Cincinnati, OH: Miami & Erie Canal

(Satellite, It followed Central Parkway into town and turned East here. Going east is the stretch in the photo below.)

According to the topo map below, the canal turned South a half-block east of Sycamore Street and terminated three blocks later. I'm surprised that it did not go down to the Ohio River. (Update: it did go to  the river. See the newer posts below. It looks like the canal south of Central Parkway on the topo map was an industrial spur. The main canal followed today's Eggleston Ave. route and ended in Sawyer Point Park. I wonder how many locks were needed to descend to the river.)

Roads Traveled Through Time posted

The Miami and Erie Canal in Cincinnati, Ohio looking east with Mount Adams in the distance.  

abt 1905

1914/14 West Cincinnati Quad @ 62,500

Update: the canal did end at the Ohio River.

Ronda M Mathias posted

Ohio River Levee

The Ohio River circa 1904. "Along the levee, Cincinnati."

Doug Manson: Miami Erie Canal ended where Sawyer Point is now.

Lloyd Scott Hardin shared

Jefe Neeban posted three images with the comment:

**The 274-mile "Miami-Erie Canal", constructed from 1825-1845 at a cost of $3.28 million, connected the Ohio River at Cincinnati with Lake Erie at Toledo.  **

Ohio's total canal system, including the "Ohio-Erie Canal", cost approx. $8 million, equivalent to $273 million today!...** **

Canals served as the "railroad" and "interstate highway" of the early 19th Century, replacing horse & wagon for the long distant transportation of manufactured and consumer goods.  However, less than a decade after the completion of the Miami-Erie Canal,  railroads began to be built throughout Ohio and across the entire country, greatly reducing the usefulness of canals for their intended purpose.  As a result, the Miami-Erie Canal soon saw a gradual decline in use, making it a ready swimming pool and playground for children, and eventually an open sewer for the Cincinnati neighborhoods through which it ran. 

Following is an aerial drawing of Cincinnati on the Ohio River showing the route of the Miami-Erie Canal through the city; a colorized photo of the canal through Cincinnati's historic "Over the Rhine" neighborhood; and a map of Downtown Cincinnati showing the names of the 20th century streets that were once a waterway...

[Some comments mention towns in which you can still see remnants of the canal. Update: I don't know what the "posted" link now goes to a different post. Bummer. I would have copied some of the comments if I knew Facebook would screw up the link.]

Allie sherlo posted the same comment and images. [That is when I discovered that Jefe's link is broke.]

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Jeffrey Molton: I have an old 6' long blueprint of the Ohio-Erie canal improvements from 1909. It shows in plan and profile, all of the locks, recharge locations(lake names), elevations, and other neat information about the canal.

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Jefe Neeban posted

How much do you know about canals?  What about the Cincinnati subway?  You probably know something, but if you'd like to take a deeper dive, check out the updates I posted to my transit website.  It includes an extensive history of the Miami & Erie Canal, the Warren County Canal, the Cincinnati subway, the Whitewater Canal, and the Cincinnati & Whitewater Canal.  Updates and links at the top of the homepage.  

(https://www.jjakucyk.com/transit/)

Lloyd Scott Hardin shared

Life Is Ohio posted
The Miami and Erie Canal began in 1825 as a way to connect the Great Lakes to Cincinnati, and a section of the canal passed right through downtown. Over the following decades, boats transported a number of goods along the waterway, allowing for small towns to come back to life and many businesses to take advantage of this new method of transportation in the area.
Lloyd Scott Hardin shared