Then and now: Seeing Ohio at 5 mph

Ohio grew from a wild, frontier state to a commercial hub during the 1840s thanks to the building of the Ohio & Erie Canal from Lake Erie at Cleveland to Portsmouth on the Ohio River. The earlier creation of the Erie Canal in upstate New York made it possible to ship goods from the Atlantic the west (at that time Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois) quicker and cheaper. Goods then could flow from the west down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic.

Akron, Massillon, Newark, Chillicothe and Portsmouth all became hubs of activity and grew by leaps and bounds thanks to the canal system. Today when many drive through some of these towns, or other smaller ones, and wonder "why is this city here" or "why are there so many century homes in this town" it is very likely due in part to the canals. Mills especially thrived along the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers that fed the canals. (see left, click to enlarge)

The superhighway of its time, traveling the canal wasn't exactly like driving with the top down in a roadster clipping along at 7o mph with the wind whipping through your hair. Canal travel topped out at about 5 mph as your mule or horse pulled you through still water along the towpath. But unlike travel elsewhere over land, this was flat, continuous movement.

Today Ohio has been blessed with several organizations and societies (Ohio & Erie Canalway, Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition, Nation Heritage Corridor, Visitor's Guide) that have preserved and reworked canal sections and opened them for tourism and recreation. One of the popular destinations in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is the Towpath trail (see below, click to enlarge), that follows the old Ohio & Erie Canal. Hikers and Bikers hit the trail in large numbers to take in sun, shade, wildlife, plantlife and a lot of history. Those walking the trail are not far removed from the "speedy" 5 mph pace of days of yore.

The Ohio & Erie Towpath is a stretch of over 100 miles of crushed limestone, asphalt or even at times wood planked boardwalk from Cleveland to New Philadelphia (map of trail, detailed towpath descriptions). As of 2009 there are small sections that are incomplete or require sharing the road with automobiles, but for the most part you can travel a protected and scenic trail the entire route (towpath construction updates here).

Many of the old locks, which were used to elevate a boat to the next canal level, still exist in some form (see left, click to enlarge). Most are identified and have a learning station with historic photos included. At many locks one can walk on, around and between the thick, chiseled rock walls of the lock. Some are 10-15 feet tall, others are massive structures of 30 feet or more high.



At Peninsula, the Cuyahoga River actually passes below the canal. What may seem odd today, they actually built aqueducts to carry the canal over rivers, and the sharp turn the river makes at the remants of Lock 29 clearly show the labor and materials needed. One can walk deep inside this tall lock and marvel and the cut stone and even read at learning station that masons would mark their stones for quality assurance, in this case with Roman numerals. (see right, click to enlarge)

Lock 29 in Peninsula is a popular jumping on point to canal towpath. Located on Route 303, it is a short drive from either State Route 8 or I-271 to reach the historic town of Richfield (map) and Peninsula. Bikes can be rented here for a towpath ride. Along the towpath you also can see the mode of transportation that made the Age of Canals short lived. A major rail line mirrors the canal and is used by the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway for historic and picturesque tours of the valley. On weekends bike riders can hop on the train with their bikes for a few dollars and ride back to their starting point.

Heading north from Lock 29 towards Cleveland, a few miles walk or pedal will bring you below two massive bridges that span the valley as they carry vehicular traffic on the Ohio Turnpike and I-271. For those with a love of architecture, the towpath offers many different bridges to marvel at. Beyond the two recently rebuilt bridges over the valley, there is also a large span on Route 82 near Brecksville that is near the Rock Bridge trailhead in southern Cuyahoga County. An iron bridge carries foot and bike traffic from the trailhead parking to the towpath. (see left, click to enlarge)

Further towards Cleveland, two suspension bridges were built to safely move towpath travelers over busy roads in Valley View (see left, click to enlarge). All along the towpath, great care and forethought was made to keep the towpath protected. Along the Akron stretch two bridges have been built, one a steel span that crossed the busy innerbelt highway system and another south of town is a floating Brazilian wood deck that resolved the issue of purchasing private right-of-way along Summit Lake. In southern Stark County, near Bolivar, a bridge was built to carry towpath traffic over I-77.

For the visitor who wants to learn more of the history of the canal, there are four important stops to make along the towpath in each of the three most northern counties of the canal. Just south of Downtown Cleveland, the Canalway Visitor center (see right, click to enlarge) is a trailhead and two-room museum to Canal, the Cuyahoga River and the economic history both had in Northeast Ohio. A short video loop is informative and the exhibits are very family-friendly.

In Summit County two stops are easily accessible in one day for the moderate biker. Both are general stores and likely stops on different days during the canal era. Today they are about 10 miles apart and both offer a restored look at history.

Just a stone's throw from the Boston Mills ski area, the Boston Store (see left, click to enlarge) serves as a rest break along the towpath but offers a small museum to the canal era. The back of a canal boat has been constructed in cut-away style to show the size and the inner workings of the stern. Hands on exhibits allow you to build the ribs of the boat and a diorama gives a realistic vision of a busy lock area. Next door is a mid 20th Century garage and gas station that today serves as an art gallery. Ice cream and natural snacks can be found across the street.

Just outside of downtown Akron is Mustill's General Store (see right, click to enlarge). While serving as another trailhead for the towpath, this store has been carefully restored to it's 1840s look when it was a thriving business (see related news story). The sharp rise in the geography from the Cuyahoga Valley to the "summit" in Akron led to a series of over 20 locks. Making your way through Akron would take some time and hence the growth of Akron resulted from overnight stops and general shopping while waiting to traverse the locks. Mustills also offers interactive exhibits and photos of the thriving general store business during the height of the canals.

To see how a town was impacted by the rise and fall of the canals, visit Canal Fulton in northern Stark County. Many historic buildings still exist and there is a small town, historic charm to the main street along the canal. But it is also evident to see how a community changed once a town was bypassed after the canal era ended. Canal Fulton is a popular trailhead, there is a small museum here as well, plus a picnic, park and top-notch ice cream parlor open during warm weather months.


A mile south from this trailhead along the towpath is Lock 4 (see above, click to enlarge), which may be the best location along the canal today to see what a typical lock would look like. While not operational, the gates for the lock have been rebuilt and the lockkeepers station house, a well-built brick building, still stands. While empty with no plans evident for the historic building, Lock 4 is a trailhead with a well-manicured park and Ohio historic marker explaining the canal system.

One can take a ride on a reproduction canal "packet" boat -- one used primarily to haul freight -- on a two-mile round trip down the canal that begins in Canal Fulton and turns around here at Lock 4. The boat, the St. Helena III (see right, click to enlarge), is at times is pulled by pair of horses and at times by a large motorized farm tractor. The St. Helena sometimes has difficulty navigating the canal as plant life growing in the water make it hard for the animals to pull. The State of Ohio is responsible for maintaining waterways and the one-mile stretch of canal is not top priority.

While the rapid growth of the rail system in the 1850's impacted the value of the canal, it was still in use until 1913, when massive flooding in Northeast Ohio rendered the canal economically impractical to restore. Along the towpath you can see the remnants of the many hours of manual labor, and where the still water allows for wildlife to take refuge.

One wonders if the during the 1830's while sections of the canal were being carved from the soil, if the low-paid, unskilled, primarily immigrant labor pool would have envisioned thousands of hikers and bikers each year traveling along the canal for fun and fitness? At 5 mph, it's not a bad way to see Ohio.

- J.

"Hi-Jacked" at the Zoo!

The Columbus Zoo is not your ordinary zoo. At what other zoo in America can you run into a TV celebrity near the front entrance and holler "Hi Jack" and have him stop for photos, hand shakes and little kid hugs? If you are Jack Hanna, this is just another day at the office (see left, click to enlarge). While no longer the day to day director of the zoo, his celebrity status has him on the run often, he does manage to be visible and friendly when at the zoo. We have come across him at the zoo on several occasions.

Over the past decade, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has grown from one of nation's great family-oriented zoos to perhaps what could someday be one of the nation's top family tourist stops. After acquiring the neighboring Wyandot Lake several years ago, the zoo engulfed the land and re-designed the amusement park portion to thematically mesh with the zoo. Zoombezi is the name for this area and is the instant eye candy when you pull into the expansive parking lot.

As with other zoos, the Columbus zoo is zoned into habitat areas that match the wildlife. But in each area there kid-friendly activities to thrill just about any age.

North America's habitat features a petting zoo, pony rides (see left, click to enlarge) and a mock-steam engine train that circles the animals in this area. A favorite stop is the prairie dog area where little ones can pop under a cave and look at the under-ground dwelling of the animals. (see right, click to enlarge)

The Asia section is home to the elephants, and one of the most popular places to visit. A baby elephant was born this past Spring and viewing lines were 30-minutes deep. The indoor habitat has video feeds so that all can watch even if you cannot get to the front-row glass. (see left, click to enlarge)




Both indoor and outdoor, you can get amazingly close to the animals. One can also walk through an aviary and get up close to tiger, zebras and giraffes. A great photo op is the large tiger statue that children pose on as if riding on the back of the dangerous animal.

One of the challenges that the zoo has met is how to expand when geography isn't easily accommodated. A large part the zoo is on the other side of a very busy 4-lane road. A tunnel connects to the far side of the zoo that features Primates of Africa, Australia and the aquarium part of the zoo. A touch-tank and 2-story tank where divers feed fish by hand are two of the aquarium features.




But the major focus of the aquarium section is a massive manatee exhibit. Completely housed in side, the exhibit looks and feels like the coast of Florida (see above left, click to enlarge). Six inch (at least) plexiglass allow a great view of the manatees swimming, floating and dining in a tank filled with manta rays, turtles and other fish (see right, click to enlarge). Youngsters pause for quite a while here to watch these massive animals repeatedly surface and sink.

Beyond the aquarium feel free to travel back in time on an authentic carousel. Uniquely housed in a structure with garage-like doors that open or close in relation to the weather, the carousel allows for year round fun. (see left, click to enlarge)

Further up the path from the carousel is a massive "bug" structure playground for little ones and a private party areas used for corporate events. In this section of the park is the food court, where one needs to be mindful of timing or the lunch rush will really slow you down.

The big draw in the African section are the gorillas. The outdoor structure gives plenty of great viewing lines to watch the gorillas play with each other -- and the spectators. Playfully a gorilla will come up to a windowed viewing area and slap the glass, much to the thrill and screeches of little ones. (see left, click to enlarge)

The indoor viewing is just as ample, and while one family is usually outside another gorilla group is inside. There are usually juveniles, both human and primate (see right, click to enlarge), who have more fun than imaginable at the indoor section of this exhibit.

The Australian area has a wallaby walk around, where all that separates human and kangaroo is a simple rope. The animals were trained in such a way to not be frightened by, or to interact with, people as they walk through. Staff is on hand to be sure neither human nor animal violate each other's space. There is also a lorikeet exhibit where the birds land on you and nip a little nectar from a cup you hold. A boat ride takes you around Australia and through parts of the Southeast Asia exhibit and offers a nice break from the walking.

Fun is around every curve, even non-animals get into the act. The zoo is now bringing in performers just like you see at amusement parks. Whether a school-group jump-rope team or a come-to-life child's soldier toy (see right, click to enlarge), there is something to see in just about every nook and cranny on the grounds.

It is nearly impossible to get it all in on one visit, especially if taking in the water and ride attractions at the Zoombezi addition new for 2009. But with all the other attractions in Columbus, it can certainly be the centerpiece of a weekend -- or extended weekend -- getaway.

-J.