Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal
A network of east-west canals and connecting railroads spanned Pennsylvania from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. North-south canals connecting with this east-west canal ran between West Virginia and Lake Erie on the west, Maryland and New York in the center, and along the border with Delaware and New Jersey on the east. Many shorter canals connected cities such as York, Port Carbon, and Franklin to the larger network.
A map of Pennsylvania's historic canals and connecting railroads
Specifications
StatusGenerally abandoned except for historic interest
History
Construction began1835
Date completed1840
Date closed1877
Geography
Start pointNew Castle, Pennsylvania, U.S.
End pointAkron, Ohio, U.S.
Connects toBeaver and Erie Canal, Ohio and Erie Canal
Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal: Ohio portion
A network of east-west canals and connecting railroads spanned into Ohio for a short distance from Pennsylvania as well.
Map of Ohio Portion of the P&O 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, though the canal was completely abandoned by 1872. It connected canals in two states, the Ohio and Erie Canal in Ohio and the Beaver and Erie Canal in Pennsylvania, and was funded by private interests.

History

In Warren, Ohio, during a convention on November 13, 1833, 109 delegates decided to privately fund the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal[1] since neither state felt it should spend money on a canal that led to another state. Construction began on September 17, 1835, when the two engineers of the canal struck iron stakes in the ground at the center of what was known as the "Portage Summit" between present-day Kent and Ravenna in Ohio. Workers manually dug the 82 miles (132 km) of the canal using picks, shovels, and wheelbarrows.

The canal ran from New Castle, Pennsylvania to Akron, Ohio, where it met the Ohio and Erie Canal in downtown Akron.[2][3] It ran along old Native American trails and the Cuyahoga and Mahoning Rivers. In Northeast Ohio, Brady Lake, and other water sources for used by the canal.[4] Large celebrations occurred along the canal's route when it officially opened on August 4, 1840.[5]

Impact

A stone in recognition of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal in Kent, Ohio

As with other canals in the region, mules and horses pulled the canal boats that navigated the P & O. Using this and other canals, goods and passengers were ferried from Pittsburgh to Cleveland and Lake Erie. This contributed to trade between Northeast Ohio and other Eastern states making towns and villages along the canal larger and more prosperous.[5] Some have also credited the canal with the development of the iron ore industry in the Mahoning Valley in Ohio.

Closing

With the arrival and expansion of railroads, the canal gradually diminished. All sections of the canal were abandoned by 1872 and the canal was officially closed in 1877 and all remaining property was sold off.[2] Today, traces of the canal's bed remain in many areas of Northeast Ohio including Munroe Falls, Ohio[5] and downtown Kent, Ohio, where the Cuyahoga River runs through the former canal lock. A P & O Canal culvert, sometimes referred to as an aqueduct, remains in southern Kent over Plum Creek just south of the Cuyahoga River.[4]

See also

References

41°8′32″N 81°22′25″W / 41.14222°N 81.37361°W / 41.14222; -81.37361

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