*as published in North Canton Living Magazine May 2023
“I can touch it? Photograph it?” I asked in awe of the journal lying on the table. A journal from 1840 by a canal boat captain.
“Sure, carefully and we only allow pencils here,” replied Mark Bloom, Senior Archives Associate with The University of Akron, Archives and Special Collection. He then explained in detail how to handle paper and photographs. My geeky heart was filled with joy and nerves. For the past five years, I have searched for just this type of information. I wanted a detailed cost analysis of life on a canal boat on the Ohio Canal in the early years. Information that children could understand – the cost of a meal versus then. I wanted a primary source. This journal did not disappoint.
Let me digress, quite some time ago I began a passion project writing a children’s adventure book set in the early years of the canal. I was inspired by St Helena III in Canal Fulton and the Canalway Center. St Helena III is a replica boat in downtown Canal Fulton. You can take an hour’s ride on the canal to learn about local history. It is located along the towpath trail within a park perfect for picnics. If you desire ice cream, then cross the street to sample Cherry Street Creamery or over to downtown Canal Fulton’s Almost Heaven Ice Cream. Take a trip down memory lane and visit The Toys that Time Forgot just up the street.
My research took me up and down the canal from the Exploration Gateway at Sippo Lake Park to the Western Reserve Historical Society and all points in between. I explored the exhibits along the canal in Peninsula. I walked the length of the towpath in downtown Akron reading all the educational signs. Like many Stark County residents, I just enjoyed the towpath taking a walk and nodding hello to fellow travelers.
The Western Reserve Historical Society is located on University Circle. The society houses a large museum that details the settling of northeast Ohio. There is a large classic car collection with fascinating information about how we grew that industry. Currently, WRHS has a Women in Politics exhibit with a look into how women earned the vote. I wandered through the rooms exploring the past amazed at the resiliency of the early residents.
While there, the historical society permitted me entrance to the reading room. Ann Sindelar, Library Reference Supervisor of the Cleveland History Center, pulled several resources that helped me gain insight into my project. Of particular interest to me is the historical Whiskey Island from the 1830s where Irish immigrants built a shanty town while they built the canal.
Whiskey Island is a triangular piece of land originally settled by Lorenzo Carter and later named for the still was built on the land in the 1830s. Currently, it is a park surrounded by industry. I attempted to visit in January 2023 but construction made it impossible. I hope to return this fall when construction is finished and visit the marina and park on the site.
Yet I did have luck at the Canal Exploration Center in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Interpretive Park Ranger Rebecca Jones Macko is the expert on the Ohio Canal. The Canal Exploration Center is worth a family trip. The exhibits are interesting and engaging for all ages. While Jones Macko did throw a wrench into the plot of my book with the fact that families did not work the canal until after the civil war, she also allowed young girls did work at the age of twelve in the summer and could be a cook for an uncle. So my plot was saved! Another interesting tidbit is the amount of counterfeit money that flowed up and down the canal in the 1830s!
When President Andrew Johnson removed all federal funds and distributed them to state banks it allowed for each bank to have its own currency. This move led to a rise in counterfeiting – even to a place along the canal called Counterfeit Hill. The Canal Exploration Center has an interesting exhibit where you can try to guess which currency is real or fake.
The Canalway Center at the Exploration Center located in Sippo Lake Park has a large museum dedicated to the history of the canal. The Exploration Center is a large facility with multiple rooms available to rent but the beauty of the park is the large system of integrated paths that wind around Sippo Lake. This is a lovely area for an afternoon hike with little ones.
What I Learned
Captain D.G. Myers paid ten cents for two and a half pounds of butter in 1840.
I can not tell the difference between real and counterfeit money.
Most of the trees growing along the canal are new because they were cleared in the canal era to accommodate farming.
Before You Go
Western Reserve Historical Society information can be found at wrhs.org. They also operate Hale Farm and Village located adjacent to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park which is well worth a visit. The Women in Politics is a fascinating bipartisan exhibit of women throughout history.
The Canalway Exploration Center is located within the Exploration Center. For more information, visit starkparks.com.
St Helena III is open seasonally usually beginning in June and operating through the summer. The City of Canal Fulton operates the canal boat and the Canalway Center. You can find more information please call 330.854.2225.