The Miami and Erie Canal was a canal that connected the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio with Lake Erie in Toledo, Ohio. It consisted of 19 aqueducts, 3 guard locks and 103 lift locks. Eack lock measured 90 by 15 feet and they collectively raised the canal 395 feet above Lake Erie and 513 feet above the Ohio River. The peak of the canal was called the Lorain Summit and extended 19 miles between New Bremen, Ohio to lock 1-S in Lockington north of Piqua, Ohio. The system consisted of 301.49 miles of canal channel and was completed at a cost of $8,062,680.07 in 1845. Boats were towed along the canal using either donkeys or horses walking on a prepared towpath along the bank. The boats typically travelled at a rate of 4 to 5 miles per hour.
Grand Lake St. Marys, an artificial lake west of St. Marys, Ohio was originally constructed as a reservoir to supply water for the canal.
Construction Standards
- 4 ft. water depth.
- 40 ft. wide at water level.
- 10 ft. wide towpath in addition to mandated outer slopes.
- All slopes are 4-1/2 ft. horizontal to 4 ft. perpendicular.
- The canal could handle boats up to 32 ft. long and 14 ft. wide.
Decline and Abandonment
Completed just before most of the railroads in Ohio were built, the canal competed with railroads through much of its useful life. Ice in the winter, as well as the slowness of the boats, made it largely impractical compared to railroads, and by 1906, the canal had largely ceased to operate. A catastrophic flood of the Great Miami River in 1913 and the subsequent flood control measures constructed by the Miami Conservancy District destroyed much of the canal infrastructure along the southern portion of the route where it paralleled the Great Miami River.
Much of the original towpath served as the right-of-way for the Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad, an electric interurban that operated until 1940.
The disused canal was used to provide the right of way for part of the Cincinnati Subway that ran in the 1920s.
Cities and Towns Along the Canal
The following is a list of towns and cities (arranged North to South) along the Miami and Erie Canal.
- Toledo, Ohio
- Ottoville, Ohio
- Delphos, Ohio
- Spencerville, Ohio
- St. Marys, Ohio
- New Bremen, Ohio
- Minster, Ohio
- Fort Laramie, Ohio
- Lockington, Ohio (Located on a branch that diverted North of Piqua)
- Piqua, Ohio
- Dayton, Ohio
- Moraine, Ohio
- Alexandersville, Ohio
- West Carrollton, Ohio
- Miamisburg, Ohio
- Franklin, Ohio
- Middletown, Ohio
- Cincinnati, Ohio
