The Ohio & Erie Canal: Catalyst of Economic Development for Ohio (Teaching with Historic Places)

This lesson is part of the National Park Service’s Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) program.

Low bridge, everybody down! yells the canal boat captain. As they clear the bridge, his wife begins hanging her laundry from a rope tied on posts running between the cargo holds. The oldest son is the steersman. He must always compensate for the sideward pull of the mule team that plods along the edge of the canal tugging on ropes attached to the boat. This boat is the family business--their livelihood--and their home. Gliding gracefully along the Ohio & Erie Canal, the boat is heavily laden with lumber on its way north to Lake Erie where it will be transferred to a lake freighter and sent to Buffalo and the Erie Canal.

Use this lesson to learn more about the development of the Ohio & Erie Canal.

Objective

1. To describe the construction of the Ohio & Erie Canal;
2. To compare the economy of Ohio before and after the completion of the canal system;
3. To identify industries that were made possible by the construction of the Ohio & Erie Canal;
4. To analyze the development of transportation routes in their own community and determine how these routes affected their local economy.

Full Lesson Plan