More On Ohio Canals
A few month ago, July the 11th, in this column I wrote about the Ohio canal system and about its effect in “opening up” Ohio. My friend and former Heidelberg colleague Bill Wickham says I didn’t say enough about some of the indirect effects of the canal system. He suggests that there were some things that the canals brought about that our readers would find interesting. He writes:
“One factor relates to the politics of getting state backing for the canal system. At the time the idea of canals was becoming so popular (probably as a result of the success of the Albany to Buffalo Erie Canal), the discussions in the Ohio State legislature made it clear that the legislature would support several canals. The only questions seemed to be ‘How many,’ and ‘Where’.
At that time in Ohio’s history, Sandusky was one of the state’s major cities. It was clear to the Sandusky business and political leaders that one of the canals should go right up through the center of Ohio, following the Scioto River and Sandusky river valleys. (Note that this canal would have gone through Tiffin.)
At about the last minute, the Ohio legislature deleted the Columbus to Sandusky segment of the proposed canal. The Sandusky leaders felt betrayed. They didn’t just sit in Sandusky and sulk, however. Some of them were aware of the fact that a few people in the eastern U.S. had built a railroad or two, and that the railroad might be even better than a canal. Consequently, the movers and shakers in Sandusky started trying to organize a railroad from Sandusky to the Ohio river, and getting together the necessary capital for the project. There were no railroads west of the Allegheny mountains at that time.
The group was successful, organizing the Lake Erie and Mad River Railroad, running from Sandusky through Tiffin and on down to southwest Ohio. It ultimately ran between Sandusky and Cincinnati, which also was one of Ohio’s early important cities.
The Lake Erie and Mad River Railroad started providing service at about the same time (1845) the Miami and Erie Canal was completed.
History shows that canals couldn’t compete with railroads, and we can conclude that by making the people in Sandusky mad, the Ohio legislature hastened the end of the canal system.
Incidentally, the Ohio canal system was not a successful venture. Most of the system never made enough in revenue to pay off the debt incurred in building it.
A second indirect effect of building the Ohio canal system was ‘The Ohio-Michigan War’. The Ohio-Michigan War wasn’t really a war, but it has always been popular to call it one. It was actually a boundary dispute between the state of Ohio, and the territory (not yet a state) of Michigan. The dispute was over whether the mouth of the Maumee River, the site of present-day Toledo, would be in Ohio or in Michigan. There had been settlements called ‘Vistula’ and ‘Port Lawrence’ where Toledo sits today.
If you look at a detailed map of Toledo, you’ll find a road called ‘Old State Line Road’ on the south side of Toledo. That’s where the Ohio-Michigan border was before the Ohio-Michigan War. (It’s also now sometimes called the ‘Toledo War’.)
It’s probable that very few people cared about what state the mouth of the Maumee was in, until the canal system was authorized. Then, it appeared that the spot would become a major port, since it would be the Lake Erie terminus for both Ohio’s Miami and Erie Canal, and Indiana’s Wabash Canal. (The junction of those two canals still shows on the map, as ‘Junction’, a few miles south of Defiance.)
Both Ohio and Michigan started organizing militia to seize or defend the port-to-be. Actually, no shots were fired, but to avoid that, President Jackson intervened. A settlement was worked out in the U.S. Congress, in which Ohio got Toledo, and Michigan got statehood and the Upper Peninsula.
It is sometimes said that in the Ohio-Michigan War, Ohio won and Wisconsin lost since Michigan’s Upper Peninsula probably would have been part of Wisconsin.”
Our thanks to Bill for sharing this information with us.
For 2000, I expect to continue with stories of World War II veterans. We hope to find local women veterans that will tell their stories in the war. From time to time we expect to report on Korean and Viet Nam veterans.
Mary and I are trained as botanists and we enjoy gardening and wild areas. We expect to write several articles related to local area gardens and trees. I plan to report on the largest trees of the different species in Tiffin and in Seneca County.
Another goal is to begin a series about the different organizations found in the local area. We invite all of you to call or write to us about any subject that you think might be of interest to our readers.
Percy