News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 1999

HISTORICAL CANAL LANDS PLAT MAPS NOW AVAILABLE ON INTERNET

COLUMBUS, OH - The original survey drawings for Ohio’s extensive historic canal lands, which at the peak of Ohio canal commerce in the mid-1800s comprised nearly 1,000 miles of canals, are now available on the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) internet site. The plat maps represent the physical features of the canals as found by surveyors between 1890 and 1910.

Historians, recreational trail enthusiasts, adjacent landowners, surveyors and county engineers are among those frequently using the information from the plat maps of the canal lands.

The files are located under "Canal Lands Program" at the ODNR Division of Water website at http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/odnr/water/canals/cnlplatsa.html

More than 500 individual maps are available covering the 333-mile length of the Ohio & Erie Canal, from Cleveland to Portsmouth; the 266-mile length of the Miami & Erie Canal, from Toledo to Cincinnati; and the 56-mile length of the Hocking Feeder Canal, from Carroll to Athens.

"Having the canal plat maps on-line is a great convenience and time saver for folks interested in this information," aid Dennis Gebele, ODNR canal program administrator. "Our normal turn-around time for telephone or mail requests is two weeks, whereas someone downloading the maps from home or from a public library has near-instant access."

ODNR manages the state’s remaining canal lands, operates the canals’ hydraulic systems and sells water from the canals.

From the time they were built, beginning in 1825, Ohio’s canals prospered until 1855, the year revenue receipts were their highest. At its peak, Ohio's canal system consisted of almost 1,000 miles of main line canals, feeders and side cuts. Located in 44 of Ohio's 88 counties, the canals touched the lives of all Ohioans.

After 1855, railroads began replacing canals as the primary commercial transportation system in Ohio. By 1903, income from the sale of canal water to businesses and industries exceeded the income from freight carried on the canals.

The last of the canals ceased operation after the 1913 flood and most of the state-owned canal lands were subsequently sold to private individuals or transferred to other public agencies for recreation, roads and other public uses. Many locks, canal structures and sections of the canals have been transferred to historic groups for protection. Today, less than 20 percent of the original canal lands are still owned by the state. Except for a 10-mile section of the Ohio & Erie Canal in Summit County, and 44 miles of the Miami & Erie Canal in Allen, Auglaize and Shelby counties, most of the remaining canal lands are in parcels smaller than an acre.

Additional information can be obtained by writing the ODNR Division of Real Estate & Land Management, 1952 Belcher Drive, Columbus, OH 43224-1386, or by calling (614) 265-7068.

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For Further Information Contact:
Dennis Gebele
Division of Real Estate & Land Management
(614) 265-7068
-or-
ODNR Media Relations
(614) 265-6882