The Ohio & Erie Canal

The Ohio & Erie Canal once traveled through the Cuyahoga Valley on its way to connecting the Ohio River with Lake Erie. Learn more about the history of this human-made waterway, now part of a national heritage area.

Later in life, Paul Ervin Murphy wrote a firsthand account of his family’s escape during the Great Flood of 1913. They lived on a small Cuyahoga Valley farm by Lock 35, south of Station Road Bridge.

The Ohio and Erie Canalway National Heritage Area spurred economic development across the nation by creating an inland connection for goods from Lake Erie to the Ohio River, known as the heartland of America to the eastern seaboard. This development fueled westward expansion, a national market economy, a booming industrial manufacturing sector, and the settlement of towns, villages, and cities along the canal.

The son of a slave and a free black woman, John Malvin was born free because children assumed the status of their mother. In 1802, John Malvin was bound to his father’s owner where he learned carpentry, and to read and write. After a previous attempt to escape failed, John Malvin left Virginia for Ohio in 1827. In 1831, he and his wife Harriet Dorsey settled in Cleveland. Read his story.

Across the canal is a historic mill. Up until 1970, it used waterpower to grind grain. The mill has been operated by two different families through several generations. It is now a feed store with pre-bagged grain.

Explore how Boston boomed during the canal era at this outdoor interpretive display. Boston’s success came in part from its role in boat building. Exhibits feature Boston’s boatyards, the basics of canal boat building, and other canal era businesses. A play structure provides a hands-on canal boat experience.

What is a canal lock? Stop here to learn about the mechanics of these boat elevators. If you are lucky to have water in the canal on a summer weekend, you might see volunteers demonstrating how Lock 38 works.

Lock 32 was one of 44 locks on the Ohio & Erie Canal between Lake Erie in Cleveland and the Portage Summit in Akron. Historically, McBride’s Grocery served canallers at Lock 32.

Read about the “laughter and tears” of the Murphy family who once had a farm at Lock 35.

By the remains of Lock 36, visitors can explore the Pinery Feeder which still “feeds” water from the Cuyahoga River into this section of the Ohio & Erie Canal.

Lock 37 was once a busy location with a tavern, mill and floodgate. A small parking lot on nearby Fitzwater Road provides access to the Towpath Trail.

Lock 39 is the northernmost lock in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It is one of many canal remnants you can see as you walk, ride, or run along the Towpath Trail.

We can easily forget that America was once powered by animals, not by machines. Explore why mules were the preferred animal for pulling boats along the canal, as you meet “Blossom” the bronze mule.

How do you restore a river? When two historic dams were removed at this site in 2020, the Cuyahoga became free flowing here for the first time in nearly 200 years. Learn more and find out the new method for diverting river water into the Ohio & Erie Canal via the Pinery Feeder.