Warren County Canal
Encyclopedia
Miami and Erie Canal
The Miami and Erie Canal was a canal that connected the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio with Lake Erie in Toledo, Ohio. Construction on the canal began in 1825 and was completed in 1845. It consisted of 19 aqueducts, three guard locks, and 103 canal locks. Each lock measured by and they...
in southwestern Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
about 20 miles (32 km) in length that connected the Warren County
Warren County, Ohio
Warren County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. The population was 212,693 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Lebanon. Warren County was erected May 1, 1803, from Hamilton County, and named for Dr...
seat of Lebanon
Lebanon, Ohio
The population at the 2010 census was 20,033. As of the census of 2000, there were 16,962 people residing in the city. The population density was 1,440.6 people per square mile . There were 6,218 housing units at an average density of 528.1 per square mile...
to the main canal at Middletown
Middletown, Ohio
Middletown is an All-America City located in Butler and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Formerly in Lemon, Turtlecreek, and Franklin townships, Middletown was incorporated by the Ohio General Assembly on February 11, 1833, and became a city in 1886...
in the mid-19th century. Lebanon was at the crossroads of two major roads, the highway from Cincinnati to Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
(later U.S. Route 42
U.S. Route 42
U.S. Route 42 is an east–west United States highway that runs northeast-southwest for 355 miles from Cleveland, Ohio to Louisville, Kentucky. The route has several names including Pearl Road from Cleveland to Medina in Northeast Ohio, the Cincinnati and Lebanon Pike in southwestern Ohio and...
) and the road from Chillicothe
Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States.Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio and is located in southern Ohio along the Scioto River. The name comes from the Shawnee name Chalahgawtha, meaning "principal town", as it was a major settlement of...
to the College Township
College Township
The "College Township" was the full survey township located in the northwest corner of Butler County, Ohio, now corresponding to the civil township of Oxford, designated by the Ohio General Assembly to be the site of the state university now called Miami University...
(Oxford
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern portion of the state. It lies in Oxford Township, originally called the College Township. The population was 21,943 at the 2000 census. This college town was founded as a home for Miami University. Oxford...
), but Lebanon businessmen and civic leaders wanted better transportation facilities and successfully lobbied for their own canal, part of the canal fever of the first third of the 19th century. The Warren County Canal was never successful, operating less than a decade before the state abandoned it.
A private company begins
Ohio General Assembly
The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate...
in 1825. Work began that same year and the canal was navigable from 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 Cincinnati to Middletown in December 1827. By April 1830, it was open to Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
. (The entire length to Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
at Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
opened in 1845.) New York Governor DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton was an early American politician and naturalist who served as United States Senator and the sixth Governor of New York. In this last capacity he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal...
, who was the driving force behind his state's Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
, came to Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
in 1829 for the groundbreaking ceremonies of the Miami and Erie Canal
Miami and Erie Canal
The Miami and Erie Canal was a canal that connected the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio with Lake Erie in Toledo, Ohio. Construction on the canal began in 1825 and was completed in 1845. It consisted of 19 aqueducts, three guard locks, and 103 canal locks. Each lock measured by and they...
, which were held in Middletown. On his trip to the Buckeye State, he visited Lebanon, staying at the Golden Lamb Inn
Golden Lamb Inn
The Golden Lamb Inn is the oldest hotel in Ohio, having been established in the Warren County seat of Lebanon in 1803. The present four-story structure is built around the 1815 rebuilding of the inn, maintaining its colonial architecture. It is known as the Golden Lamb because that image appeared...
. The village's inhabitants caught the "canal fever" of the day and demanded they too have access to the new waterway. The State quickly obliged.
On February 22, 1830, the Ohio General Assembly
Ohio General Assembly
The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate...
incorporated a private corporation to construct and operate the branch to Lebanon, the Warren County Canal Company. The company projected the work would cost $123,861, but work progressed slowly on the canal and the company eventually acknowledged it could not complete it. By the act of February 20, 1836, the General Assembly ordered the Canal Commissioners to take possession of the unfinished canal and to complete it. The State paid the Canal Company 50% of its expenditures to that point; the company had spent $21,742.33. The Canal Commissioners estimated it would take $128,000 to finish the project, a sum which proved inadequate. The State spent a total of $217,552 for both acquiring and completing the branch.
The canal opens
Towpath
A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge...
, began at Middletown between Miami and Erie Lock 31 (Dine's) and 32 (Middletown) at Mile 208. (Mile 0 was on Lake Erie at Toledo, Mile 250 was on the Ohio River at Cincinnati.) This site is about 200 feet (61 m) south of the present Central Avenue; Verity Parkway follows the old path of the Miami and Erie. The canal was supplied by a feeder off the Miami and Erie Canal 3 miles (4.8 km) north at Mile 205 between Lock 29 (Upper Greenland) and Lock 30 (Lower Greenland), south of the Miami Dam. The canal there consumed water at the rate of 1800 cubic feet per minute (850 L/s) (per Morrow's History) or 2000 cubic feet per minute (940 L/s) (per the Historical and Biographical Cyclopaedia).
From Middletown, the canal went southeast, through the gentle country the Middletown and Cincinnati Railroad
Middletown and Cincinnati Railroad
The Middletown and Cincinnati Railroad is a historic railroad that operated in the southwest portion of the U.S. state of Ohio.It connected Middletown, Butler County with Middletown Junction, Warren County, a distance of 14 miles....
would follow decades later, land filled with sand and gravel deposited by the Wisconsinan Glaciation
Wisconsinan glaciation
The Wisconsin Glacial Episode was the most recent major advance of the North American Laurentide ice sheet. Globally, this advance is known as the last glacial period. The Wisconsin glaciation extended from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago, between the Eemian interglacial and the current...
14,000 to 24,000 years ago. This geology meant the canal leaked considerably. It proceeded through Lemon Township
Lemon Township, Butler County, Ohio
Lemon Township is one of thirteen townships in Butler County, Ohio, United States. Located in the northeastern part of the county, it includes most of the city of Monroe and now exists as six disconnected pieces because of annexations by Monroe and Middletown...
north of the place later called Oakland. Two aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
s carried the canal over Dick's Creek, near the intersection of Cincinnati-Dayton Road (the Dixie Highway
Dixie Highway
The Dixie Highway was a United States automobile highway, first planned in 1914 to connect the US Midwest with the Southern United States. It was part of the National Auto Trail system, and grew out of an earlier Miami to Montreal highway. The final result is better understood as a small network of...
) and Greentree Road, the state road to the College Township
College Township
The "College Township" was the full survey township located in the northwest corner of Butler County, Ohio, now corresponding to the civil township of Oxford, designated by the Ohio General Assembly to be the site of the state university now called Miami University...
(the aqueducts proved too shallow for use by heavily laden canal boats). It crossed from Butler County
Butler County, Ohio
Butler County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2010, the population was 368,130. Its county seat is Hamilton. It is named for General Richard Butler, who died in 1791 fighting Indians in northern Ohio. Butler's army marched out of Fort Hamilton, where the city of...
into Warren County
Warren County, Ohio
Warren County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. The population was 212,693 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Lebanon. Warren County was erected May 1, 1803, from Hamilton County, and named for Dr...
just north of the northern boundary of the Symmes Purchase
Symmes Purchase
The Symmes Purchase, also known as the Miami Purchase, was an area of land in Southwestern Ohio in what is now Hamilton, Butler, and Warren Counties. It was purchased by Judge John Cleves Symmes of New Jersey from the Continental Congress...
, a point today in the city limits of Monroe
Monroe, Ohio
Monroe is a city located in east central Butler and west central Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of 2007, the city population was 7,655, up from 4,008 in 1990....
, near Shaker Run.
The canal continued its path southeast into Turtlecreek
Turtlecreek Township, Warren County, Ohio
Turtlecreek Township is one of the eleven townships of Warren County, Ohio, United States. It is in the central part of the county and surrounds the county seat of Lebanon. Turtlecreek is the largest township in the county, originally containing sixty-three whole and seven fractional sections. ...
and Union
Union Township, Warren County, Ohio
Union Township is one of the eleven townships of Warren County, Ohio, United States, located in the central part of the county. It was established January 3, 1815 and named Union as it was formed from parts of Deerfield and Turtlecreek Townships. The 2000 census found 4,668 people in the township,...
townships, along the path of Muddy Creek to about where Hagemans Crossing
Hagemans Crossing, Ohio
Hagemans Crossing is an unincorporated place in Union Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States. Located in the western part of the township, it is located on the old Cincinnati and Xenia Pike, now U.S. Route 42, about halfway between Lebanon and Mason, Ohio...
later was on the Cincinnati and Lebanon Pike (U.S. Route 42). There it turned northeast, paralleling Turtle Creek) and crossing it on an aqueduct, approximately the route later taken by the Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway between Mason
Mason, Ohio
Mason is an affluent city in southwestern Warren County, Ohio, United States, 22 miles away from Cincinnati . As of the 2010 census, Mason's population was 30,712. Mason has experienced fast growth, with its historic Main Street remaining at the center of the community...
and Lebanon
Lebanon, Ohio
The population at the 2010 census was 20,033. As of the census of 2000, there were 16,962 people residing in the city. The population density was 1,440.6 people per square mile . There were 6,218 housing units at an average density of 528.1 per square mile...
. At Lebanon, there was a turning basin in the space bounded by Sycamore Street, South Street, Turtle Creek and Cincinnati Avenue (U.S. Route 42). The canal was fed from water from the North and East Forks of Turtle Creek at Lebanon. The North Fork was dammed by a 100 feet (30.5 m) earth dam to create a 40 acres (16.2 ha) (per Morrow's History) to 45 acres (18.2 ha) reservoir (per Bogen's "Warren County Canal").
Lebanon was 44 feet (13.4 m) above the elevation of the Miami and Erie Canal at Middletown. Six locks, each 90 feet (27.4 m) long and 15 feet (4.6 m) wide, were necessary to overcome this. Lock 1 was at the foot of Clay Street in Lebanon. Lock 2 was a short distance downstream, still in Lebanon. Lock 3 was about a mile (2 km) southwest of Lebanon near Glosser Road and Turtle Creek. Lock 4 was about 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Lebanon near the confluence of Muddy Creek and Turtle Creek and what was later Hillcrest
Hillcrest, Ohio
Hillcrest is an unincorporated place in central Warren County, Ohio, United States on U.S. Route 42 about halfway between Mason, four miles to the southwest, and Lebanon, three miles to the northeast. The community straddles the township line between Turtlecreek and Union Townships...
and Hagemans Crossing
Hagemans Crossing, Ohio
Hagemans Crossing is an unincorporated place in Union Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States. Located in the western part of the township, it is located on the old Cincinnati and Xenia Pike, now U.S. Route 42, about halfway between Lebanon and Mason, Ohio...
. These locks raised and lowered boats a total of 28 feet (8.5 m). At Lock 3, Joseph Whitehill
Joseph Whitehill
Joseph Whitehill, Jr. was a Nineteenth century Ohio farmer who entered politics who was elected to a series of local offices in Warren County, Ohio, before his election as Ohio State Treasurer.-Biography:...
, later Ohio State Treasurer
Ohio State Treasurer
-List of Ohio State Treasurers:...
, operated a grist mill, having purchased water power from the State.
Lock 5 was near the intersection of Greentree and Cincinnati-Dayton Roads, where the feeder canal from the Miami and Erie Canal entered. Lock 6 was at Middletown, near where the canal debouch
Debouch
Debouch is a term used in river and stream geography, and the military.-Geography:In fluvial geography, a debouch is a place where a body of water pours forth from a narrow opening...
ed into the Miami and Erie Canal. These two locks raised and lowered boats the remaining 16 feet (5 m), 8 feet (2 m) by each lock.
Shaker Run wrecks the canal
In 1848 the stream Shaker Run forever damaged the canal. Shaker Run, in western Turtlecreek Township, drained the large swampSwamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
on the Shaker
Shakers
The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, is a religious sect originally thought to be a development of the Religious Society of Friends...
settlement at Union Village. The stream frequently jumped its banks and flooded the canal, depositing sediment that required constant dredging and repairs. Finally, Shaker Run broke through the canal's embankment.
In 1852, John W. Erwin, the resident engineer of the Miami and Erie Canal, investigated repairs to the canal by direction of the General Assembly, that body having requested an estimate of the cost of repairs and an opinion on whether the canal should be abandoned. He submitted a report to the State Board of Public Works which estimated $31,613, would be needed to repair the Warren County Canal. Of that sum, $16,896 was needed just for dredging. Because the canal had been little used, the State declined to repair it. In the General Assembly, Representative Durbin Ward
Durbin Ward
John Durbin Ward was an Ohio lawyer, politician, newspaper publisher, and American Civil War officer.-Early life and career:...
of Lebanon introduced legislation to abandon the "Lebanon Ditch." In 1854, the state sold the remnants for $40,000 to John W. Corwin and R.H. Henderson.
The large stones of the locks were used in local buildings, especially the Lebanon Opera House, which burned on Christmas Day, 1932 and occupied the site of the present Lebanon City Hall at Broadway and Main Street. Other stones were used in the bridge across the North Fork. The reservoir on the North Fork of Turtle Creek collapsed in a violent rainstorm on July 10, 1882, causing much damage in Lebanon, including washing out the bridge on Broadway over Turtle Creek. The site was later taken over by the French Bauer Dairy. After it closed around 1970, the City of Lebanon acquired the land, eventually turning it into Colonial Park.
Little remains of the canal today, chiefly a few ditches on State Route 63
Ohio State Route 63
Ohio State Route 63 runs from Ohio State Route 4 on the west side of Monroe, Ohio and ends in Lebanon, Ohio. This road runs through what was once Union Village, a large historical Shaker settlement....
in Turtlecreek Township east of Monroe
Monroe, Ohio
Monroe is a city located in east central Butler and west central Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of 2007, the city population was 7,655, up from 4,008 in 1990....
near the Lebanon Correctional Institution
Lebanon Correctional Institution
The Lebanon Correctional Institution is a prison operated by the U.S. state of Ohio's Department of Rehabilitation and Correction in Warren County's Turtlecreek Township, about four miles west of Lebanon and two miles east of Monroe on State Route 63...
and Warren Correctional Institution
Warren Correctional Institution
The Warren Correctional Institution is a prison operated by the State of Ohio's Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections in Warren County's Turtlecreek Township....
.