OHIO. 



353 



2. Canals. The Ohio or Grand Canal unites the Ohio with Lake Erie. Beginning at 

 Cleveland, on the lake, it proceeds southerly along the Cuyahoga, to the portage between this 

 stream and the Tuscarawas ; here it strikes the latter stream, and passes along its valley south- 

 westerly. Tt then passes otf to the Scioto, and descends the valley of that river to the Ohio, at 

 Portsmouth. It is 306 miles in length, besides a lateral cut to Columbus, of 11 miles, one to 

 Lancaster, of 10 miles, and the Dresden cut, with slack- water navigation, of 17 miles. It has 

 1,250 feet of lockage. This canal was executed by the State of Ohio. It was begun in 1825 and 

 completed in 1832, at a cost of 4,500,000 dollars. The Walhonding Canal., from Roscoe up 

 the Walhonding, 23 miles, from Athens to Lancaster, 50 miles, are branches of this great work. 



The Miami Canal extends from the Ohio at Cincinnati to Defiance, on the Wabash and 

 Erie Canal, 180 miles, with a branch from Middletown to Lebanon, called the Warren Canal, 

 20 miles in length. The Wabash and Erie Canal connects Lake Erie and the Mississippi, 

 through the valleys of the Maumee and Wabash, and has been constructed by Ohio and Indiana ; 

 the portion within the former extends from its western boundary to Manhattan on the Maumee, 

 87 miles ; below the junction with the Miami Canal, it is 60 feet wide and 6 feet deep. The 

 White Water Canal., from Cincinnati to the White Water, at Harrisonburg, 25 miles, connects 

 Cincinnati with the great Indiana works. The Mahoning or Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal, 

 extending from the Ohio Canal, at Akron, down the Mahoning to its mouth in Pennsylvania, is 

 90 miles in length. The Sandy and Beaver Canal, extending from Bolivar, on the Ohio 

 Canal, by the valleys of the Sandy and Beaver rivers to the mouth of the latter, 76 miles. 

 Both of these works unite the great hues of canals of the two States, and give to Ohio a shorter 

 route to the Atlantic waters. The total length nf canals completed in Ohio, is upwards of 800 

 miles. 



3. Railroads. The comparative cheapness of canals, the advantageous position of the lead- 

 ing rivers, and the bulkiness of the articles to be transported, have combined to give ihem the 

 preference over railroads in Ohio. Several important works of the latter class have, however, 

 been executed or commenced. The Mad River Railroad connects the Miami, at Dayton, 

 with Lake Erie, at Sandusky City, through the valle3'S of the Mad River and the Sandusky, 

 153 miles in length. The Sandusky and Monroeville Railroad extends from Sandusky City 

 to the latter village, 15 miles. The Toledo and Kalamazoo Railroad is chiefly in Michigan, 

 and was constructed before the strip which contains Toledo was attached to Ohio. The Little 

 Miami Railroad extends from Cincinnati to Springfield, 70 miles. The Cleveland, Warren, 

 and Pittsburg Railroad is a projected work, the execution of which would form a new con- 

 nexion between Lake Erie and the Atlantic, through the Pennsylvania public works. 



4. Cities and Towns. Cincinnati, the largest city in Ohio, and indeed in all the western 



country, stands on the north- 

 ern bank of the Ohio, near the 

 southwestern corner of the 

 State. Its site is the eastern 

 part of an alluvial tract, bound- 

 ed on the north by a ridge 

 of h'JJf- This plain contains 

 about 4 square miles, and con- 

 sists of two diflerent levels, 

 one about 50 feet higher than 

 the other. Tlie city rises 

 gradually from the river, but 

 does not make a very bold 

 or striking appearance. It is 

 built with perfect regularity, 

 on the plan of Philadelphia. 

 The principal streets are 66 

 feet in width. The central 

 part is very compact, yet the 



whole outline of the city is but partially filled up, and many of the buildings are scattered irregu- 

 larly about. The public edifices are of stone or brick, and most of the stores and houses arc 

 of brick. The whole aspect of the city produces a most agreeable impression on the eye of 

 the stranger. Here are 30 churches, n lunntic a^^vlum, hospital, theatrr, xhr halls of Cincin- 



45 



Cincinnati. 



