Campsites open! The Cuyahoga Valley National Park has opened five primitive camping sites near the Towpath Trail at the Stanford House. Campsite reservations may be made by calling the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association at 330-657-2909, ext. 119, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Reservations need to be made three days in advance. On Saturdays and Sundays, campers can reserve available sites by visiting the Trail Mix store, 1565 Boston Mills Road, Boston Township, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fee is $15 per night per campsite. There is a six-person limit for each site and campers are limited to 10 nights per season. Check-in is after 1 p.m. and checkout by 10 a.m. For more information, check out www.cvnp.org.

Metro Parks, Serving Summit County has established two similar primitive sites: at the Big Bend Area of Sand Run Metro Park in northwest Akron and a quarter mile south of Clinton. Portable toilets are provided. Users must provide their own water. There is no charge for use. Campfires are banned. Use is limited to one night with a maximum of four people per site. No reservations are taken. The sites are first-come, first-served. Users are asked to sign in at park kiosks. Call 330-867-5511 or check www.summitmetroparks.org for information.

The Stark County Park District has one overnight site along the Towpath Trail: at the Bridgeport Quarry Trailhead in Jackson Township. A second campsite is planned. A portable toilet is provided. Users must provide their own water. There is no fee. For information, call 330-477-3552 or check www.starkparks.com. (Source:  www.ohio.com)

CVSR adds audio tour! There's something new aboard the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Passengers on Northeast Ohio's tourist railroad can tune in to an impressive audio tour of Cuyahoga Valley filled with stories, nature, history and music via individual headsets and easy-to-use receivers. You will learn that it took canal boats up to six hours to work their way through Akron's Cascade Locks, a series of five locks on the old Ohio & Erie Canal. Those locks led to Akron's growth into a major city. You will learn about John Malvin, an African-American canal boat captain on the old Ohio & Erie Canal. You will hear from worker Willie Rich about what it was like working in the old Jaite paper mill in the Cuyahoga Valley. You will hear from farmhand Clyde Davis how bootleg whiskey stills were found in almost every ravine in the park during Prohibition. You will learn how the scenic Beaver Marsh in the park used to be an auto junkyard and how great blue herons and bald eagles have returned to the Cuyahoga Valley.

The new audio tour is a free service funded with a $350,000 federal grant, said Jennie Vasarhelyi, the park's chief of interpretation, education and visitor services.

"This is a big step forward for the railroad, a huge step forward," said Steve Wait, the president and chief executive officer of the Peninsula-based railroad.

The system relies on 600 individual — and highly portable — headsets and receivers for passengers, who can choose to listen or not. The program, called Voices in the Valley, is a major improvement over relying on park rangers, train staffers and volunteers to offer park interpretation aboard long, noisy, moving trains, Jennie Vasarhelyi, the park's chief of interpretation, education and visitor services. The audio tour features sound effects, music, multiple voices and a series of short stories or vignettes that are "more engaging . . . and will offer a better experience to our visitors," she said.

The park has worried that train passengers needed to get more park interpretation than they had been getting, she said. "It's not a 'this is,' 'this is,' 'this is' tour," Vasarhelyi said. "The focus is storytelling, human voices that tell the story of a broader landscape."

There are 27 spots on the track between Akron and Independence — 14 southbound and 13 northbound — that trigger the system to tell another story. That means passengers can get about 40 minutes of stories on the 90-minute southbound trip from Independence to Akron and another 40 minutes of different stories on the northbound return trip. The southbound stories and vignettes focus on the history and development of the Cuyahoga Valley. The northbound stories look at the impact of man's activities on the Cuyahoga Valley and the Cuyahoga River.

The Cuyahoga Valley tour relies heavily on old records, interviews, oral histories, a narrator and people associated with the Cuyahoga Valley. That list includes Lynn Metzger, a retired professor from the University of Akron; Sam Tamburro, a former park historian now with the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park; park biologist Lisa Petit; railroad engineer Larry Blanchard; Steve Tuckerman of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency; valley farmer Daniel Greenfield; Elaine Marsh of the Akron-based Friends of the Crooked River; park supporter Tom Fritsch; and long-time valley resident Joe Mazzola of Brecksville. There is music by Northeast Ohio's Alex Bevan and Foster Brown, plus the Golden Eagle String Band and from the Smithsonian collections. Old Ohio canal captain Pearl R. Nye even sings a short song.

For information about the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, call 800-468-4070 or go to www.cvsr.com. A captioned version of the audio tour is available for those with hearing impairments. The audio tour is not available to Bike Aboard! passengers, who pay $2 to ride with their bikes. (Source:  www.ohio.com)

New trail to one day connect with Towpath Trail: A picturesque stretch along the Cuyahoga River in a section of the former Pennsylvania & Ohio canal bed is open to hikers and bikers in Kent. The 1.4-mile trail is a section of the Portage Hike & Bike Trail starting at Fred Fuller Park on Middlebury Road.

The trail is expected to connect someday with a trail planned on the Freedom Secondary, an abandoned railroad bed between Kent and Akron. Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, is planning the trail that would run from the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad's Northside Depot to the Summit-Portage line to connect to Kent's trail.

The Kent trail is designed as a connector between the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail and the Great Ohio Lake-to-River Greenway, which will go from Ashtabula to the Ohio River. In the planning stages is a 3/4 mile extension of the trail from Fred Fuller Park eastward to John Brown Tannery Park, expected to be done in the next several years. It is hoped that the trail on the river will bring economic benefits to the city of Kent. (Source:  www.ohio.com)

Group tries to save Young's Restaurant: In Akron, Ohio, a turn-of-the-century hotel and restaurant sits vacant in Portage Lakes State Park, awaiting its fate. The future of Young's Restaurant, the last of its kind in the area, has yet to be determined, but thanks to a concerned citizen and historically conscious city leadership, the building will likely remain to tell the story of the once-thriving Ohio & Erie Canal community.

In April the city, which bought Young's Restaurant in 2007, signed a development agreement with the nonprofit Ohio and Erie Canalway Coalition to collaborate and generate ideas for the lakefront site of Young's Restaurant, located near the canal and towpath trail.

"The site is what is most important to us," says Dan Rice, president and CEO of the Ohio and Erie Canalway Coalition. "The challenge that we're facing is a property that has had a lot of deferred maintenance. I can't tell you that this building will be saved, 100 percent. We will work to preserve and save as much as we can."

For the last several years, the city and the coalition have worked to connect downtown and suburban Akron via the canal towpath trail. Young's is located in a National Scenic Byway and in one of the nation's 37 National Heritage Areas.

"The canal has a really important role in the city's history, and when Mayor Plusquellic came into office, he understood this," says Plusquellic' s spokesman, Mark Williamson.

Originally built in 1850 as a log cabin for John Young and his wife, Young's evolved into a restaurant for canal travelers. In 1905 a descendent of Young replaced the log cabin with a grand, 100-room hotel in response to the popularity of Portage Lakes as a vacation spot. (Two years later, the hotel was lost in a fire, but it was rebuilt that same year on its 1905 foundation.)

This year Akron resident R.C. Norris started a grassroots effort to save Young's Restaurant. As an owner of a similarly historic property in the Portage Lakes area, Norris became concerned for the future of Young's Restaurant after it closed in 2004. After nearly a century of family ownership, the building was left empty and vulnerable to vandalism, and Norris fears that it could accidentally burn down. He wants to host a clam bake or "steak-out" at his restaurant to raise money to preserve Young's.

In the meantime, the coalition is working on its own ideas for the lakefront property. "This is a site that should have activities during all four seasons," Rice says. He suggests an office, a canoe-rental outpost, a youth hostel, or a restaurant and bar. "The key here is having a mixture of activities to complement what's already going on there." (Source:  www.preservationnation.org.)

CVNP receives money for Tinkers Creek Aqueduct: Cuyahoga Valley National Park learned it was in line to receive $7.768 million in federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The park will use the money on five different deferred maintenance projects. All address safety concerns and/or improve visitor services.

A portion of the money will go to the second phase of the Tinker's Creek Aqueduct project. Two temporary steel pipes, installed in the first phase, which currently move water from the creek to the Ohio & Erie Canal, will be removed and a concrete aqueduct built in its place. Concrete is more durable than steel and less susceptible to damage from flooding, according to park spokesperson Mary Pat Doorley.

Two of the projects take place along the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad lines that the park owns. Nine miles of jointed track will be replaced with welded tracks providing for a smoother ride and better durability. This work will take place near CVNP headquarters near Vaughn Road and close to Akron. The other rail line project involves replacing worn railroad ties at several locations along the system. (Source:  blog.cleveland.com)

Lock 38 demonstrations return: Demonstrations of how locks worked to raise and lower canal boats on the Ohio & Erie Canal have resumed at Lock 38 at the Canal Visitor Center in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park this summer. The demonstrations, which had been a staple of the park since the reconstruction of the lock, had been put on hold for the last 3 years while the park fixed erosion problems at the lock due to flooding in 2003 and 2004. The demonstrations occur Wednesday through Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park is seeking volunteers who enjoy history, being with people, and spending time outside in a variety of weather conditions. Volunteers dress in 19th century-style clothing and help present Lock 38 demonstrations, informing park visitors of the importance of the Ohio & Erie Canal in America’s transportation history. For more information on this volunteer opportunity, contact Park Ranger Scott Van Houten at scott_van_houten@nps.gov or (330) 657-2752, ext. 227. (Source:  www.nps.gov/cuva/)

Towpath Trail maintenance underway in CVNP: The National Park Service maintenance staff is currently working on boardwalks on the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail at Stumpy Basin and the Beaver Marsh in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Visitors are asked to dismount from bicycles when passing through the work areas. Warning signs and barricades are set up during the day and removed in the evening. The work will occur now through the end of September, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The work is required normal maintenance.

Howe House receives funding: Akron's historic Richard Howe House is getting a boost. The house, now owned by the Akron-based Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition, has been awarded $135,000 in federal funds. The money is being used to restore the building that was moved last July to a site off West Exchange Street next to the canal. The grant through the Ohio & Erie Canalway Association is among 10 totaling $327,449 awarded in Summit, Stark, Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas counties.

"It's a huge boost," said Dan Rice, president and chief executive of the coalition.

His grass-roots group also recently was awarded $30,000 from the Connecticut-based 1772 Foundation. With those two grants, his group has raised $1,352,500 but still needs $147,500 to complete the Howe House work. Construction is underway, and his grass-roots group will move into the Howe House later this year, he said.

The 21/2-story building was constructed in 1836 by Richard Howe, the resident engineer on the canal. Akron spent about $800,000 to move the 400-ton building from the southwest corner of East Exchange and South High streets.

Other recipients of grants from the canalway association were:

• Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, $30,487 for Towpath Trail improvements in Barberton.

• Canal Fulton Heritage Society, $13,320 for repairs to the St. Helena III canal boat.

• Canton, $41,040 for expansion of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad depot off West Tuscarawas Street.

• Cleveland Metroparks, $27,000 to develop songs and image's of the canalway's past.

• Cuyahoga County engineer, $5,632 to help design and engineer byway signs.

The grant recipients will provide nearly $1.7 million in local matches to qualify for the federal funds. The federally designated canalway that extends 110 miles from Cleveland through Akron and Canton to New Philadelphia has received $10.6 million in federal funds since it was designated in 1996. Local matches have exceeded $45 million, and the federal money has leveraged more than $300 million in local, state, and private funds. (Source: www.ohio.com)

New canal mural in Newark: A scene from Newark’s canal days has been painted on the side of a building facing South 1st Street in downtown Newark. Brian Clemons, an artist from Columbus, painted a large mural of the Ohio & Erie Canal on the building, which is owned by The Works: Ohio Center for History, Art & Technology.

The building, which houses The Works’ maintenance equipment and collections, is located directly on top of the old canal channel. In 2008, the demolition of a building on the site exposed the remains of canal lock # 9 of the Ohio & Erie Canal. The mural incorporates part of the lock, a canal boat and the surrounding scenery as it might have looked in the mid to late 1800s.

“It’s unusual to have a mural depicting a scene that actually existed on that very spot. It’s like opening a window to the past," said Aaron Keirns, director of communications at The Works.

The mural is the first step in turning the site into an educational park that will help visitors better understand how a canal lock worked and learn about the impact that the canal system had on Licking County and the entire state.

“We are looking for funding to create a park-like setting on the site of the old canal lock. It will serve both as an educational site for The Works and another attraction for the downtown area,” said Marcia Downes, managing director of The Works.

The Works: Ohio Center for History, Art & Technology is a family destination and educational facility located at 55 S. 1st Street in Newark, Ohio. Museum, gallery and gift shop are open all year, Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $3 for children, $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and free for members of The Works. For more information, call 740-349-9277 or visit the web site at www.attheworks.org. (Source:  www.wclt.com. More on the discovery of the lock can be found here)

Cascade Mill interpretation underway: The Cascade Locks Park Association needs about $800,000 for the $1.5 million project to mark the outline of Ferdinand Schumacher's Cascade Mills at Howard and West North streets just east of the Ohio & Erie Canal. Its partners include the city of Akron and Metro Parks, Serving Summit County.

Ground clearing was done in the spring. The grain mill won't be rebuilt, but the outline or footprint of the building will be marked by sandstone blocks. The plan is to provide visitors with an interpretive and interactive look at the Cascade Mills, which Schumacher purchased in 1866. Interpretive stories will focus on the canal and the evolution of power that fueled Akron's early industries. The two-acre site is expected to become the gateway to Cascade Locks Park with its five canal locks and the popular Towpath Trail that connects downtown Akron to the Cuyahoga Valley and Cleveland.

The old mill site will be "where everything comes together," said Andrea Victor, development director for the association. Her group previously worked with Akron and Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, to preserve the historic Mustill House and Store. The city-owned store is one of the few surviving canal-era buildings in Akron.

The mill's large water wheel, believed to be 35 feet in diameter and 10 feet wide, will be featured in a prominent outdoor sculpture designed by Akron artist Chuck Ayers with help from Don Harvey of Peninsula. Archaeologists in 2003 searched for the 40-ton iron water wheel, which reportedly was buried, but it was not found, although the building's foundation was uncovered.

Schumacher, whose operations became part of Quaker Oats Co., came to Akron in 1851 and opened a grocery store and entered the oatmeal business. In the 1880s, Schumacher had about 200 employees at his four Akron mills. He combined his operations into F. Schumacher Milling Co., later into American Cereal Co. and eventually into Quaker Oats Co. in 1901. (Source:  www.ohio. com)

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!

I got an email from the folks at Stark Parks the other day and it contained some info on the Towpath Trail construction in Stark County. Here's what Jared Shive from Stark Parks had to say:

"The Massillon connection probably won't begin until 2009 because it is dependent on the bridge work that will be completed on Walnut. The plan is to build a ramp over the Tremont bridge and connect to another ramp to Walnut. These would be similar to the walking bridge that takes you into downtown Massillon currently. We have a grant in place to do this and are working closely with the City of Massillon, ODOT, and the Corp of Engineers in the planning stages. Obviously we would then build the remaining portion of trail over the levee.

"You should see some progress on the Rt. 212 connection later this year, we also have a grant in place for this project. This would allow us to take the current section of trail just north of Rt. 212 and redirect it up to Shepler Church and actually follow the former canal route. Eventually a larger parking lot on Shepler Church would exist. This would take you to the Tuscarawas County line."

There was also an article in the Akron Beacon Journal yesterday about the Towpath construction in Summit County. Here are the highlights:

• The 0.6 mile section between Manchester Road and SR 224 will be complete by midsummer.

• Construction of a 3/4 mile section between Wilbeth Road and Waterloo Road will begin this summer. Some pieces of land still need to be acquired. The asphalt trail will be 10' wide with 2' shoulders on either side and will feature a 100' long bridge to span a ditch that empties into the canal.

• The Wilbeth Road Trailhead will be big enough to hold 60 cars. The asphalt parking lot will replace the smaller cinder lot at the current location.

• The Wilbeth Road to Waterloo Road section will be completed by mid summer of 2009.

• The Kenmore Blvd - Summit Lake to Wilbeth Road is being rebid by the City of Akron. This part contains the floating boardwalk.

• Construction of the short section behind AES will begin next year.

• The entire Towpath Trail in Summit County should be complete in 2010.

That means that in a couple of years, you will be able to get on the Towpath at Harvard Avenue in Cleveland and ride continuously on the trail all the way to Massillon. It is feasible that the Stark County sections could be complete by the end of 2010 as well. All that would be left would be the rest of the trail in Cleveland and the majority of the trail in Tuscarawas County. The whole story is posted on the oetowpath Yahoo Group that you can get to from the Links tab of this site.

I also took a few pictures of the construction of the trail south of Beech Street. They're on the slideshows.

The weather in NE Ohio looks to be beautiful for the next couple of days so get out there and do some canal exploring!

Just a few updates for you today. I was expecting to be on the Canal Society of Ohio's Spring Tour of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal today but I couldn't line up babysitting. Bummer, because after (if ever) I finish this site, I might start branching out and cover the connecting canals to the O&E and there is very little remaining of the P&O. So instead, I'm working on the site.

You may have noticed the Firstgiving widget under the slideshow above. I'm planning my Towpath Expedition for 2008 as a fundraiser for the Organization for Autism Research like I did in 2006. If you'd like to donate or learn more, click on the link above for the Towpath Expedition and visit the page for the 2008 ride. I've set a goal of $4000 this time since we easily exceeded our 2006 goal and raised over $3000. I can use your help if you'd like to donate. Thanks in advance!

I've got the Videos page up and running and hope to have the Events page done soon as well. Then comes the arduous task of cleaning up and enhancing the individual pages of the canal from Cleveland to Portsmouth.

I got an email the other day from one of the regular visitors to this site and he told me he rode the Towpath from Station Road to Downtown Akron and is happy to report that it's open and in pretty good shape. Here's what he had to say:

The trail survived the winter pretty well in the section (Station Bridge to Beech Street in Akron) and they have done some grooming already. Just north of Red Lock the river has been dangerously eroding its way towards the trail for quite some time now, so they are currently hauling rock in to safeguard the trail. It's a big project. The trail itself from Red Lock to about 1 mile north is somewhat rough from the machinery involved in the project currently. Right in Peninsula they are also doing patching of the trail (practically under the 303 bridge). Erosion there has caused some sink holes.

The 271 bridge project over the trail in Boston looks to be more than 70% done. I am sure there will be closings of the trail though this spring as they still need to remove the old steel framework and bring in the new. They have been very good about doing their best to keep the trail open.

I was driving through downtown Akron today and noticed that the removal and relocation of the Richard Howe House is underway. I haven't heard anything about when it will be reconstructed near the Towpath as a visitor center. The City of Akron has also appropriated money for the maintenance of historic Young's Restaurant at the Manchester Road Trailhead.

I got a copy of the 2008 Capital Investment and Community Development Plan for the City of Akron sent to me the other day. I used the information therein to update some of the construction progress below.

And finally, construction continues on the Towpath south of Beech Street. The completion date is set for August of this year.

If you're looking at dates, you probably think I've lost interest in the canal over the last few months. Nothing could be further from the truth. I've been spending the time I usually would be using to do updates on revamping the site and cleaning it up. It's still a work in progress but now that I've got a bit of it done, I'll get back to the updates.

As far as the site goes, I'm hoping by cleaning it up, it'll look the same on everyone's computer which will create a more pleasurable viewing experience. I've also added or am adding some cool new features to it. If you check out the Recommendations tab, you'll find a new store. You can now get a little more info about some of the books and recordings I've recommended and buy them directly from Amazon.com right from this site. If you know of any good canal references, let me know and if I like them, I'll add them too. If you're an author and you have an item for sale on Amazon, let me know.

I've updated the Links tab with a little different organization and tried to expand the number of links there. I'll be adding more as time goes along. There will also be information on there that might be useful but doesn't have a web link.

The Events tab will have canal related events around the state for the coming year. I'm still working on the format so watch for that soon. The Video tab will have embedded videos about the canal and Towpath Trail for your viewing enjoyment. And the Towpath Expedition tab will provide info about my yearly ride down the length of the Towpath, including 2008 which will be a fundraiser for the Organization for Autism Research.

"But what about the biggest and most useful part of this site?" you might ask. The Canal Sites tab will be your portal into discovering the Ohio & Erie Canal and Towpath Trail. It's going to take some time to get all of that updated. But it's going to be really cool when I do. Each page will have a slideshow of pictures related to that part of the canal, bigger than the ones currently posted. It'll also have a map showing the location of the structures. In the meantime, you can still find what I already have done at the old site (http://home.neo.rr.com/astronurse1/TowpathTrailheads.htm). I've ended that account, but it's still up for now.

So onto what's going on. So much has happened since I last did a real update that I'm sure I'll forget a few things. I'll try to do updates as I remember them all.

The Towpath Trail construction updates below have some new information on them so check them out. I'm happy to say that I saw construction workers resuming work on the new trail between Cascade Locks Park and downtown Akron yesterday. It's scheduled to open late this summer (after my ride unfortunately).

But if you're thinking about going out hiking or riding on the trail in the next month or so, you'd better be prepared to get wet. Many sections of the trail are currently closed due to excessive flooding. I was in Tuscarawas County a few weeks ago and found the Towpath completely submerged below water. The trail, canal bed, and surrounding areas are all in the Tuscarawas River flood plain (changed since the demise of the canal from the Flood of 1913). I couldn't believe how much water there was down there. There are some pictures on the slideshow. I have no idea how much the flooding has caused damage to the trail, but I have a feeling it might be a little while before the trail is open in all areas.

The City of Akron announced this winter that they are going to remove the Richard Howe House from its current location and relocate it a block away, right next to the canal and Towpath Trail. It will serve as a visitor center as well as the headquarters for the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition. I haven't heard a timetable for the move, but some other buildings in the same block have already been torn down. The whole block is going to be converted into housing units aimed at University of Akron students. The city also bought Young's Restaurant at the Manchester Road trailhead and plan to use it as a visitor center as well.

I found a report online that said that Coshocton County was hoping to purchase the land around Wild Turkey Lock, presumably for a park. I tried to contact someone in their parks department but I haven't heard back from them yet. I did hear from someone in the Muskingum Valley Park District though. Unfortunately, they stated there were no canal related parks or trails planned in the near future. A bike trail expansion is in the works that will cross the locks at the outlet of the Dresden Sidecut Canal on the Muskingum River. I've inquired from a number of other counties about their parks and trails but I haven't heard back yet.

That's it for now. Please let me know what you think of the new additions to the site. Thanks for coming by.

Not much has been happening on the canal front as the year winds down. I have also not been doing much on the site. I've received a few questions from some of you and I apologize for not getting back to you. I recently switched internet providers and I haven't gotten all of the bugs worked out of my email program. I also haven't done a lot of work on the site because I will be switching addresses soon to accommodate my provider change. Hang in there - I'll hopefully have it all sorted out soon.

Work on the new section of the Towpath Trail in downtown Akron has been halted for the season. I have some newer pictures to post of the current progress but haven't gotten to that either.

So as this will most likely be the final post of 2007, let me just take a moment to thank all of you for your support this year. I've had a lot of fun discovering more of the history of the Ohio & Erie Canal this year and I hope to get the site finished in the near future. Have a safe, peaceful, and joyous holiday season.

I'm about a week late on this update, but better late than never I suppose. I went to the dedication ceremony for the new Towpath bridge over I-77 in Bolivar last Saturday and I promised to give my impressions, so here they are.

It was a nice morning as the rain held off until later in the afternoon. Much to my surprise, there were a large number of people who attended the event (250+ by the reports I read in the paper). It was nice to see that many people interested in what was going on. A tent was set up at Ft. Laurens and on display were a number of plans for trail development in Tuscarawas County, most of which involved the Towpath and canal. Dan Rice who runs the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition served as the master of ceremonies. A number of prominent politicians were on hand, including Ralph Regula who is pretty much responsible for the Towpath as it exists today.

After a number of speeches and a 21 gun salute by the color guard of the 51st Ohio Volunteer Infantry Co. B and 8th Pennsylvania Fort Laurens detail, the first ribbon was cut at the entrance to the trail. Another ribbon cutting occurred shortly thereafter at the bridge itself. The Tuscarawas Valley Trojans marching band was also present for the ceremony.

Although I didn't stick around for the guided hike or refreshments at the visitor center at Ft. Laurens, I'd have to say it was a very successful event. A variety of people showed up including bicyclists, hikers young and old, and lovers of local history. I was pleased to see a number of CSO members in attendance and got to meet a gentleman whom I've been in contact with via email for some time now after he emailed me from finding this page on the web.

The only disappointing thing about the ceremony for me was that I was hoping someone might talk about a time table for the rest of the trail completion in Tuscarawas County. No one did which leads me to believe that the trail won't be completed in the county in the near future. Bummer.

If you want to see pictures from the event, go to the Bolivar page of this site for a slideshow of the event.

I'm still attempting to find time to take my bike down to the end of the current trail at Zoarville and check out the Zoar Valley Trail which will eventually be part of the Towpath. I want to see just how accessible it is. I was told at the bridge dedication that the trail is able to be tackled by bike but a mountain bike would be the best bet as the trail is a little rough. If it's anything like the southern end of the existing trail south of Lock 10, it shouldn't be too bad.

A couple of canal era buildings in Akron have been in the news quite a bit recently. The Richard Howe house is going to be renovated soon into a visitor center and offices for the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition. This isn't new - it's been in progress for quite some time while the money was being raised for the work. The news that came out this weekend is that the building is going to be moved from its present location at the corner of Exchange and High Streets two blocks west near Lock 1. The building will be restored to its original specifications with the move.

Another Akron landmark, Young's Restaurant at the Manchester Road trailhead of the Towpath Trail, will be purchased by the City of Akron by the end of the year. It will eventually be restored and used as a visitor center. Plans are to get it ready to withstand the winter and then figure out how much renovation will cost. The building is only several years away from having been a working restaurant.

Don't forget that the new bridge over I-77 at Ft. Laurens for the Towpath Trail will be officially dedicated this coming Saturday at 10:30 in the morning. This will also be the last weekend of the season for the Mustill Store in Akron. It will be open only one more time this year after that - Saturday, December 15 when Jack Gieck will sign copies of his new book Early Akron's Industrial Valley, a History of the Cascade Locks.

If you haven't yet, please think about joining the Yahoo Group I set up (ohioanderiecanal). The more people that join, the better opportunity we'll have of sharing canal related events all around the state.

Finally, there are some new photos on the construction slideshows. Enjoy.

Hello again. Time for a short update here. I went on a 30 mile Towpath bike ride yesterday (Hunt Farm to Canal Visitor Center and back) with some friends from work. Here's what I found out:

• The bridge over Tinker's Creek Aqueduct is finished and makes riding the Towpath in that area much nicer since you don't have to circle around onto the street to avoid the aqueduct.

• Lock 38 at the Canal Visitor Center is currently non-operational. Apparently a flood last summer (or perhaps two summers ago) damaged the lock gates and they have not been repaired yet. So you won't be able to watch any lock demonstrations there until further notice.

• Construction continues on the I-271 bridge over the Cuyahoga Valley and warning signs are still in place on the Towpath on that section of the trail.

• The National Park Service is working on preventing erosion of the Towpath Trail from the Cuyahoga River between Boston and Peninsula.

• The 2008 Towpath Tags are out and available for purchase. The new tag has a picture of a bald eagle on it, a change from the historical canal pictures that have been featured the last several years.

• This is a great time of year to be out on the trail!

Another note of interest, or warning rather:  the poison ivy along the trail in Tuscarawas County is particularly potent this year. I got a bad case of poison ivy from my trip down there last week. Be careful if you go off the trail there at all until the plants die. Since the dedication of the I-77 bridge is on October 27, some of you may be hiking down there. Be careful.

I added a slideshow of construction shots of the Towpath Trail extension from Cascade Locks Park to downtown Akron in the construction update section of this page. I'll post all the pictures I take there and you can watch the construction progress right up until it opens next year. I'm going to make a similar one for the construction of the park at Lock 4 in downtown Akron. It'll be on the page about that lock.

Some of you joined the new Yahoo group I set up - thanks. Please feel free to post any information about the canal there so I can put it up on the page. I'd like to get a network of people from all areas of the state that can post info there so this page can be more informative for people living outside my region of the state, Northeast Ohio. All you have to do to join is create a Yahoo account and join. Simple as that. you can email stories from your local online newspaper right to the group and I can then share it on this page. I think I have the bugs worked out of the links I posted to Yahoo Groups on this page.

Get out on the trails - the weather has been warm and the leaves are turning colors. You just can't beat that.

I took a drive down to Tuscarawas County yesterday to see the new bridge over I-77. It looks really nice. It's come a long way since I rode across it in June. I also hadn't realized how close it was to the original location of the towpath. As you approach the bridge from Ft. Laurens, the canal prism is visible to your left. Once you cross the bridge, the canal prism can be seen on the right as it heads towards Lock 7. With a little road riding, you can now follow the path of the canal from Massillon to Zoar without much problem.

I also checked out the recently opened Zoarville Station Fink Through Truss Bridge. It's been beautifully restored and makes the important link from the end of the Towpath Trail in Zoarville to the Zoar Valley Trail (one day to be the Towpath Trail itself). It looks like the trail on the south side of the Tuscarawas River could be ridden on by an off road bicycle but I didn't get a chance to do so. Pictures of all of this as well as some new shots of the trail construction in Akron have been added to the slideshow.

I was inspired by Henry's oetowpath Yahoo group to start my own Yahoo Group for anyone interested in the Ohio & Erie Canal. The reason I did this is to better let everyone know when I make page updates and to get information about canal activities in all parts of the state. Since I live in the Akron area, most of what I know is centered around this area. I never seen to have much information about canal activities in the central and southern parts of the state. Now members of the the group can post information about these parts of the state and I can post it here as well. If you're on my mailing list for this page, expect to receive an invitation to the group since that will be my new way of letting you know when I've done updates. Here's how you can join:

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Hey, look at this! I actually have some canal news that doesn't pertain to NE Ohio. The Newark Advocate reported yesterday that the property where Lock 9 North (Licking Summit) was located has been sold to a museum group called The Works. There is a building there that is going to be torn down and the building sits on the location of Lock 9. Apparently, if any remains of the lock are found, they are going to preserve them. That would be pretty cool. If you want to read the article, follow this link:  http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071001/UPDATES01/71001026/1002/

So that got me looking around for various Ohio newspaper articles on canal activities. I found this article: http://www.chillicothegazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007709300327.

Oh yeah, I started posting the slide shows on the individual pages, starting with the Mustill Store page and the Memorial Parkway page. Let me know what you think.

Hello again. I've been meaning to do an update for a couple of weeks but never seem to have enough time and energy. But enough with the excuses, on to the news.

It was such a beautiful day today that I decided to check out some of the Towpath Trail construction around the Akron area. Starting in the north, the Cascade Locks Bikeway portion of the trail is coming along nicely. The construction crew has put sp the walls of the tunnel that will allow the Towpath to connect to a new bridge over the Innerbelt. I've updated the slideshow below with some pics of the progress.

I also went down by the new park that's being built at the location of Lock 4 in downtown Akron. The construction workers have part of the concrete culvert removed and a portion of the canal is now seeing daylight for the first time in over a quarter of a century. I still haven't figured out how they're going to expose Lock 4, but time will tell.

I didn't see any construction going on around Summit Lake. I was under the impression that work on the floating boardwalk was to begin this fall, but it hasn't started yet. But a new little section of the trail is being completed at Waterloo Road. A tunnel has been constructed as part of the bridge reconstruction over the canal. The Towpath will pass through this tunnel and a short segment of the trail is being constructed on either side of the tunnel, much like what was done at Manchester Road.

In Barberton, I didn't see any work being done on the trail south of Snyder Avenue but some survey markers were visible indicating where the trail will begin on the south side of the street. But looking north from Vanderhoof Road, it is very clear where the trail will be. The clear cutting has been completed on that section of the trail and I read that a contract has been awarded to a company to start the actual trail construction. A good portion of that section looks to run along side of Van Buren Avenue - not very scenic, but some of that area does look pretty.

In other news, I discovered a Yahoo Group dedicated to disseminating information about the Towpath Trail. There is a link to it at the end of this update. If that doesn't work, try searching for oetowpath on Yahoo Groups. The group's moderator (Henry) found my slideshow at RockYou and visited this website. He has a link to it on the group page. The group seems to be mostly comprised of bicycling enthusiasts but has some nice information on it. If you have an interest in the development of the trail, I would recommend joining the group.

The date of the grand opening of the Towpath bridge over I-77 by Ft. Laurens has been officially set. It will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 27. Congressman Ralph Regula is expected to be on hand for the ceremony.

I also heard from a gentleman by the name of Alan (thanks for the kind words, Alan) that the Zoarville Station Bridge dedication was a couple of weekends ago. This bridge will allow the Towpath to cross the Tuscarawas River and head into Dover. The trail is open for walking from the bridge to White Bridge near the intersection of SR 416 and SR 800. It follows the Zoar Valley Trail and/or an old railroad bed on the south side of the river. That means you could now hike the Towpath from Ft. Laurens to just north of Dover. Since I haven't done this myself yet, I can't say that is usable for bikes. I'll let you know when I find out.

Well, I think that's it for now. Keep checking back - even if I don't do an update I sometimes add new photos. Hope you're all doing well.

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I had a little trouble with the web page there for a couple of weeks. It was a server problem - somehow all of the updates I had done over the summer were gone and in their place was old editions of the site. Luckily, they fixed the problem and the updated sites came back. But I had to change my password and my wife has the master account but didn't know what her password was. So I had to sit on hold on the phone tonight for a half an hour waiting for someone to get on to help me out. Now that's taken care of and I can finally do an update.

There's not much new to tell other than I updated the slideshow below with some new pictures of the progress of the Towpath Trail through Akron. It's coming along quite nicely.

I've also decided to revamp the pictures on the site. Instead of the slideshow pages that I had set up, I'm just going to replace the photos of each site with a slide show instead. That way, the pictures will be located with the information about the site and they will be bigger and more of them. Now the question is, when will I get to this? Who knows, but that's the plan at least. In the meantime, enjoy the new photos on this page and keep coming back.

Oh yeah, one bit of news - excavation has begun on Lock 4 in downtown Akron. Although they haven't actually gotten to the lock yet, it should be coming soon. There are pictures below on the slide show.

Hello again. Man, it's either hit or miss with me and these updates. I'll go months without putting one up and then put up a whole bunch in a short period of time. I got quite a bit of new information yesterday as I made a visit to the OECC office in downtown Akron. The information is about the progress of the Towpath Trail and here it is.

In Cleveland, the 1/2 section needed to connect Harvard Avenue with the already completed section at Steelyard Commons is going to be a difficult one and won't be finished for at least four years. I drove past the Tinker's Creek Aqueduct and it looks like a new bridge has been constructed for the trail over the aqueduct site. The aqueduct is going to be rebuilt by the National Park Service.

Construction continues on the Cascade Locks Bikeway connecting Cascade Locks Park with downtown Akron. I was told the project would take two years to complete but I'm not too sure about that. I guess it will depend on how quickly the bridge over the Innerbelt will be built. In downtown Akron, Water Street, which runs right next to the Towpath, has been made into a one way street (heading south). Additional on street parking has been added so it essentially makes that section of the trail a trailhead of sorts. Construction also continues on the short link from that point to Lock 2 Park.

Engineering is still underway for the part of the trail that runs behind the old B.F. Goodrich plant. Construction of the trail through the Summit Lake area is beginning this summer. Summit Lake to Manchester Road should be open by 2009.

I was contacted by someone in the Stark Parks marketing department about historic pictures of the Crystal Springs area. He is working on reviving some projects involving interpretive signage in Stark County. Hopefully that means that the Towpath will have signs placed in the future telling of the history of the canal in Stark County.

Speaking of Stark County, the final piece of the trail in Massillon is moving forward. Apparently negotiations with the railroad have broke down and the trail will not pass in the originally planned location. Engineering and design is underway for the new route that will complete the trail in Massillon. Fundraising is also underway to complete the trail from SR 212 to the Tuscarawas County border, including the pedestrian bridge at the old Bolivar Aqueduct site.

The opening of the bridge over I-77 has been delayed again and will now occur sometime this fall. Fundraising is also underway to construct the trail from the Stark County line to the new bridge.

I was most excited though to obtain the map showing the Tuscarawas County Trail and Green Space Plan. It details the Towpath Trail route through the county. Here is basically what it says:

• 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.

• 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.

• SR 416 will be designated a Scenic Roadway (I hope that means it will be bicycle friendly), passing by Locks 14-16 along the way, to US 36.

• A trail will be constructed that roughly parallels US 36 and will follow the approximate route of the canal all the way to Newcomerstown. Although it will not be the official Towpath Trail, it in essence will be. It will pass through Seventeen and Port Washington along the way.

So that's some pretty exciting stuff. But just because it's been planned that way doesn't mean it will be built in the near future. There are many steps involved in the process and I don't think will see this completed for several years (although the trail is supposed to be complete by the mid 2010's). That's all I have for now. Hope you're enjoying the updates. Let me know what you think.

Vince made an interesting online discovery today which he forwarded to me. A person who goes by the name "itchymoche" is chronicling his involvement with the construction of the new leg of the Towpath Trail from Vanderhoof Road and putting the videos on YouTube. It's interesting to see what is involved in the construction of a trail like the Towpath. I've posted a few of the videos below. Check them out if you have some time.

I took a drive on the CanalWay Scenic Byway from Peninsula to Bolivar the other day and found out some interesting things about the Towpath.

First, the construction of the Cascade Locks Bikeway is progressing nicely. I added some more pictures to the slideshow below.

Second, I got a look at the plans for the new park at Lock 4 on Bowery Street in Akron. Looks pretty nice - I like that it looks like it will connect to Lock 3 under the Civic Theater.

Next, construction of the trail north from Vanderhoof Road to Snyder Avenue is underway. The trail leaves the original location of the canal due to the presence of a lime lake, swampland, and rerouting of the Tuscarawas River and Wolf Creek.

Finally, the new bridge in Bolivar is not complete yet. I could not see any new construction of the trail north of there either. That section may be a little farther away than I had hoped.

Hello again. Sorry for the brevity of the last update, but I thought the information pretty much spoke for itself. Hope you enjoyed listening to it (if you didn't because you didn't know what it was, it's a interview with various people about the construction of the Towpath Trail in Cleveland).

There are some exciting things going on in my neck of the canal. Construction has begun on the Towpath Trail connection between Cascade Locks Park and downtown Akron. It may be finished by November because the road I use to go to work is closed for trail construction until then. See the slide show below for some early pictures of its progress.

The parking garage that sat above Lock 4 in downtown Akron has been removed. Although the lock is still underground, it's on its way to seeing the light of day.

The Towpath Trail in Tuscarawas County was supposed to be opened this month but I haven't been down there yet to see if it is indeed open. Maybe next week...

I spent the past week down in southern Ohio at the Shawnee State Forest. It's only about 14 miles from Portsmouth which of course means that I had to do a little canal exploring while I was down there. I hiked down to the outlet like I did this past spring since the water level in the Ohio River was much lower now than it was then. Sure enough, I could see the whole lock and outlet on the river and took some snapshots. Again, see below. It was quite a hike this time marching through the corn fields to get to the outlet. Luckily, I had made a GPS reading of the location last time I was there and found it pretty easily.

Since I was in the area, I headed over to Kentucky to do some family tree research (the hobby I was involved in before I discovered the Towpath and Canal). I found some interesting information. The only reason I'm telling about it here is that if the information pans out, I could get back into that hobby a little more which means I'll have less time to spend on this site. But I will continue with updates and hopefully get back to work on the path of the canal this fall or winter.

That's it for now.

Click here.

Man, has it really been over two months since I updated this? That means I must a lot of information to put up here, which I do. It's been pretty exciting to be in NE Ohio and a canal enthusiast lately. Here's what's going on.

First, and most exciting, the Akron Beacon Journal reported last week that the City of Akron plans to uncover Lock 4 and construct a waterside plaza at that location. Public improvements should be done by the end of the year so construction can begin next spring. It will be the first time Lock 4 has been exposed since the 1960's. It also gives me hope that someday we can possibly uncover more of the Cascade Locks.

The Beacon Journal also reported last week that Dan Rice, President of the Ohio & Erie CanalWay Coalition, announced that the restoration of the Richard Howe house in downtown Akron will begin by the end of the year. I'm not sure what the exact plans for it are. I had heard that they wanted to move it down to the Towpath at a visitor center but I've also heard that it will be renovated where it is and used partially as a visitor center and partially as the offices of the Coalition. No matter what they do with it, it is just amazing that this house that was built in the 1830's by the canal engineer is still standing and has withstood urban expansion.

Another building that is going to be renovated is Young's Restaurant at the Manchester Road Trailhead of the Towpath Trail. The City of Akron plans to buy the property and restore the historic site as a retail and visitor center.

There are a number of construction updates for the Towpath Trail at the bottom of this page. Things are moving along nicely. I know this because I just completed my annual Towpath Expedition for 2007. We rode 102 miles between Cleveland and New Philadelphia on bikes a couple of weekends ago and it was a blast. For a detailed account of the ride and the days leading up to it, click here.

If anyone has any news about sections of the Ohio & Erie Canal, feel free to let me know so I can post it. I usually only hear about things in the National Heritage Corridor and there is so much south of that. Surely there are tidbits in the local papers of those areas. Drop me a note on the home page - I'd appreciate it.

Hey there. Time for a quick update. I have been doing a little work on the site and I started putting new slideshows up. The slideshows feature pictures featured elsewhere in the site but in a larger format so they can be seen better. There are also some other pictures on them that aren't anywhere else on the site. I have three of them done, covering Cuyahoga County and Summit County through the National Park. You can see them by going to the Locations and Trailheads page linked from the left. If you don't like music, turn your computer's volume down since each page has its own music.

I also have been getting some feedback from the form I put on the home page. I thought I might add a few of the posts and my responses. Here they are:

"Very interesting site! I live near Mansfield but work in Columbus and do a lot of side-tripping to canal sites in central Ohio. Your newest update gives me hope that some of the central Ohio structures that are not easily found will be photographed and put up on your website. A couple of questions....how were you able to gain access to the lock near Millport? I have no idea how to get to that location and if property owners are friendly to canal buffs. Also, were you able to confirm if any remnants of the aqueduct between Baltimore and Carroll are present? Are there any remnants of locks 20 and 21? They seemed to be higher than Groveport road and are on private property I believe. I have been too scared to park and walk through the woods along the road. Also, did you happen to see the guards on the sides of the slackwater crossing at the end of the now dead end road, (either Amanda Northern or Diley Road, I can't remember) I discovered these by sheer luck on day. And lastly for now, you mentioned the Baltimore locks. Another site mentions that either lock 2 or 3 still exists on private property and still has the floor planks present. I would like to see this, but once again, uneasiness about straying onto private land holds me back. I would be interested in some of your methods of obtaining access (authorized or otherwise) to the sites shown on the ODNR plat series.

"Thanks for your site!"

I’m glad you like the site. It’s been sort of an obsession of mine for a couple of years now (the canal that is). I just wish I had the time to just sit down and finish the whole thing. I started it because as I got interested in the canal, I was frustrated that there wasn’t a site that all the information you needed to know to visit canal structures throughout the state. I did join the Canal Society of Ohio and strongly recommend it if you’re not already a member.

So to the questions you asked. First, the lock at Millport. Lock 31 is very accessible actually. I made my first visit there last fall with a friend of mine. There is a drive to the farm that has two concrete posts on either side of the driveway. That’s the place to be. We drove up and no one was home. My friend stayed at the car while I walked across the farm to the lock site. The owner came home as I was completing my photographs. He was very friendly and was more than happy to let me see the lock. As long as you don’t spook or mess with his cows (that literally go up and drink out of the lock), he’s cool with people seeing the lock. He said he wished he could put a little park in so people could come down and enjoy the lock. The second time I went to the lock was in March. This time, we actually followed the canal bed from the road back to the lock. We more or less looped around the farmer’s property that time. Watch out for gopher holes if you go that way – they’re everywhere.

The aqueduct between Baltimore and Carroll must be the Little Walnut Creek Aqueduct. I did just find that site last month. As I recall, it was on private property but the owner allowed us to go visit it. There are significant remains to the abutments and possible some timber remains in the creek. I will post some pictures of it soon on the slideshows I’m working on (did you see the one for Cuyahoga County yet? Get there by clicking the county link on the trailhead and location page).

I don’t think there are any remnants of Locks 20 and 21 east of Groveport. I emailed that question to someone involved with the restoration of Lock 22 and they didn’t think there were any remnants either.

On Amanda Northern Road, you can see the remains of the guard lock on the west side of the creek. It’s on private property and the owners allowed access to it but were a little hesitant about it. Part of it is in their actual yard. The lock on the other side of the creek is actually a lift lock. I got to it by hiking the canal bed from the Lockville Park site. The owners of the locks past the park didn’t give us any trouble about following the canal bed through their properties. We seemed like we hiked forever but there are remains of every lock up to the creek.

In Baltimore, there are remains of Lock 3. They are on private property and we did not ask permission but had no problems. I don’t think there is anything left of Locks 1 and 2.

As far as how to gain access, I have a couple suggestions that have served me well. First, don’t go alone. You can be a little more daring heading into the woods if you have company. I have two friends that I have hiked around with and we’ve all agreed that we’ve gone further to see sites because we were together vs. being alone. Secondly, when possible, just ask property owners if you can visit the canal structures on their property. I have met very little resistance when I have done this. It helps if you can tell them that you are a member of the Canal Society of Ohio – it gives you legitimacy. Chances are you won’t be the first person to ask to see the structures.

"This is a very neat website. What map datum was used for the GPS coordinates? Do you have GPS coordinates for mile markers as well?

"Have you thought of linking this all to Google Earth?"

I literally have gotten each of my GPS coordinates from making a reading at each site with a Legend GPS unit. I try to get an accuracy of within 20’ when possible based on what the weather conditions are like at the time. I originally plotted out the coordinates with the software that came with the unit, but I bought a TopoUSA program to get better maps. I haven’t fully been able to utilize that program yet, mostly because I haven’t had the time to sit down and do it (plus, my son destroyed the cable that connected my unit to my computer).

I have GPS coordinates for many, but not all of the mile markers on the Towpath. The site originally started out as a guide to the Towpath, but soon because a documentary of the entire canal. So things like the mile markers didn’t make it onto the site since it was specific only to the existing trail in the National Heritage Corridor.

"Do you have any suggestions on visiting remains of the Miami & Erie Canal? We have been to the Cuyahoga Valley Visitors center and also the locks along the way and are now interested in the Miami and Erie. I have downloaded the Ohio's Historic Canals Sites and map but wonder what you suggest. Thank You."

I haven’t ventured over to the M&E Canal yet, but I have a friend that is rather fluent in that part of the state. He says there are a lot of structures still out there, but many of them are on private property. My best suggestion would be to head to the Summit County Library in Akron (if you live in NE Ohio) and take out the Canal Society of Ohio’s tour guides for their visits to the M&E Canal. If you live further away from Akron, try contacting the CSO through their web site to purchase the tour guides yourself. And if you have a lot of time on your hands, you can wait until I finally finish my Ohio & Erie Canal site and watch for me to make my way over to the western part of the state and start THAT website! But I think you might want to pursue one of the first two options since I have no idea when I’ll ever finish this site!

So that's it for now. I hope you like the additions to the site. Keep the comments coming - it's great to know there are interested parties out there that are making their way to my site. I promise more good stuff is on the way!

Hello, hello, hello! It's been quite awhile. I've been so busy with other projects this winter that I haven't had a chance to do any work on this site until now. Even now, I don't have that much time but a few of my canal cohorts have been riding my butt to get to work on finishing the site. I thought I should start my foray back into the web site with an update on what's been happening. First, what I've been up to.

I went on a canal trip in November to the southern part of the state to get pictures and locations for the structures I hadn't visited yet. I started in Newark and followed the route of the canal south for two days. I got as far as Groveport the first day and then finished the trip to Portsmouth on the second day. Because the days were getting shorter by the time I took the trip, I was getting rushed at the end of the trip and some of my pictures were a bit dark. I also didn't get to spend a lot of time looking for hard to find structures. So although the trip was a success, I was going to have to go back at some point.

Probably the biggest successes of the first day were finding Lock 7 in Newark, the locks in Baltimore, and what is possibly Lock 10 in Carroll. My canal cohorts Bill and Boone accompanied me on this stretch of the canal. We dubbed ourselves as the "The Three Stooges of the Ohio & Erie Canal."

On day two, I was accompanied by my friend Jeremy. We had good luck in locating Lock 31 in Millport and a few locks near the end of the journey. But we were rushed and didn't roll into Portsmouth until it was dark. That meant looking for the outlet lock was out of the question.

Since the other Stooges hadn't joined me on the second day, they decided to rehash the trip in March. We met up in Millport and traveled all the way to Portsmouth. This time we beat the nightfall and got all the way to the outlet. Unfortunately, the water level of the Ohio River was too high and we couldn't actually see the outlet lock itself. So guess what that means? I'll be making another trip down there someday.

We were quite happy to find a number of aqueduct structures as well as the elusive Higby Guard Lock. The day was nearly a complete success. I now have enough pictures to almost complete this web site. Now if I could just find the time...

The Mustill Store season kicks off this weekend with food and entertainment at Cascade Locks Park in Akron. I've been asked to work the event but I'm not sure if I can yet. I do hope to make it down there at some point.

There is all kinds of Towpath construction news to catch up on. I'll try to start in the north and move south. I haven't heard of anything new about construction north of Harvard Road. The Towpath bridges over Grainger and Warner Roads are complete and look very nice. In Akron, sidewalks have been widened and resurfaced along Quaker St., Bowery St., and Water St. for use as the Towpath Trail. Construction on the portion to connect the trail at Quaker St. and the south end of the current trail in Cascade Locks Park is to begin this year. The new portion of the trail that connects Water St. to Lock 2 Park is under construction and a new bridge is in place for the trail to pass to the east side of the canal where it currently sits.

Engineering work has begun on the section from behind Spaghetti Warehouse to Bartges St. where the trail will continue as it does now. At Summit Lake, the trail's construction will begin this summer with completion set for 2008. It will feature the "Floating Towpath" on the south end of Summit Lake as it did in the canal era. It will stretch to Wilbeth Road when finished.

According to the Akron Beacon Journal, a section of the trail should be opened this year in the area around Waterloo Rd. Construction of a new bridge (replacing an older one) for Waterloo Rd. over the canal has begun and will allow for the Towpath Trail to pass under the road. A new underpass at I-277 is complete and features a small but barely accessible section of the completed trail.

The City of Akron is planning on buying Young's Restaurant by the Manchester Rd. trailhead. The building may be renovated into a visitor center along the canal. Some office and retail space will be available as well.

Apparently the City of Barberton has decided not to make a trailhead at Tuscarawas Ave. as had been previously talked about. A new pedestrian bridge will be placed over the canal though to connect the Towpath with a path to downtown Barberton under the new Robinson Ave. Viaduct.

The Vanderhoof Rd. trailhead is open for use and the finishing touches on its construction are underway. It is paved and restrooms are present. It seems only the signage and landscaping needs finished.

I had heard a rumor that the trail would be complete in Bolivar by June but it doesn't seem that that is true. Although some surveying and planning has been done in that area, there are no signs of construction. The bridge over I-77 is looking good. It has been surfaced and is taking shape quite nicely. It looks as though it should be complete sometime this summer.

I know these things because I went a little canal ride today, following the Scenic Byway south to Bolivar. It was a nice day and a pleasant ride. I took a few pictures and you can see them below.

Which brings me to my next bit of news. In the time I've been away from the website, I have learned of some free features that are out there that I can use on the page. So the first is the picture slideshow  below. It's great because I can put up bigger pictures and it doesn't take up space on my server.

So I'm also planning on adding a new photo page to this site. I'll put up bigger pictures in a slideshow format of the structures that I've taken pictures of and posted. I always hated that I had to have such small pictures of the structures on the site to make them fit on the free space I have through my internet provider.

I also bought a new computer and am going to have to get a new web page editing program. When I do, I'll be able to make slicker pages and the site might see a little bit of a facelift. In the meantime, I'll just have to try to keep going on the pages the old way.

For my Towpath Expedition this year, we're not doing any fundraisers. Instead, since so many people who I've told about the ride wanted to join in, I'm going to have the ride this year open to anyone who wants to join us. You'll be able to meet up with us at various points along the trail and ride as much as you want to. I might even make it aggressive and try to make it to Canal Fulton the first day. We could camp there overnight and get started first thing in the morning again. That sounds like a good time to me. I've been losing weight and working out this winter so I won't have to go through the misery of last year's ride again.

But last year's ride was quite a monetary success. All in all, we raised over $3000 for the Organization for Autism Research. It was way above what I had expected and I am thrilled that people contributed so generously. So thanks to any of you reading this who contributed to the cause!

Well, that's about it for now. I've got some other tweaks to make on the site, including a new text box to send messages to me from the main page. Check it out and let me know what you think. Thanks for coming back!

We completed our Towpath Expedition this weekend. To read all about it, follow this link. Happy Halloween!

It's been awhile since I've had a moment to sit down and update the journal page. I've been busy this fall and some of my time has been taken up by canal related activities.

I've been doing some exploring of the canal's path in Cleveland. I was going to just wait for the Towpath to be completed before hitting that section of the canal. There isn't much up there to see anyway. But the trail will not follow the historical route of the canal through the final 6 miles of its course in the north due to the industry that has grown up in its place in the last 100 years. So I decided to start getting some pictures for the site for that portion of the canal. The first page of that section is in production and will be finished soon.

I'll be heading down to the southern parts of Ohio in a few weeks to hit the areas of the canal that I haven't visited yet. I'm hoping to get most of the info I need to finish this site on that trip and maybe, just maybe I can get the site completed this winter.

My Towpath Expedition is still set for next weekend. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with us and we'll have an enjoyable ride. We've decided to tack on the first 6 miles of the canal from Settler's Landing to Harvard Avenue this year and combined with the new sections of the trail that have opened in the last year, we should have quite a different ride than we did in 2005. The fundraising efforts are going well as well. So far we've raised over $1300 for the Organization for Autism Research with more pledged. We're still hoping to reach at least $2000 so if you'd like to donate, please follow the link in the update below. A number of canal enthusiasts have already responded and have generously donated - thank you so much for the support.

In Towpath construction news, the new bridges south of Cleveland should be completed. The last time I drove by a few weeks ago, they were putting the finishing touches on the signage on the bridges. Construction continues in downtown Akron to connect Lock 2 Park with Cascade Locks Park. The steel beams have been erected on the pillars of the bridge crossing I-77 in Bolivar. Apparently the project had stalled due to a shortage of building materials but is now back on track. Finally, the new section of the trail between Vanderhoof and Center Roads is open. The trailhead at Vanderhoof is also nearing completion.

I recently read that the section of the trail in Cleveland is not expected to be completed until 2014-2015. This differs from the 2013 date I had heard in June. The same article stated that the first leg of construction of that portion of the trail may not be complete for another 6 years (Akron Beacon Journal 9/19/06).

I just wanted to make a quick update on some new news. The new section of the Towpath Trail from Vanderhoof Road to Center Road will be officially dedicated on September 20th. For more information, visit the MetroParks Serving Summit County web site. That part of the trail will be 2.3 miles long and contains three boardwalks. The trailhead at Vanderhoof Road is moving along as well. The bathrooms have been constructed and it appears (as of last week) that the concrete will be poured soon.

I have kicked off my Towpath Expedition fundraiser for this year as well. On October 28 and 29, three friends of mine and I will be riding the length of Towpath Trail (and CanalWay Ohio National Scenic Byway where there is no trail) to raise money for the Organization for Autism Research. We are very excited about this opportunity and are looking forward to it with great anticipation. Any support is greatly appreciated.

Finally, I just added a new page to the site today about Roscoe Village. Hope you enjoy it.

Time for another update. I've actually been getting quite a few pages up lately. It's really fun now that I've moved on to areas outside of my immediate surroundings and outside of the National Heritage Corridor. But as a result, there is sometimes a lack of information about some of the more obscure areas of the canal's path. If you have any information that may be useful or if you see any errors about anything, be sure to let me know.

I haven't been able to work on any new pages over the last few days because I've been dealing with an unhappy visitor to my site. But I'm hoping that will be put behind us and we can move on to enjoying the hobby of canal exploring.

A quick update on the status of the Towpath Trail bridges north of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I read in the paper that the bridges are expected to be completed by the middle of October. That stinks for people who would like to get out on that section of the trail before the end of the summer, but I'm just happy that they'll be finished by the time I make my bike ride at the end of that month.

So it turns out I was wrong about the new Towpath Trail south of Vanderhoof Road. Connor and I decided to head out there for a hike today and we started at Center Road. We got to where the new section of the trail should have started and found the way still blocked by an orange plastic fence. But do you think I was going to hike that distance and not check it out? Of course not. We obviously weren't the first with that idea because the fence had a number of holes in it where previous explorers had broken the law before us. There were even bicycle tracks on the new trail.

The new section of the Towpath Trail crosses over the canal bed so that it runs along what would have been the berm bank. The CSX railroad runs right beside it and I'm sure a fence will be built to keep people off the tracks. Shortly, we came across a wooden boardwalk, the first of two, possibly three on this stretch of the trail. As you can see from the picture to the left (click for larger picture), it's not nearly ready for pedestrian traffic. But of course, we braved it. We soon came to another boardwalk but the way onto it was blocked by a bulldozer. Since Connor was riding in a jogging stroller, we couldn't go any further and turned around. The reason I say that there may be a third boardwalk is because you can see one down the trail from Vanderhoof Road and I think it's a different one than the one we ended at. It looks like the trail won't be finished until the end of the summer.

One other bit of news - I got an email from Boone Triplett whom I met while on the CSO's Spring Tour this year. He's working on a book about Ohio's canal system in its present state. He sent me a rough draft of some of it and it's really good stuff. He's soliciting any information anyone has on the canals for the book. It you'd like to learn more about the book or to contribute any information, email him at boonetrip@yahoo.com. I plan on using some of his information on my pages here as it looks like he's done quite a bit of research out in the field.

Even though I haven't been updating the Journal page lately, I have been keeping up with some canal related activities and I guess it's time to put them up on the page.

Starting in the north, I drove up to where the new bridges are being constructed for the Towpath Trail to pass over Warner and Granger Roads. They are coming along nicely. One of them had the concrete poured and was almost finished. The other was a bit behind, but it looks like they should be finished by the fall.

In Akron, the new waysides were put in on the new section of the Towpath that runs south from North Street. The signs designating the Pedestrian Connector Trail to Lock 3 are up as well. In downtown, construction of the Trail from Lock 2 Park to where it will connect with the bridge over the Innerbelt has begun.

I drove past the Vanderhoof Road trailhead the other day and although it's not complete, it does look like the trail is open from there to where it connects to the finished part south of Lime Lake #5. I might go bike riding there tomorrow to check it out. In Bolivar, construction of the bridge over I-77 is still progressing.

I've been doing some work on the pages and I'm finally moving south beyond the designated National Heritage Corridor. That means it's getting a little more complicated to put the pages up, but it's an exciting challenge. It seems that some of what I put up causes a little controversy. I am using some historic photos that I got from CSO member Dave Meyer on the pages but I've heard back from some other experts who have refuted the validity of my labeling. It's making for some interesting conversations on what is what. I've also heard from some other people who have spotted errors on other pages. I'm glad people are taking an interest. If you notice any errors or have any other information about the places on my pages, please let me know. Like I've stated before, I'm no expert but I want the site to be as accurate as possible so people can use it to enjoy the history of the canal.

I'll be doing my own little trek on the canal this fall. I've set the date for my annual bike ride along the Towpath. It will be on the last weekend in October (the 28th and 29th). This year, my three friends (Jeremy, Vince, and Paul) and I will be raising money for the Organization for Autism Research by making the 100 mile ride from Cleveland to New Philadelphia. There will be more information posted here as soon as I set some things up for donations. Stay tuned.

It's been a pretty cool week from a canal enthusiast's standpoint, so here's what's up.

First, I worked at the Mustill Store last Sunday and I had a really good time talking to the visitor's that came to see the museum. I really liked how interested people seemed to be in the history of the canal. While I was at the store, I found out that construction has begun on a recreation of the spillway for Lock 15 that ran under the porch of the Mustill Store. It will be filled with blue rocks instead of water, but it will be an interesting addition to the park none-the-less.

A more interesting development was the opening of the new section of the Towpath Trail through the Cascade Locks on Wednesday. It was a pretty grand event, complete with a mule. Various local dignitaries made speeches before the first hikers made their way up the trail. I was there for the speeches but I had to leave to pick my son up from school before I could partake of the hike. But from what I could see, the landscaping that had been completed since I hiked up the trail a week and a half ago looks quite nice. I'll be heading up the officially opened trail for the first time next Monday.

Speaking of Towpath developments, I talked to a MetroParks ranger today who told me that they expect the next section of the trail to open between Lime Lake #5 and Vanderhoof Road in about a month. That surprised me since I couldn't tell that a trail was even being constructed south of Vanderhoof Road and the trailhead there hasn't seen any new work in quite some time, still having just the rough outline of the parking area finished.

I took a drive down the southern part of the CanalWay Ohio National Scenic Byway today. It was a beautiful day for it. I stopped at the Massillon Museum and picked up a copy of Terry Woods' History of the Ohio & Erie Canal in Stark County, which was an interesting read. I also saw the construction being done on the new bridge for the Towpath Trail over I-77 near Fort Laurens. And of course, I got a few new pictures for the website.

I got out to see the new section of the Towpath Trail through Cascade Locks Park on Friday. CLPA asked me to take a hike up the trail and get some photos of the the latest stage of the construction for their website.

I was really amazed at how nice the park is going to be. Even though I'd hiked up on the east side of the canal before, I had never seen Locks 14-12 from the west side before. It was like I was in a whole new park. It was very quiet and even when you got to the current end of the trail near the innerbelt, the sound of rushing water in the canal was really all you could hear. The trail really gets you interested in the entire master plan for the park, available on the CLPA website.

The trail will eventually continue on past where it ends in the picture to the far right above. It will cross over the culvert where the canal goes underground so that it will run along what would be the west side of the canal. It will parallel the Innerbelt for a short distance, run through a tunnel under Rand Avenue, cross on a bridge over the Innerbelt, and run down to Ash Street. It will then follow established sidewalks to Lock 2. This should all be finished by the end of 2007.

The official opening for the new trail will be on Wednesday, June 28 at 10:30 in the a.m. There will be a ribbon cutting with the mayor and other dignitaries at the opening. I hope to be able to go to it.

Wow! It's been over two months since my last entry. I guess keeping up a web page about a defunct canal is just like any other hobby - you go through periods where you let things fall by the wayside for a bit. But even though I've been neglecting the page, I've still been involved in a number of canal activities. So here goes the update.

Probably the most exciting news I have is that the newest section of the Towpath Trail through the Cascade Locks Park is scheduled to open in less than two weeks! Asphalt was poured in the new parking lot at Lock 14 yesterday and the trail looks to be ready for the final surfacing. The official ribbon cutting for the trail will take place on Wednesday, June 28 while the official opening to the public will be two days later on the 30th. I might get a little daring tonight after my softball game and take a hike up the new trail to see what it looks like. The finished trail will link with a pedestrian walkway to downtown Akron and Lock 3 Park. Interpretive waysides are supposed to be completed on the new trail as well.

I attended a presentation by Rob and Peggy Bobel last night at the Mustill Store. They talked about the new sections of the Towpath Trail and gave some construction estimates while hyping the newest edition of the Towpath Companion that is to be released later this year. See the updates at the bottom of the page for a complete overview, but here are some highlights:

• The final section in Cleveland will be completed in several stages and it is hoped that it will be completed by 2013.

• The section at Summit Lake will indeed have a floating Towpath like in the days of the canal.

• The trail may or may not pass next to the Wolf Creek Aqueduct, but it is hoped that the structure will be accessible in some way to people enjoying the Towpath. The trail in the section between Snyder Avenue and Vanderhoof Road will not completely follow the original alignment of the canal.

• Land has been acquired around Bolivar to allow the Towpath to follow the original alignment of the canal on its way into Bolivar. The bridge for the trail over I-77 from Fort Laurens to where the current trail begins again in Tuscarawas County is currently under construction.

Speaking of the Mustill Store, I'll be volunteering there on Sunday, June 25th from 3-6. Come out and talk about the canal with me if you have some time.

I drove down to the construction area for the new Vanderhoof Road trailhead today and I'm sad to report that it doesn't look much different than it did a few months ago. I'm still hearing reports that it will be completed by the end of the year. I also didn't see any new progress on the trail connecting the trailhead to the current ending of the trail that opened early this year near Lime Lake 5.

I recently obtained a large collection of vintage canal photos, completely digitalized, that I'll be able to use on my webpage. So even if you've visited the whole site before, be on the lookout for some new old photos.

The new CanalWay Center in Canal Fulton opened at the end of April and it's a pretty nice facility. There is an amphitheater in it that was showing Jack Gieck's video of the history of the canal when I was there.

Well, that's about it for now. I just might go and try to add a few more pages to the site this afternoon, so I have to get busy. Get out and enjoy the warm weather and check out the ol' canal while you're at it!

Lots to talk about, so I'll get right to it.

I went on the Canal Society of Ohio's Spring Tour this weekend and had a really good time. I became a member as well and met a number of interesting people who all share my interest in the canal. On Friday, I enjoyed Terry Woods' presentation on the history of the sites that were to be visited on the tour. Saturday's journey through Coshocton, Muskingum, and Licking Counties was great - I visited locks and sites that I wasn't able to find on my trip last October.

I learned that my find of Lock 20 is completely incorrect. The structures I found are actually part of a RR spur that came off the Valley line in that area. A CSO member, Larry Turner, said that the spur was used so that garbage could be brought in by train to the landfill that occupied that area in the mid 1900's. Terry Woods also confirmed this to me in an email tonight. I went out there again today and I am convinced that it is definitely not a canal lock. Oh well.

The new CanalWay Center in Canal Fulton will be celebrating its grand opening on Saturday, April 29. Visit the website for more information. This thing has been in the building stages for a year now and it's finally ready to open. I'm looking forward to seeing what it's all about.

Speaking of construction, I saw a new part of the Towpath Trail today. I checked out the new underpass at I-277 today. It's a boardwalk that actually juts out into the canal. The underpass at Manchester Road is also complete but the trail is not complete through the area as land ownership issues are worked out.

A brand new website hit the internet last week. It's the new site of the Ohio & Erie CanalWay. It's pretty nice looking and is interactive. It finally brings the whole CanalWay together under one site. There is a link to the site on my Links page. The site lists various canal related events throughout the year as well as providing plenty of history and information about the canal.

One thing I was disappointed to find out via that site though is that the planned Towpath Trail is going to miss the Wolf Creek Aqueduct. That's a bummer. I was also hoping the the trail near Bolivar would follow the line of the canal heading into town but that also appears to not be the case.

The weather's getting nice - get outside and enjoy the trail and canal!

I finally found the Wolf Creek Aqueduct today, but not without getting wet, dirty, and bloody in the process. Following tips I had gotten from a few other sources, I followed the CSX train tracks south from Snyder Avenue and then veered off to the east before I got to the trestle that spans the CSXRR and Tuscarawas River. I had to hike around a bit but I managed to find the canal prism. Soon enough, after heading back north a bit, I stumbled upon the aqueduct. It's very difficult to see because of the tall reedy swamp grass that grows all around it. On top of that, the ground is very wet on the east side of the aqueduct while there is standing water on the west side due to beaver activity in the area.

I was able to hop up onto the concrete walls of the aqueduct and check it out. It's in very good condition from what I could tell. I wasn't able to get a really good picture of it though because of the grass. Maybe I'll head out there again when the ground dries up a bit more and chop down the grass to get a better idea of how it looks.

In other news, the web site is getting better day in and day out. I've been pretty hard at work updating the pages. I'm now complete from Cleveland to downtown Akron and I hope to get a little more done today. It seems more people check out my site than I thought. I've been getting a few emails from people who seem to really like the site. Thanks to everyone who has written in with their thoughts.

I though it might be nice to post some of the comments I've gotten. Here goes:

Thanks for the kind words. They make me want to get the whole thing done that much sooner so it'll be informative to everyone along the canal route.

My son Connor is off school this week for spring break and yesterday was a beautiful day, so I decided that the two of us would check out the latest happenings on the canal south of Akron. We followed the CanalWay Ohio National Scenic Byway all the way to Canal Lands Trailhead near Zoar in Tuscarawas County. We hiked up the Towpath Trail to Lock 7 and back and found the trail to be in much better shape than when I was last on it in June of last year. The locks are also in better shape as much of the growth around the locks has been cleared so that the locks themselves can be better viewed.

On the way home, we stopped just north of Bolivar and I was able to hike down and get some better pictures of the remains of the Bolivar/Tuscarawas Aqueduct. W also stopped at Lock 4 Park and Community Park in Canal Fulton. It looks like the new visitor center is nearly ready for opening.

This update is short because I want to get to work on adding more updated pages to the site. I currently am complete from Cleveland to the end of the National Park and I've started on the section in Tuscarawas County since I was just there yesterday. One quick note - be sure to come out to the Mustill Store in Akron this Saturday for their season opening. There will be entertainment, food, and games for kids. I'll be out there volunteering from 12-3, so stop out and say hello.

Oh, and I added a link to my recounting of our bike ride on the Towpath Trail last summer. It's to the left in the blue section of this page. Enjoy!

The site is coming along pretty nicely. I've updated the pages starting at Harvard Avenue and heading south into Boston Mills. I'm hoping to get into the Akron area of the page tomorrow. Jack Gieck, author of A Photo Album of Ohio's Canal Era, 1825 - 1913, emailed me to let me know that he had checked out the site and was pretty impressed. High praise from the man who pretty much wrote the bible of Ohio's canal history in my opinion.

Speaking of Jack, I watched part of his video documentary of Ohio's Canal Era at the Canal Visitor Center a couple of weeks ago. It was kind of neat to watch it in the downstairs theater of the old canal era building. I was up that way because I wanted to see what was going on in the Cleveland area of the canal. I found some interesting developments. Two new overpass bridges are being built for the Towpath Trail to pass over Warner and Granger Roads. This will make riding/hiking the trail much safer as the current trail had to pass through busy intersections. The trail is currently closed from south of the Mill Creek Aqueduct to north of the West Canal Road Trailhead. Each bridge, at a cost of $2.5 million, should be completed by late summer, most likely in August.

In other construction news, be careful on the Towpath between Boston Mills and Peninsula as work is being done on the I-271 bridge. The newest portion of the trail in Akron is progressing nicely in the Cascade Locks Park. I hiked up there today to take pictures for the CLPA's website and there's a lot of activity up there. The newest development since I last went there in early February is the beginnings of the exchange bridge that will carry the Towpath from the west side of the canal to the east at Lock 11. The pictures should be up on their site soon.

The CLPA will kick off the 2006 season with the opening of the Mustill Store on April 1st from 12-6. There will be a barber shop quartet, old fashioned games for kids, and food grilling in the yard, not to mention the Jewel of the Canal itself. I'll be out in the yard helping out with the activities there, so stop by and say hello.

I also recently discovered the the CanalWay Ohio group has come up with a plan for new signage to denote the various aspects of the National Heritage Corridor, bringing them all together under one banner. I missed the Summit County public meeting, but it'll be interesting to see how it's all implemented.

See you out on the trail.

So it looks like I was wrong about finding Lock 21. What I wrote below is incorrect - I did not find Lock 21. I found Lock 20. A fellow volunteer at the Mustill Store got in touch with me after hearing of my find and visiting this web page and offered his opinion on the matter. Based on what he told me and a little more research on my part, I'm pretty sure that the remains are Lock 20. I have printed out the Plat Maps of the Canal for Summit County but they lost a lot of their detail (unless you use a magnifying glass) because the originals are so large. But I opened the map on my computer and studied it more closely and I agree with Greg that it's Lock 20.

So obviously the next question you might ask is "Does Lock 21 exist north of Lock 20 then?" The answer is maybe, but probably not. I'll have to investigate further, but I'm pretty sure it's not out there. But I hope I'm as wrong about this as I was at identifying my original find. I'll keep you updated if I find anything.

If you've been to my page before, you may notice that it looks a little different than it used to. That's because my view of the canal has changed. When I first started this site, it was going to be about the canal as viewed from the Towpath Trail, which will ultimately run over 100 miles from Cleveland to New Philadelphia. But as I discover more and more of the canal, I've realized that the site should be about the canal itself and not just the trail. There is so much more to the Ohio & Erie Canal than what can be viewed from the Towpath Trail, particularly since about 2/3 of the canal is not even serviced by the trail.

Also, when I started exploring the canal, I began in Akron since that is where I live. Therefore, my explanations of canal sites and structures on the site made more sense if you discovered the canal in the same way. So the redesigned site will start you off on your journey in Cleveland and will make more sense following the site that way. I hope it will make it easier for you to learn about the canal. I won't be able to get the new pages up all at once, so you'll still see some of the old pages up until I get around to updating them. Keep checking back.

This particular page will contain my various ramblings about my discoveries of the canal as I make them. I will include information about canal related events as I get them. I would encourage you to visit the sites listed on the Links page to find out more information about the canal and the various groups that are working to make the canal an enjoyable place to visit.

So on to my ramblings. The biggest news I have is that I have discovered Lock 21 North in Akron. It has been commonly thought that the structure was buried when the City of Akron used the area as a dump and solid waste landfill in the 1940's-1960's. But while I was out hiking on the Towpath Trail a few weeks ago, I noticed through the leafless trees a large structure of some sort just west of the trail. It is not visible in the summer when the leaves are on the trees and plants along the trail.

So I went to investigate and sure enough, I discovered that it was the remains of Lock 21. Only the east wall of the lock itself remains, and barely any of it at that. But the remains of the tumble for the lock's spillway are also visible just southwest of the wall. I took some pictures, sent them to a member of the Canal Society of Ohio that I know, and he confirmed that it did indeed look like Lock 21.

Now I'm not the first human being who has recently discovered it, but I haven't found any documentation by canal buffs that it is out there. The City of Akron has an access road that runs right between the two parts of the remains. They use it to bring in the construction vehicles that they are using to build a retaining basin just on the other side of the river from the Towpath. I doubt the construction workers care what the lock is, but I do. Why the Towpath Trail wasn't plotted to pass next to the lock is unknown to me, but it seems like an oversight.

Incidentally, I haven't found any remains of Lock 20, also thought to be buried in the same area. I am pretty sure that it is truly gone. But the discovery of Lock 21 lead me to believe that Lock 23 may have also not truly been destroyed, so I went hunting for it yesterday.

But it's gone. I found where it was supposed to be and the sewer trunk runs right there. I found the remains of the spillway which would have been right next to the lock and instead there is just the large concrete tunnel that all of Akron's waste passes through. If you look right behind the Lock 22 Plaza, you can just see the wing wall of Lock 22 with the sewer trunk running right through the canal chamber. So maybe if someone went digging around, they might find some remains of Lock 23, but as it is now, there's nothing there.

Next on my "to find" list is the Wolf Creek Aqueduct. A friend of mine and I went out looking for it last week, but came up empty. I have been assured by my CSO contact that it does indeed exist, so I'll have to go hunting again.