Travel through the history of Ohio's historic canals and follow its growth throughout the years told with hundreds of photographs. In the 1800s, the United States was a nation obsessed with finding a form of transportation that was the fastest, cheapest, and most reliable; at the time, canals were the answer. Canals broke through vast, open countryside, forested woodlands, and rolling hills to expose the heart of the nation to development. They took passengers and goods off of dusty or muddy roads and delivered them to their destinations faster and cheaper than by any other means. From Toledo to Cincinnati, the Miami and Erie Canal provided western Ohio with that sorely needed waterway and became part of the 1,000 miles of Ohio canals contributing to the national network of canals. Today, with the help of government, corporations, and citizens, many parts of the Ohio canal system have been preserved or restored and can be visited and experienced. Watered sections of canal quietly reflect a bygone era and lead an explorer down the towpaths of history.

This is a one-volume history of the Ohio and Erie Canal. It chronicles the events leading up to construction, as well as public opinion of the canal system, the modification made to traditional boat designs, and much more.

The construction of the Erie Canal may truly be described as a major event in the growth of the young United States. At a time when the internal links among the states were scanty, the canal's planners boldly projected a system of transportation that would strike from the eastern seaboard, penetrate the frontier, and forge a bond between the East and the growing settlements of the West. In this comprehensive history, Ronald E. Shaw portrays the development of the canal as viewed by its contemporaries, who rightly saw it as an engineering marvel and an achievement of great economic and social significance not only for New York but also for the nation.

In historic downtown Cincinnati, Central Parkway is a landmark avenue, noted for its width. But under the parkway was once the Miami & Erie Canal, which connected Lake Erie with the Ohio River. Completed in 1845, the canal was a vital means of transporation of goods through the state. Railroads put the canal out of business, but it remained a waterway through Cincinnati well into the twentieth century. As Cincinnati burgeoned into a modern urban metropolis, the canal became a playing ground for the city's daring youth and adults. Upon the demise of the canal and the opening of Central Parkway, Charles Ludwig, a reporter for the Cincinnati Times-Star and himself a canal swimmer in his youth, gathered together stories and vignettes celebrating the canal's recreational past. Illustrated with historic photos, this book, originally published in 1929, records a time and way of life long vanished.

Explores Dayton's retail, industrial, entertainment, and residential sites and how they have changed over time.