Canal Builders

The State of Ohio mobilized a workforce of as many as 2,000 a day to build the Ohio & Erie Canal, an extension of the Erie Canal, using money borrowed from New York investors. Engineers surveyed the route and adapted Erie Canal construction plans to meet local terrain challenges. The labor force included local farmers as well as Irish and German immigrants who had worked on the Erie Canal, and they dug the canal ditch, shaped the towpath, and built the locks, gates, culverts, aqueducts, bridges, and dams. Conditions were harsh, especially in low, wet areas where malaria, typhoid, and cholera were common. Wages began at $8 per month for 26 days of work from sunrise to sunset, with food and housing in shanties provided.

Peninsula, Ohio · United States