Ohio and Erie Canal

Ohio and Erie Canal
A portion of the Ohio and Erie canal in 1902
Location	Independence and Valley View, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Specifications
Length	308 miles (496 km)
Locks	152 (originally 146)
Status	closed
Geography
Start point	Cleveland, Ohio on the Lake Erie
End point	Portsmouth, Ohio, U.S.
Ohio and Erie Canal Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Location	Independence and Valley View, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Area	24.5 acres (99,000 m2)[1]
Built	1825
NRHP reference No.	66000607
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	November 13, 1966[2]
Designated NHLD	November 13, 1966[3]

The Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed during the 1820s and early 1830s in Ohio. It connected Akron with the Cuyahoga River near its outlet on Lake Erie in Cleveland, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth. It also had connections to other canal systems in Pennsylvania.

The canal carried freight traffic from 1827 to 1861, when the construction of railroads ended demand. From 1862 to 1913, the canal served as a water source for industries and towns. During 1913, much of the canal system was abandoned after important parts were flooded severely.

Most of the surviving portions in the Akron-Cleveland area are managed by the National Park Service or Ohio Department of Natural Resources. They are used for various recreational purposes by the public, and still provide water for some industries. Parts of the canal are preserved, including the Ohio and Erie Canal Historic District, a National Historic Landmark. Portions further south are less well preserved, and a discontiguous set of locks and other canal resources roughly between Columbus and the Ohio River are listed on the National Register as the Ohio and Erie Canal Southern Descent Historic District.