The Towpath Trail

A 10-foot-wide towpath ran between the canal and the Scioto River, where tow animals walked to pull canal boats. Horses and mules were used, but mules were the primary animals because they better withstood the climate, were stronger, and adapted better to the trail. They were hitched in tandem, walking one behind the other, usually in teams of three for heavy loads and sometimes in smaller teams for lighter loads. Canal boats moved materials out of the interior parts of the state and carried goods into the interior for citizens to buy in stores. People traveled on the boats from about 1835 until about 1850, when railroads took over most passenger traffic. Because canals could transport many materials more cheaply than railways, canal traffic continued until about 1900. Frequently transported goods included whiskey, grain, coal, furniture, livestock, salt pork, flour, sugar, and furs. The canals remained open until the March 1913 flood ruined them, and the State legally closed them. Beside the Ohio-Erie Canal on High Street stood the John Groce and Son Pork Packer Company, a Circleville processing center that shut down in 1889.

Ohio · United States