I have had so many things related to the canal going on in the last month and a half that I have not had time to get to any updates. But some of the information I've gotten can't wait, so I made some time for an update tonight. Here goes, starting from Cleveland and going to Portsmouth.

The first public meeting for the proposed Canal Basin Park was held at the end of July. I wasn't able to go because I found out about it too late. The Plain Dealer article about it is here.

Not much to report about the section of the canal north of Akron but I did ride the Scenic Railroad from Boston Mills to Akron after riding on the Towpath with my son. That Bike Aboard promotion is pretty cool. Ride your bike as far as you want on the Towpath and catch the train back to where you started for only $2. You can't beat it!

OK, so moving on to Akron. The big news is that the Towpath Trail section from Beech Street in the Cascade Locks Park to downtown will have its ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, August 22. That's next week. The ceremony will take place around 11:00 from what I heard. The bridge looks very nice and the trail has developed nicely. I walked over the bridge one evening after an Akron Aeros game and it's really nice. I've seen a number of people walking across it on the weekends despite the "Do not enter" signs that are still posted. So now the trail is complete from behind the Spaghetti Warehouse in downtown Akron to Harvard Avenue south of Cleveland. That's a nice long stretch to enjoy via bicycle.

Speaking of the Cascade Locks Park, the annual "Hot Jazz on Howard" fundraiser for the CLPA is this coming weekend. I think tickets are still available.

Construction on the section of the Towpath Trail between Wilbeth Road and Summit Lake has begun with some early clear cutting. The section from Waterloo Road to Manchester Road is nearly complete as a new surface has been laid and some landscaping has been done. The section from Eastern Road to Vanderhoof also has been resurfaced with its final layer of fine limestone.

If you're interested in learning about the history of the canal in Akron, plan on attending the Canal Society of Ohio's Fall Tour of Akron. It will be held on October 3-5. The details have not been worked out yet, but it's coming.

In Stark County, the new Canalway Center at Sippo Lake Park is open. Located about half way between Massillon and Canton, it's not really easily accessible to users of the Towpath Trail, but a short drive from any of the Massillon Trailheads and you can see a really nice introduction into the history of the Ohio & Erie Canal. My son and I went one afternoon and I was impressed. It's basically a long wide hallway that wraps around itself but is filled with a lot of hands on displays. It's definitely worth checking out.

Although work is supposed to get underway on the finishing the trail in southern Stark County, I still haven't seen any work done. I'll be keeping my eye on this sections as I'm hoping to get more involved with the trail's development in Tuscarawas County. I've been invited to attend the monthly meetings for Canal Lands Development Committee and am hoping to attend in August or September. So I should be able to get some good information about the trail development there.

I finally got to go to the Ohio & Erie Canal Museum in Zoar. Unfortunately, Connor wasn't as interested as I was and I couldn't linger long. There are quite a few old pictures on display. It's small, but nice. And it's free.

My family went to spend a week at Shawnee State Forest in July like we did last year. With the resort being so close to the southern segment of the canal, of course I had to spend some time exploring. I took off one day and got some pictures and info for the website from Portsmouth to Circleville. That inspired me to finish the job so I spent a day last week checking out the towns the canal passed through from Newcomerstown to Millport. I picked up a lot of info on  the part of the state that I rarely get any new info on, so that was quite nice.

I visited the visitor center at Roscoe Village and toured the museum there. It's easily the best canal display I've ever seen! For I think it was $4, you get to tour the museum at your leisure and watch a video in a small  theater called "Ditches of Destiny." That was a good deal.

Good and bad news is coming out of Newark on this update. First, the Works Museum is taking down a building that sat over a canal lock in town. I've been told that they are going to excavate the site next year to see if they can find the lock. That's the good news. The bad news is that the only remaining remnants of canal locks in Newark that were visible are now gone. Boone and I had found the few remnants of Lock 7 on a previous trip to Newark but when I went there last week, I found that the owner of the property had cleared the area and leveled the dirt there, burying or destroying the little bit of the lock that was left. I'm glad I got pictures of it before it was gone. Since the Ohio & Erie Canal National Heritage Area only extends south to Tuscarawas County, there isn't anything in place to protect the canal structures so they are at the whims of the people who own the property. So it's sad to see a small piece of history swept away so easily. Hopefully they'll find the remains of the other lock they're going to look for.

I did check out the Works Museum and it had a nice little section on the canal in its transportation section. It's a nice place to take the kids too because it's a very hands on museum. I also discovered some new murals in town that weren't there the last time I went. Two of the three are canal themed and are visible from the route of the canal through town.

The canal mural in Carroll has a new addition - an Ohio Historical Marker in front of it. The marker designates the junction of the Ohio & Erie Canal and the Lancaster Lateral Canal.

I finally saw the guard lock below Lock 31 in Millport, but it wasn't easy. I didn't think the water would be so high in Big Walnut Creek so my knee high wading boots didn't cut it. I decided to go on since I was halfway across the creek by the time I realized this. So first of all, I was walking around in boots that were full of water. I came up over a hill and ran smack into a large spider web that covered my entire face. In the process of instinctively swatting it away from my face, I knocked my glasses off. So I'm standing on the side of a hill trying not to slide down in my water logged boots, blind, pulling webs and spiders out of my face and hair while trying not to move and step on my glasses which are lost below me in the brush. I luckily found the glasses (intact) and carried on. I finally said the heck with it and started heading back. That's when I happened across the lock. It's there and it looks to be in fairly good condition. It was hard to tell because the woods are so grown up around it and I was miserable. I snapped a few photos and took off. After crossing the creek, I tried to use my GPS to find my way back to Lock 31. But it didn't have a clear view of the sky and was far from reliable. I walked quite a ways until I found something familiar. It was familiar because I had just walked in a big circle. The GPS was telling me I had to cross the creek to get to the lock, so I knew it was worthless. I finally saw the barn at the farm by the lock and used it to guide me back. Incidentally, the lock is on private property but I had spoken to the owner of the farm about seeing it.

In Scioto County, Lock 52 is much more accessible to the public now. A group of volunteers cleared the area around the lock of the vegetation that had grown up around it. It's now visible both from SR 104 and from the confectionery on the canal's berm bank. I also discovered that there is a Scioto County Canal Society. It was started in 2004. You can contact them at P.O. Box 1894, Portsmouth, Ohio 45662.

In other news, Terry Woods has a new book in the works about the Ohio & Erie Canal. It will be published by Kent State University Press and will be available in late September or early October. You'll be able to buy it from this site after Christmas through amazon.com. The book is called "Ohio's Grand Canal:  A Brief History of the Ohio & Erie Canal." I'll be looking forward to checking that one out!

Speaking of books, Boone Triplett's book about Ohio's canals has gone to press and will be available soon. When I get the details, I'll let you know. Also, I was able to check out the "Images in America" series by Acadia Press for Newark, Licking County, and Buckeye Lake and they all have some good old pictures of the Ohio & Erie Canal. They too are available through this site if you're interested.

Joe Jesensky, author of "Joe's Place: Conversations on the Cuyahoga Valley," passed away recently at the ripe old age of 101. I met Joe once and he was a very friendly man with great stories of the Cuyahoga Valley between the years of the canal's demise to the creation of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. His book is an interesting read and I recommend it to anyone looking to learn more about the park.

Fans of the canal lost another great advocate recently when former U.S. Congressman John F. Seiberling passed away at the age of 89. Mr. Seiberling is responsible for the creation and preservation of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and was a major player in the environmental movement of the 1970's. I recently met him and thanked him for his efforts to preserve the history of the valley. He was proud of his achievement and said he was very happy that so many people get to enjoy the beauty of the valley by the Towpath Trail. You can read more about him here.

The Richard Howe house has moved to its new resting place at the corner of Water and Exchange Streets in Akron. By this time next year, the building will be open as a visitor center and home of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition along the banks of the canal.

Don't forget to check the links page of this site for more canal related events in the coming months. Now that I've toured the cities the canal passed through, I'll have more events to post throughout the state next year.

I'm sure I forgot something but that's still a lot of information. Now I can concentrate on getting more of this site up. I've started work again on the county locations pages and when that's finished, it's on to the guts of the site. Stay tuned - I'm in full throttle canal mode and ready to get this site going again. Let me know if you have any comments or suggestions. And remember to change your bookmarks to www.ohioanderiecanal.com.

What a busy month its been for canal fans in northeast Ohio, including myself. Let's get right to the news.

Today was the day the Richard Howe Mansion was moved from its 172 year location at the corner of Exchange and High Streets in Akron two blocks west where it will be renovated along the Ohio & Erie Canal. The federal style building was built in 1836 by Richard Howe, resident engineer of the canal from Cleveland to Massillon. A plan has been in place to raise money for the restoration for several years but when a new housing building for University of Akron students was proposed for the block the house sat in, it was decided to move the building. In about a month, it will be permanently located on the corner of Exchange and Water Streets right next to the canal. It will serve as the home of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition and be a visitor center right along the Towpath Trail. It is expected to be open to the public in about 9 months or so.

I was able to watch the majority of the move today and shot some video with my camera. I made a short video of the move and posted it on YouTube and on the video page of this site. It was a really interesting sight. There are some really good videos on ohio.com as well (including one with me in it - look for the guy wearing the orange t-shirt). The OECC had a tent set up and was continuing to raise money for the project by selling t-shirts (I got one), extra bricks from the house (I got one of those too), beverages, food, and Towpath Companions.

The large steel bridge that will allow the Towpath Trail to cross over the Akron Innerbelt was put in place a couple of weeks ago and it will only be about two months before that leg of the trail opens to the public. I shot some video of that as well and I'm going to make another video to post on the page, hopefully tonight.

A public meeting was held at the Cleveland Zoo on June 17 to gather feedback on the planned construction of Phase I of the Towpath Trail extending north from Harvard Avenue to Steelyard Commons. It is expected that that part of the trail could be complete in about two years (I think that's what they said). The preferred alignment would include a tunnel under Harvard Avenue. Of particular note to canal fans, the designers of the trail acknowledged that construction of an underpass at that location could unearth remnants of Lock 41 which is located under and just north of Harvard Avenue. If that happens, construction will halt and an assessment of the structure would commence. I was told that the lock is about 30' below Harvard Avenue so it is less likely that it will be discovered but possible.

To cross the Cuyahoga River, a new bridge is the preferred choice. It could be a prefabricated bridge similar to bridges along the trail could be utilized. This also allows the trail to follow the river for a greater distance. Unfortunately, following the original path of the canal is not an option at this time due to the industrial development that has occurred in the valley since the end of the canal era in 1913.

The next obstacle would be the Norfolk Southern Railroad and an underpass route was selected. This matches with other railroad crossings in the Cleveland area. From that point, the biggest problem facing the designers was how to connect with the current trail in Steelyard Commons. The trouble lies in the fact that the elevation of the Steelyard Commons is significantly higher than the location of the new trail. The plan calls for a skywalk to be constructed to connect the two sections of the trail.

Let's see - what else has happened this month? Oh yeah, I rode 120 miles along the Towpath Trail and route of the O&E Canal from Cleveland to past Port Washington in early June. Five friends of mine and I made the annual journey (our fourth) and raised over $4000 for the Organization for Autism Research. You can read all about it under the Towpath Expedition tab of this site. We're already thinking about next year's ride - extending it to three days and ending up at Roscoe Village.

A new campground opened at the Bridgeport Quarry Trailhead in Stark County in early June. Other campgrounds are being planned by Metroparks Serving Summit County at the Big Bend and Clinton Trailheads and they should be open by the end of the year. Similarly, the National Park Service would like to add a campground of their own accessible to Towpath Trail users near the Stanford Hostel north of Boston Mills. This is particularly good news for folks who would like to make a weekend of experiencing the canal at a cheap cost. The Big Bend location is interesting to me - there is a lot of room there that could be put to good use for tourists. A large depression exists there that is usually flooded in the winter for ice skating. But now that both Akron and Cuyahoga Falls have added public ice rinks in their downtowns, there isn't the need for ice skating at Big Bend like there used to be. A larger campground could be utilized there and would make a nice destination for trail users.

I've been getting started on the guts of the site over the last week and hope to keep the momentum going so the site is more useful to everyone. It's ironic - many more people seem to be finding the old site lately as it's been moving up the list of searches on various search engines. I have no idea how long the old site will be up on the web but I unfortunately have no way of taking it down myself or editing it to direct visitors to this site since I no longer have access to that account. Hopefully people will find this site instead when I get it more complete. Let anyone you know who has an interest in the canal or Towpath Trail know about the current address:  www.ohioanderiecanal.com.

Alright, time to get to work on that bridge video.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone. I finally have some time to sit down and do some updates. I've been busy readying myself for our 120 mile Towpath Expedition which is less than two weeks away. I've scouted out the whole route from Cleveland to Port Washington and, as a result, have some new information to pass along. Our fund raising efforts are moving along. As you can see from the widget above, we're busy collecting money and we're at about 25% of our goal of $4000. If you'd like to donate, please click on the widget above. We're raising money for the Organization for Autism Research.

So let's start with updates in Cleveland and make our way south. The first steps to creating Canal Basin Park at the northern terminus of the canal in Cleveland are underway. The Trust for Public Land purchased a 1.43 acre parking lot on Merwin Street and transferred ownership to the City of Cleveland in April. The parking lot will be part of the proposed park. The previous owners of the lot, John and Mary Coyne, have been waiting patiently since 2004 for plans to move forward with the park but other parcels of land needed for the park have not been as readily available.

A public meeting will be held on June 17 at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo from 4 pm until 8 pm to update the public on the plans for extending the Towpath north from Harvard Avenue to the proposed Canal Basin Park. I'm hoping to make it to the meeting since that section of the Towpath is the most expensive yet to be completed and might be the last bits to be completed (although I have a feeling Tuscarawas County is going to give that timetable a run for its money).

Stage 1 of the Towpath Trail construction north of Harvard Avenue is still in the planning stages as it involves perhaps the most challenging routing of the trail in Cleveland. Some of the considerations involve the crossing of Harvard Avenue, the Cuyahoga River, and a series of railroad tracks as well as raising the trail 40' to meet the completed section of trail at Steelyard Commons (Stage 2). The options and plans will be presented at the aforementioned meeting.

Stage 3 of the construction is in the consulting team stages. The boundary for this stage was moved further north which eliminates one of the proposed construction stages and could shave a year off of the timeline to complete the trail.

In Akron, construction continues on the trail over the Innerbelt and is on target for an end of summer completion date. I see the bridge itself being placed in the next couple of weeks. I've heard rumors that the bridge will be lowered into location by helicopter but that is unconfirmed. I'd love to get a date on that event because I think it would be pretty cool to watch.

The trail between Waterloo Road and Manchester Road is nearly ready to open. It's accessible now but be forewarned - a small detour on Ley Drive under SR 224 is necessary as the trail is blocked at the boardwalk under the highway. The section between Eastern Road and Vanderhoof is also accessible but not open yet.

I checked out the trail alignment in southern Stark County and there's nothing new to report there. I'm hoping to get to that section of the future trail on the other side of the Tuscarawas River from SR 800 before our ride to see just how accessible it is to bicyclists. I talked to a local resident near the Dover Dam and she said the trail is good for hiking, four wheeling, and horses, but didn't have an opinion on bikes since she's not a bicyclist. The trail runs from the old Zoarville Station bridge to SR 416.

In Dover, a little shack has been built at the location of the Ohio Historical Marker for the Dover Toll Collector. I'm guessing it's supposed to represent the toll collector's building which was located down the hill from there near the location of the original canal and the future location of Dover's Canal Park.

Beyond that, I have no new information about the canal. I don't get any information from canal locations south of Tuscarawas County so if you're from those areas and you know of any canal events or information, please let me know by emailing me at dave@ohioanderiecanal.com.

As far as the site itself goes, I'm still trying to get my things in order to start the big part of the site - the description of the canal locations themselves. The longer I wait, the more ideas I get. If you could link to the plans in my head, I think you'd be pretty happy with it. But alas, you'll just have to wait until I transfer the thoughts to the site. I'll probably be able to get to that more after the bike ride. My wife also purchased a laptop computer that will help this site out in a big way. I'll be able to sit outside this summer and work on the pages instead of being holed up at my desktop in the basement.

I attended a presentation on the canal in Cuyahoga County at the Mustill Store by Larry Turner a few weeks ago that was very interesting. Larry is also the CSO's Fall Tour planner for the canal in Akron. I offered my services as a tour committee member. It'll surely be an interesting tour so make plans to attend. I don't know the specific dates but it will be in October.

The Mustill Store will have its final speaker for the Spring Speaker Series on Wednesday, June 11. From the Cascade Locks Park Association:

"Debbie Rolland of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition will fill us in on what their organization is up to, and give an update on the status of the Summit County Trail and Greenway Plan and the many organizations that are involved in its development. Lecture and refreshments, free and open to the public."

I won't be able to attend so I'm hoping someone will be able to fill me in on the details.

So that's it for now. Enjoy the final month of spring and welcome summer with some good old canal exploration!

Cleveland: According to the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission, the final 6 miles of the Towpath from Harvard Avenue to Lake Erie are in the planning stages. The trail will be built in phases starting at Harvard Avenue and heading north. Phase I is in the planning stages and construction is scheduled to begin in 2010. Hopes are that the whole thing will be completed by 2015. A very interesting web site showing the path of the trail can be viewed here. Phase II is complete through Steelyard Commons. Preliminary planning for Phase III and the Canal Basin Park are underway (August 2008).

Akron: The end of the current trail at Lock 10 connects with downtown Akron via a pedestrian walkway up Beech Street, up Howard Street, and down Main Street where it connects with Lock 3 Park. The bike and ADA accessible trail to the intersection of Ash and Quaker Streets is nearly complete and the dedication ceremony is scheduled for Friday, August 22. With that part of the trail done, the continuous trail will be complete from Harvard Avenue south of Cleveland to behind the Spaghetti Warehouse in downtown Akron. The completion of the Beech Street Trailhead is scheduled for 2008.

Watch the construction happen right before your eyes!

Construction of  the trail between AES and the trailhead south of  Bartges Street is scheduled for 2009 (2008 City of Akron Capital Investment and Community Development Plan). The project consists of demolishing the existing 4 lane bridge structure, and constructing two new pre-manufactured concrete bridges that will allow for the canal bridge and bikeway underpass to coexist as separate adjacent bridge structures. Ultimately this will provide the pedestrian/bikeway crossing under Bartges Street avoiding a traffic conflict. The target date is 2009 for construction of the bridge to start (OECC April 2008).

The Summit Lake Towpath Trail will be constructed on the southwesterly side of the baseball/softball diamonds at Summit Lake Park near Long Street. It will be constructed along the easterly side of Summit Lake to Lewis Street. At this point there will be a14' wide, at-grade floating trail extending from the Summit Lake shoreline at Lewis Street to Kenmore Boulevard. This floating section shall include a 42' by 40' observation deck located near the midpoint of the span (OECC April 2008). It will mimic the famed floating towpath of the canal era.

The Kenmore Towpath Trail will be constructed along the east shoreline of the Ohio & Erie Canal, from the south shoreline of the Kenmore Boulevard bridge to approximately 150 feet south of the Wilbeth Road Bridge. A pre-fabricated bridge structure will span Sweitzer Creek. Floating deck sections will span the canal from Kenmore Boulevard to the CSX railroad bridge, as well as from the Akron Barberton Cluster Railway to the south side of Falor Creek. Construction of these two sections is underway (August 2008).

The Waterloo Towpath Trail project will consist of constructing a central portion of the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail from Wilbeth Road to Waterloo Road adjacent to the Ohio and Erie Canal, along with the construction of approximately a 100-car parking lot at Wilbeth Road. This section from Wilbeth to Waterloo is scheduled for construction in 2009 (OECC April 2008). It will include a bridge over Ley Ditch (2008 City of Akron Capital Investment and Community Development Plan)

Sections of the Towpath Trail under Waterloo Road and Manchester Road have been completed and construction of the trail between the two is very nearly complete (August 2008).

PPG Phase 2: Phase IIA of the Towpath Trail at PPG, which extends north about one mile from the trailhead at Vanderhoof Road to Eastern Road, is complete (August 2008). Phase IIB of this trail will run from the north end of Phase IIA, at the maintenance building on Van Buren, to the Snyder Avenue trailhead (Metroparks Serving Summit County February 2008).

Massillon: The county went back to the drawing board to determine the location of the unfinished Towpath Trail through downtown after reaching an impasse with the railroad on how to cross the tracks between Lincoln Way and Walnut Rd.

Tuscarawas County: Land has been acquired to construct the Towpath Trail from Bolivar to its current terminus south of I-77. Land has also been acquired to build the Towpath from the Tuscarawas-Stark County border to Bolivar along the original alignment of the canal. The bridge over I-77 from Fort Laurens to the current start of the trail is complete.

In Bolivar, the trail will enter the county after crossing the bridge at the aqueduct site. A new trailhead will be constructed at an expanded city park off of the CanalWay Ohio National Scenic Byway. The trail will follow the historic route of the towpath until it gets to where I-77 runs in that location. There will be a connector trail that will serve as a historic homes walking trail. A new Canal Park will be built in the historic district between I-77 and SR 212 and it will serve as a trailhead. Eventually, the park will also be the start of the Sandy and Beaver Canal Trail that will run east from Bolivar. West of the intersection of I-77 and SR 212 will be a wetlands boardwalk and the trail will follow next to I-77 until it crosses to the north side of the canal on the bridge at Ft. Laurens. The existing visitor center at Ft. Laurens will be a Towpath trailhead and the trail will connect to the bridge crossing I-77.

At the end of the existing trail in Zoarville, the Towpath will join with the Zoar Valley Trail on the east side of the Tuscarawas River. It will reach that point by crossing the historic Zoarville Station bridge. The trail will continue into Dover following part of the Old Zoar Trail which connects Ft. Laurens with Shoenbrunn Village.

The Towpath Trail in Dover will pass near the Reeves House and Museum. A new trailhead will be built near there. The trail will also split at that point. The main trail will continue past the county fairgrounds to the edge of the Tuscarawas River where it will continue south into New Philadelphia. But another section of the trail will head north to the river, follow a riverside trail and existing roads to the Tuscarawas Avenue Bridge, cross the bridge and head back to the east. A new trailhead and Canal Park will be constructed on the north side of the river in the original location of the canal. This trail will also connect with the Buckhorn Creek Trail.

The trail will enter New Philadelphia and cross the Tuscarawas River at Mill Avenue and then split into two sections that will re-converge to cross US 250 on a pedestrian bridge. The trail will split again and the eastern end will go to Lock 13 where a southern gateway and visitor center will be built.

The Tuscarawas County Trail and Greenways Plan calls for improvements to SR 416 and US 36 to allow for bicycle traffic which would essentially be a continuation of the Towpath Trail through Tuscarawas County even if it isn't officially designated as such.