Thursday, April 17, 2014

O is for Ohio Canal

by Kim Van Sickler

[Kim's posts will all relate to her MG historical fiction novel with a paranormal twist: MuleskinnerHere's the pitch: An extraordinary canal dog gives twelve-year-old mule driver, Clay, the conviction to fight against a highly suspect Indenture agreement his pa supposedly signed...right before Pa was found swinging from a tree above Lonesome Lock.]

In 1825 the Ohio legislature authorized the construction of the Ohio Canal (now known as the Ohio & Erie Canal). The idea originated from the new and prospering Erie Canal running through NY and PA. Goods would arrive via Lake Erie to Cleveland and get shipped south through the length of Ohio to Portsmouth, a distance of a little over 300 miles. Raw materials like coal, quarry stone, and crops would be shipped back north. Thanks to the canal, Cleveland and Akron, little nothing towns, blossomed. The Canal era petered out in 1913 with the Great Flood, the nail in the coffin of a dying transportation industry, thanks to the faster, more efficient railroads.

The earliest known photo of the Ohio Canal, taken circa 1859 in the East Flats section of Cleveland.

8 comments:

  1. I imagine Ohio has changed a bit since that photo was taken.
    Nice to meet you, Kim

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  2. Hi Kim - it's always amazed me how much life changed from the canals, to rail road transport ... and then road usage ... all in about 200 years .. and of course how much life changed in the urbanisation that occurred. Love the photo of the Ohio Canal .. interesting to read about - cheers Hilary

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    1. I've never been to Ohio but have a good friend from there. I'd like to visit.

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  3. It's amazing how modes of transportation change everything about life. Each change is wrenching for the people living at that time, but viewed with a wide lens the progression is fascinating.

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  4. I'm enjoying the historical backdrop of your story. Marcia's comment is right on!

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    1. I'm glad someone else finds that time period as fascinating as I do! And yes, Marcia is so intuitive. I love how her mind works.

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  5. We drive along the Erie canal on the way to Boston. It would be fun to stop and explore.

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