How many canals did ohio have

Pictures of the canal are collected in the gallery above. Some of them are historic photos from the days when the canal was still in use. Others depict the canal after it was decommissioned.

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Gieck, Jack. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, Wilcox, Frank N. The Ohio Canals. Woods, Terry K. During the late s, Governor Thomas Worthington and Governor Ethan Allen Brown both supported internal improvements, especially canals. Both men believed that Ohioans needed quick and easy access to the Ohio River and to Lake Erie if they were to profit financially. Farmers and business owners would be able to transport their products much more easily and cheaply with canals rather than turnpikes.

They also hoped that canals would open new markets for Ohio goods. Its purpose was to hire an engineer to survey a route for a canal that would connect Lake Erie with the Ohio River. The formation of the board was conditioned on the United States government either donating or selling land to the Ohio government for the canal. In , the Ohio legislature realized the importance of internal improvements and created a new Ohio Canal Commission.

Geddes proposed three routes. In essence, this first proposed route included a combination of the central and eastern Ohio routes. The Commission also recommended a western route along the Miami and Maumee Valleys.

In , the Ohio legislature approved both routes, and work began immediately. On July 21, work began at Middletown on the western canal route. This canal became known as the Miami and Erie Canal. To finance the canals, the Ohio government relied on loans.

The legislature established a Canal Fund Commission to regulate the costs of and the securing of money for the canals. Ohio received its initial loan for construction of the canals from bankers and businessmen living along the East Coast. The initial loan was for , dollars.

The canal commissioners estimated that the Ohio and Erie Canal would cost approximately 2. Once construction was completed, the canals combined actually cost 41 million dollars, 25 million dollars of which was interest on loans.