Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1869-12-24
! ditch is 3j% miles long.

The last mentioned ditch Is dosignatcl a.
Ditch No. ~, aud "is one ut the institutions" Of
WOUk county "A fact tn which Taxpayers can
reality testify. ltis, perhaps the largest under
taking Gf the kind In Northwestern Ohio. The
petition tor this ditch was filed in tho Auditors
Oflce, in June, OF 1850. The Engineer made
his first report thereon in May, 1901 In June,
OF the same year, the ditch was established and
| the first work was sold in November, Of 1882.
| The entire cost of It's construction Is eStimltcd
at more than 500 00O aud At this time It is per-
| hans n little more than onc-half completed. IL
| begins in jackson township, at the extreme
| southwestern corner OF tho county, aud runs
northcasterly course, down the western branch
| of the Portage River, passing through the town
! slips of Jackson, Milton, Liberty, Portage, Cen"
| ter, Webster and Freedom, terminating at Penn
| bcryillr, In the last named township. II has q
total fall orG7ih feet. When entirely completed
| IL will drain aud render ht for cultivation not
less than ATTY thousand norcs Of wet and swamp
land The breadth and depth fthis great drain
varies according tu locality. The first six miles
II has bottom width of ten feet the next three
miles il has twelve feet bottom the next seven
miles, fourteen feet the next four miles, twen-
ty feet. The remaining portion of its course, II
takes tho channel OF the west branch of Portage
River, which is required to be- cleared Of all nb-
sructions Its depth vdrinslrom one io eight ttet.
THIS one Improvement alone that might
clam rank with ship canalsi without very
great utkico VI pIesulnpNloH is VI tllo kiNhNSl
Importance To the future prosperity Of the coun-
ty, aud expensive as Is the enterprise, IL will
even ullly pro luce salts bcncii beyond the
power Of the present to estimate.
bitches Nos. II, 22, 81, " and 100, also quite
| important, are each from ten TO twelve miles
long, and drain large area OF territory in differ
ent portions of the county. In tho foregoing sta .
tistics, the township bitches are not included,
| the aggregate length of which will probably
reach from Gfly to sixty niles more.
And the end is not yet. Other bitches are in
| ciutcm, la on, Nmo K them u very lurge on, its
| course already stnkod on passing through sever
! al counties. SerontCen miles Of its length will
| be within the boundrirs Of this county. Also
another, to be constructed through the central
pur ion of tho county, running due east and west,
probably near twenty miles Ia length.
Through the courtesy OF Capt JOS. II. Newton,
our present Auditor, ! have been enabled 10
CLEAN these statistics from the records OF his
uilcc, aud they may be relied upon Ms being cor
| rect aud form an important item III the progress
sive history of the county.
| Itis by this system of drainage that the Gu
| tire area of country, once known as the Black
! Swamp, is being converted into most fertile
| and productive region, aud III lew wears VIII
become ono of lhu most valuable agricultural
| districts between the Aleghenics aud Mississippi.
| The opportunities for investment in lands are
| yet good aud the chances for a handsome rcn'-
! iEation, by many, ARE regarded rs superior to the
praires Of the West Here wild lands eau still
| bc obtained for from So to $40 per acre, and the
! heavy growth OF timber, within easy access of
railroads, and convenient to good market, will
more than reimburse the capital invested. II Is
| indeed matter nt some surprise that the fncili-
ties and advantages OF an excellent market here
presented are so overlooked In the great tide Of
western emigration, Here the finest oppor tuni-
tics nrc presented for securing good Farming
lands and At no greater cost in many instances
than in the extreme Western States, and tina, too
with better facilities to b liter markets, aud all
ostimable advantages incident to an older ciyili-
EltiUn.