A historic look at the Ohio & Erie Canal (vintage photos) www.cleveland.com 1 min read LEVELAND, Ohio ­ In the early 19th Century, the Ohio & Erie Canal was built to ferry goods from Lake Erie to the Ohio C River and points throughout this region. Before the advent of railroads, boats were the best way to transport goods throughout the country. But without wide enough rivers and streams in some parts of the country, artificial waterways needed to be built in the form of canals. The Ohio & Erie Canal was such a waterway, and part of it runs through Cuyahoga and Summit Counties. To solve the problem of hills and valleys along the canal path, a series of locks were built to raise and lower boats as necessary. Trains came along in the middle of the 1800s and provided a faster way to transport goods and people across the country, rendering canals obsolete. As a result, many of the locks were deconstructed. However, others remain preserved as vestiges of the past. Bridges span some sections of the canal, and bike and walking trails run parallel to others, providing Northeast Ohioans a look at a historic mode of transportation. Even as it has far outlived its usefulness, the Ohio and Erie Canal remains as a link to a bygone era. Congress designated the canal a National Heritage Area in 1996, and today the multi­use Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail runs along the remains of the canal in Cuyahoga County, Summit, Stark and Tuscarawas counties, providing recreation for bicyclists and hikers and a reminder of the ingenuity of early Americans. Pictures of the canal are collected in the gallery above. Some of them are historic photos from the days when the canal was still in use. Others depict the canal after it was decommissioned. Scroll through the gallery above to see historic pictures Ohio and Erie Canal. CLEVELAND.COM Ohio's canals Posted on October 25, 2017 3:24 PM | Updated October 25, 2017 7:02 PM 1 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal Men working on the Ohio and Erie Canal, sometimes just referred to as the Ohio Canal. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 2 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A boat on the canal being pulled by horses. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 3 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal The ruins of Ohio Canal lock 23 in Ira Ohio. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 4 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A boat traveling on the Ohio Canal. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 5 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A boat along the Ohio Canal. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 6 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal Men on a boat traveling along the Ohio Canal. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 7 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal Ohio Canal workers. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 8 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal Men on a boat along with the Ohio Canal. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 9 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal Boaters on the Ohio Canal. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 10 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A boat being pulled by horses down the Ohio Canal. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 11 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal People walking on a frozen Ohio Canal in an undated photograph. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 12 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A boat along the Ohio Canal. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 13 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal Along the Ohio Canal in Valley View where Mrs. Florence Kosciewicz was slain. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 14 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A canal boat on the Ohio Canal. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 15 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal The Monticello II, an authentic canal boat towed by horses. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 16 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal George De Witt Clinton officiating ceremony marking Centennial of the Opening of the Erie Canal in 1926. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 17 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal An Ohio Canal lock near Brecksville in 1932. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 18 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A stop gate on the Ohio Canal near Brecksville in 1932. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 19 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal An Ohio Canal lock near Brecksville in 1932. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 20 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A lock along the Ohio Canal at E. 49th Street in 1932. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 21 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal An Ohio Canal lock, shoring two water levels in 1932. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 22 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal People fishing at old canal lock along the Ohio Canal at Canal Road and E. 49th Street in 1932. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 23 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal An Old foot bridge over the Ohio Canal at Roscoe, Ohio in 1935. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 24 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal Ohio Canal lawnmower operated by Arthur Lance in 1935. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 25 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal The Ohio Canal south of Fibawater, north of Route 82 in 1940. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 26 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal Eleven Mile lock in 1944. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 27 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal The remains of an old canal boat in 1944. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 28 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A spillway along Canal Road in 1944. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 29 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A sailaway Fleet on the Erie Canal in 1947. (Cleveland Press Collection, Cleveland Memory Project) 30 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A canal lock at Brecksville in 1949. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 31 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A boat traveling along the Ohio Canal in 1949. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 32 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal The Ohio Canal at Canal Fulton in 1949. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 33 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal The Riverview Bridge over the Ohio Canal in 1952. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 34 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A scenic view of the Ohio Canal along Canal Road in 1952. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 35 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A scenic view of the Ohio Canal in 1956. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 36 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal An icey winter scene off the Ohio Canal in 1958. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 37 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal Detergents discharged into the Ohio Canal from industrial waste in 1958. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 38 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A collasped foot bridge over the Ohio Canal in 1959. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 39 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal An aerial view of the Ohio Canal and the Cuyahoga River in 1970. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 40 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal Bill Jubak and Terry Nemchak at one of the locks along the Ohio Canal off of Canal Road in 1961. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 41 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A bridge over the Ohio Canal in Valley View in 1961. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 42 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A view of the Ohio Canal in Valley View in 1963. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 43 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal Lock 37 along the Ohio Canal in 1966. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 44 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal Flooding along the Cuyahoga River and Ohio-Erie Canal in 1968. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 45 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal The Ohio-Erie Canal off of Canal Road near Warner Road in 1968. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 46 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal An Ohio Canal lock in 1970. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 47 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A canal waterway bridge being rebuilt in 1971. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 48 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A canal waterway bridge being rebuilt in 1971. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 49 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal The Brecksville Towpath of Cleveland Metroparks on the Ohio Canal in 1975. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 50 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A dried up canal near Wilson's Mill in 1977. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) Back To Top 51 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A canal lock at Fitzwater and Canal Roads in 1977. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) 52 / 52 Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com Canal A historical marker for Tinkers Creek aqueduct of the Ohio Canal in 1979. (Cleveland Memory Project, Cleveland Press Collection) .