Sandy and Beaver Canal
Encyclopedia
The Sandy and Beaver Canal ran 73 miles (117 km) from the Ohio and Erie Canal
at Bolivar, Ohio
, to the Ohio River
at Glasgow, Pennsylvania
. It had 90 locks
, was chartered in 1828 and completed in 1848. However, the middle section of the canal had many problems from the beginning and fell into disrepair. The canal ceased to operate in 1852, when the Cold Run Reservoir Dam outside of Lisbon, Ohio
, broke, ruining a large portion of the canal.
Major D.B. Douglas of the US Military Academy of West Point, New York
surveyed a route in 1828. This route was 90 ½ miles, with seven aqueducts, 100 locks and a 2700 feet (823 m) tunnel. The west division would rise for 33 ½ miles, the middle division would be 14 miles (22.5 km), with tunnel, at summit elevation, and the east division would fall over 43 miles (69.2 km). The Douglas plan was rejected, and the Philadelphia Board of Trade decided that the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal
would be a better option to join the canal systems of Ohio to those of Pennsylvania.
At a meeting in Waynesburg, Ohio
in 1834, the canal promoters decided to go ahead without the Philadelphia backing. Hother Hage and Edward H. Gill were hired to engineer the project, and made changes to the Douglas plan. The 73 miles (117.5 km) canal, as constructed, consisted of the western division with a 400 feet (121.9 m) long aqueduct 28 feet (8.5 m) above the Tuscarawas River to connect to the Ohio and Erie Canal, 33 locks, five miles (8 km) of slackwater, two reservoirs, and a rise from 900 feet (274.3 m) at Bolivar to 1120 feet (341.4 m) at Kensington. The middle division from Kensington to Lockbridge had two tunnels, and two reservoirs and was 14 miles (22.5 km), all at 1120 feet. The big tunnel was 900 yards or 1060 yards long. The little tunnel was about 1000 feet (304.8 m) long. The tunnels were about 17 feet (5.2 m) high, and the big tunnel was about 80 feet (24.4 m) below the highest elevation of the hill it penetrated. The Eastern division was 27 miles (43.5 km) from Lockbridge to Glasgow, lowering from 1120 feet (341.4 m) to 665 feet (202.7 m), with 57 locks, 20 dams, and 17 miles (27.4 km) of slackwater.
Construction progressed until being interrupted by financial difficulties of the Panic of 1837
. The number of workmen decreased from 2000 to 200. Little was done for seven years, and the tunnels were finally completed in 1848. Aside from the reservoir collapse in 1852, the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad was built that year, taking business away. Six miles on the west end of the canal were used as a feeder of the Ohio and Erie Canal
until 1884, when the aqueduct was lost in a flood.
A company called the “Nimishillen and Sandy Slackwater Navigation” was established to investigate a connector along the Nimishillen Creek
from Sandyville, Ohio
to Canton, Ohio
in 1834-35. It was determined there was not enough water flow along this route to build a canal. A similar stillborn plan called the “Still Fork of Sandy Navigation Company” was incorporated in 1837 by some Carroll County, Ohio
men to build a connector from Pekin up the Still Fork
to near Carrollton, Ohio
.
An original dam near Waynesburg, 40°40′02"N 81°16′29"W , still impounds a slackwater on the Sandy Creek, and feeds a section of canal downstream to Magnolia, Ohio
.
Only 0.75 miles (1 km) of this privately funded canal lay in Pennsylvania; the rest was in Ohio.
Ohio and Erie Canal
The Ohio Canal or Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed in the 1820s and early 1830s. It connected Akron, Summit County, with the Cuyahoga River near its mouth on Lake Erie in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth, Scioto County, and then...
at Bolivar, Ohio
Bolivar, Ohio
Bolivar is a village in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The population was 894 at the 2000 census. Bolivar is also home to Fort Laurens, the only American Revolutionary War-era fort in what is now Ohio.-History:...
, to the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
at Glasgow, Pennsylvania
Glasgow, Pennsylvania
Glasgow is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, U.S., along the Ohio River. The population was 63 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Glasgow is located at ....
. It had 90 locks
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
, was chartered in 1828 and completed in 1848. However, the middle section of the canal had many problems from the beginning and fell into disrepair. The canal ceased to operate in 1852, when the Cold Run Reservoir Dam outside of Lisbon, Ohio
Lisbon, Ohio
Lisbon is a village in Center Township, Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,788 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Columbiana County.-History:...
, broke, ruining a large portion of the canal.
Major D.B. Douglas of the US Military Academy of West Point, New York
West Point, New York
West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...
surveyed a route in 1828. This route was 90 ½ miles, with seven aqueducts, 100 locks and a 2700 feet (823 m) tunnel. The west division would rise for 33 ½ miles, the middle division would be 14 miles (22.5 km), with tunnel, at summit elevation, and the east division would fall over 43 miles (69.2 km). The Douglas plan was rejected, and the Philadelphia Board of Trade decided that the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal
Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal
The Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal, also known as the P & O Canal, the Cross Cut Canal and the Mahoning Canal was a shipping canal which operated from 1840 until 1877...
would be a better option to join the canal systems of Ohio to those of Pennsylvania.
At a meeting in Waynesburg, Ohio
Waynesburg, Ohio
Waynesburg is a village in Stark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 923 at the 2010 census, a decrease from 1,003 in 2000. It is part of the Canton–Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
in 1834, the canal promoters decided to go ahead without the Philadelphia backing. Hother Hage and Edward H. Gill were hired to engineer the project, and made changes to the Douglas plan. The 73 miles (117.5 km) canal, as constructed, consisted of the western division with a 400 feet (121.9 m) long aqueduct 28 feet (8.5 m) above the Tuscarawas River to connect to the Ohio and Erie Canal, 33 locks, five miles (8 km) of slackwater, two reservoirs, and a rise from 900 feet (274.3 m) at Bolivar to 1120 feet (341.4 m) at Kensington. The middle division from Kensington to Lockbridge had two tunnels, and two reservoirs and was 14 miles (22.5 km), all at 1120 feet. The big tunnel was 900 yards or 1060 yards long. The little tunnel was about 1000 feet (304.8 m) long. The tunnels were about 17 feet (5.2 m) high, and the big tunnel was about 80 feet (24.4 m) below the highest elevation of the hill it penetrated. The Eastern division was 27 miles (43.5 km) from Lockbridge to Glasgow, lowering from 1120 feet (341.4 m) to 665 feet (202.7 m), with 57 locks, 20 dams, and 17 miles (27.4 km) of slackwater.
Construction progressed until being interrupted by financial difficulties of the Panic of 1837
Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis or market correction in the United States built on a speculative fever. The end of the Second Bank of the United States had produced a period of runaway inflation, but on May 10, 1837 in New York City, every bank began to accept payment only in specie ,...
. The number of workmen decreased from 2000 to 200. Little was done for seven years, and the tunnels were finally completed in 1848. Aside from the reservoir collapse in 1852, the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad was built that year, taking business away. Six miles on the west end of the canal were used as a feeder of the Ohio and Erie Canal
Ohio and Erie Canal
The Ohio Canal or Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed in the 1820s and early 1830s. It connected Akron, Summit County, with the Cuyahoga River near its mouth on Lake Erie in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth, Scioto County, and then...
until 1884, when the aqueduct was lost in a flood.
A company called the “Nimishillen and Sandy Slackwater Navigation” was established to investigate a connector along the Nimishillen Creek
Nimishillen Creek
Nimishillen Creek is a tributary of Sandy Creek, 24.5 miles long, in northeastern Ohio in the United States. Via Sandy Creek and the Tuscarawas, Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 187 square miles , including the city of...
from Sandyville, Ohio
Sandyville, Ohio
Sandyville is an unincorporated community in northern Sandy Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 44671...
to Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
in 1834-35. It was determined there was not enough water flow along this route to build a canal. A similar stillborn plan called the “Still Fork of Sandy Navigation Company” was incorporated in 1837 by some Carroll County, Ohio
Carroll County, Ohio
Carroll County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 28,836, no change from 2000. Its county seat is Carrollton. It is named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence....
men to build a connector from Pekin up the Still Fork
Still Fork
Still Fork is a tributary of the Sandy Creek, long, in eastern Ohio in the United States. Via the Sandy Creek, Tuscarawas, Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of in Carroll County, Ohio. The source is at and the mouth is at ., with...
to near Carrollton, Ohio
Carrollton, Ohio
Carrollton is a village in Carroll County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,190 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Carroll County.Carrollton is part of the Canton–Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
.
An original dam near Waynesburg, 40°40′02"N 81°16′29"W , still impounds a slackwater on the Sandy Creek, and feeds a section of canal downstream to Magnolia, Ohio
Magnolia, Ohio
Magnolia is a village in Carroll and Stark Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 931 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Canton–Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
.
Only 0.75 miles (1 km) of this privately funded canal lay in Pennsylvania; the rest was in Ohio.
See also
- List of canals in the United States
- Elson Mill is fed by the canal.