to check our operating hours, which vary seasonally.

NPS / Moto Photo

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Jennie Vasarhelyi leads the division of interpretation, education and visitor services at Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Her guest columns appear in the West Side Leader and in Record-Courier newspapers in Northeast Ohio.