Two Canals

The Miami & Erie Canal, built by Ohio, was begun on July 21, 1825, and completed in 1845, connecting the Ohio River at Cincinnati with Lake Erie at Toledo. By the time it reached the Maumee Valley, the Wabash & Erie Canal had already been projected from Fort Wayne to Toledo. At Junction, about 15 miles southwest of here, the two canals joined and became one. Indiana built the Wabash & Erie Canal from Evansville on the Ohio River to Toledo on Lake Erie. It was begun on February 22, 1832, a date honoring George Washington, who had first suggested the construction of canals in this region. When finished in 1856, it was 458 miles long and one of the longest canals built. By the time of the Civil War, both canals were being superseded by swifter, more dependable railroads, and they were abandoned section by section until the canal era in the early 1900’s came to an end.

Ohio · United States