This book is a profusely illustrated interpretation of life along Ohio's 19th-century canal system: the Miami & Erie Canal with its multiple feeders in central and eastern Ohio. Gieck recounts the efforts of people involved in the planning and building of the canal system and draws an admiring yet candid picture of the canalers who made their livelihood upon the canal waters. Designed in an oversized format, this beautiful volume will be welcomed by historians and engineers as well as by all those who find in the surviving canals a fascinating symbol of Ohio's heritage.

Original essays on the past, present, and future of the Ohio & Erie Canal Combining original essays based on the past, present, and future of the Ohio & Erie Canal, Canal Fever showcases the research and writing of the best and most knowledgeable canal historians, archaeologists, and enthusiasts. Each contributor brings his or her expertise to tell the canal's story in three parts: the canal era--the creation of the canal and its importance to Ohio's early growth; the canal's decline--the decades when the canal was merely a ditch and path in backyards all over northeast Ohio; and finally the rediscovery of this old transportation system and its transformation into a popular recreational resource, the Ohio & Erie Canalway. Included are many voices from the past, such as canalers, travelers, and immigrants, stories of canal use through various periods, and current interviews with many individuals involved in the recent revitalization of the canal. Accompanying the essays are a varied and interesting selection of photographs of sites, events, and people, as well as original maps and drawings by artist Chuck Ayers. Canal Fever takes a broad approach to the canal and what it has meant to Ohio from its original function in the state's growth its present-day function in revitalizing our region. Canal buffs, historians, educators, engineers, and those interested in urban revitalization will appreciate its extensive use of primary source materials and will welcome this comprehensive collection.

Part I: Historical Background, 29 mins. Part II: The Ohio & Erie Canal, Then and Now, 34 mins. Part III: The Miami & Erie Canal and the Milan Canal, 26 mins. This three-part series won awards from the International Film & TV Festival of New York, the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums, and the American Association of Historical Societies and Museums. A 16-pge Teacher/Discussion Guide is included. This series, produced in cooperation with the Canal Society of America, brings to life an almost forgotten period in Ohio's early history, visiting restored sections of the vital nineteenth-century inland transportation system. Kent State University Press's award-winning book A Photo Album of Ohio's Canal Era, 1825-1913, by Jack Gieck, can be purchased along with this DVD.

All but forgotten except as a part of nostalgic lore, American canals during the first half of the nineteenth century provided a transportation network that was vital to the development of the new nation. They lowered transportation costs, carried a vast grain trade from western farms to eastern ports, delivered Pennsylvania coal to New York, and carried thousands of passengers at what seemed effortless speed. Along their courses sprang up new towns and cities and with them new economic growth. Canals for a Nation brings together in one volume a survey of all the major American canals. Here are accounts of innovative engineering, of near heroic figures who devoted their lives to canals, and of canal projects that triumphed over all the uncertainties of the political process.

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.