Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1882-01-12
History OF tie Canals.

with those of the Ohio river, by means
of navigable canal, was assented to,
and correspondence on that subject
was had between Hon. Ethan Allen
Brown of Cincinnati, and Dewitt
Clinton, then Canal Commissioner of
the State of New York.
An act of the Ohio Legislature was
passed in February, 1920, authorizing
the appointment of three Commission
ers to locate such canal. The act
also proposed to ask of the General
Government a grant of one or two
millions OF land.
For some reason the Commission.
ers were not appointed, and no survey
was made. .....
In 1922 the subject of canal
was again revived in the Ohio Legisla-
ture, and on the 3lst Of January bill
was passed which authorized an exam.
ination into the practicability of con-
structing a canal from Lake Erie to
the Ohio river.
Seven Commissioners were chosen
for that purpose and competent engi-
neers we're appointed to make surveys,
examinations and estimates.
Four routes were taken into consid-
Grafton. The first from the Ohio river,
at Cincinnati, to the Maumee river,
and thence to the lake; the second
from Sandusky bay to some point on
the Ohio; third, to traverse up the
Cuyahoga river, and then cross to the
navigable waters of the Muskingum,
thence down that stream to the Ohio;
the fourth route was by way of the
sources of the Grand and Mahonlng
rivers. The Cuyahoga and Muskingum
river route won the prize, and the Ohio
and Erie canal was constructed there
on. In 1924, however, survey was
made of the Miami and Maumee river
route, and an estimate Of the probable
cost Of construction of canal upon it
was reported to the Ohio Legislature
at its session of l824-25.
M. 7. Williams, a member of the
State Board of Canal Commissioners,
directed this survey. Samuel Forrer
was the chief engineer, assisted by j.
L. Williams, Francis Cleveland and
Richard Howe.
A great portion of this survey was
through an unbroken wilderness, from
where the town of St. Marys now
stands to the Auglaize river, distance
of about forty miles, no signs of civil
zation were visible.
4 On the banks of the Auglaize squat
ter, named Thomas McClish had made
a small improvement. Here the party
had an encampment, and also at Oqua-
noxas town, an Indian village, which
stood upon the present site of Charloe.
The surveying of the Wabash and
Erie canal was commenced in 1926,
but not finally completed until the
autumn of 1928.
In 1927, Congress made land grant
to the State of Indiana, of the one-half
of the public lands on each side of a
proposed canal that would connect
Lake Erie with the waters of the Wa
bash river. The Indiana terminus of
the canal, and also of the grant, was at
the mouth of the Tippacanoe river, 2l3
miles from the Lake.
In May, 1928, Congress made sim
liar grant to Ohio, to aid in the con.
struction of the Miami canal from Day.
ton to the lakes, and also in the same
act authorized the State of Indiana to
convey to Ohio the rights to all public
lands lying within the limit of that
State upon such terms as might be
agreed upon by those states. Accord.
ingly, Commissioners were chosen from
both states; one from each, who met
at GAINESVILLE, Ohio, in October, 1929,
where Indiana, through her Commls-
sioner, agreed to surrender all the
lands within the limits of Ohio, to the
latter named state on condition that
she would construct the canal from the
state line to Toledo, and give to the
citizens of Indiana all the rights and
privileges that were granted to the cit
izens of Ohio.
Although the Miami canal was the
first to be surveyed, yet the Indiara
people were the first to fegln their por-
ton of the work.
The first ground on the Wabash and
Erie was broken at Ft. Wayne in the
spring of 1882.
The work progressed slowly, and by
the middle of 1885 only 30 miles had
been completed.
In 1910 the canal was opened between
Lafayette and the east line of Indiana.
Ohio was slower than Indiana to ap:
preciate this needed channel of naviga-
tion, and Indiana, disappointed at
this tardiness, in 1910, sent their chief
engineer, to Columbus, to urge upon
the Legislature Of Ohio the speedy
fulfllment of their portion of the canal
contract.
The Ohio people commenced work
Immediately, and in l843 the final com:
pletion of the Wabash and Erie canal
took place. The event was celebrated
at Ft. Wayne on the 4th of July of
that year, and was participated in by
citizens from both States, who listened
to an able Grafton delivered upon the
nnnarin,, hu Gannral lewis liass