Ohio History Journal

THE MILAN CANAL

by CHARLES E. FROHMAN

 

Few people today know that Milan, Ohio, was once a great

shipping port and that its enterprise during the days when schooners

sailed the Great Lakes resulted in the digging of a three-mile canal

from Milan to a point in the Huron River where deep water and

wide bends made passage safe. The heyday of this undertaking

came during the earliest days of the railroad, and during that period

when canals and politics made more than conversation. The chapter

of the Milan Canal is truly an important one in the history of

transportation and business in north central Ohio.

In the Sandusky Clarion of May 5, 1824, a committee report

was printed as follows on the prospects of a canal from         Milan:

In conformity with the authority vested in us, and in discharge of the

duties required of us, we, the undersigned, on the 12th of April, 1824, pro-

ceeded to make the necessary survey of the canal route from the village of

Milan to the navigable waters of the Huron River, near the former seat of

justice for this county.

The engineers and acting committee, having carefully looked the ground

over which the canal will pass, marked out the route. At the commencement

of this, they find a very convenient situation for the summit-pond, which may

be formed by a very small dam across the Huron, which from estimates by

actual experience, can be constructed for $300, with an ample supply of water

at all seasons of the year. With this expense, the summit-pond will be per-

fectly secure from floods.

It is found by actual measurement of the fall of the water the whole

distance of the contemplated canal, that it will be seven feet and six inches.

The whole ground over which the canal will pass is bottomland, and of the

easiest kind of aquateneus earth for excavation. The whole distance is three

miles, and entirely of the above description of earth. From excavations actu-

ally made in the same kind of earth, it is found that the excavation may be

made at an expense of six (6) cents a square yard, and at this rate a boat

navigation of four feet deep and 30 feet in width, may be made at an

expenditure of $1,500 per mile, and consequently the three miles of excava-

tion, may be made for the sum of $4,500. Add to this the dam and the

excavation of the summit pond, $300, equals $4,800. It is believed that two

locks will be necessary-one at or near the summit-pond, and one at the

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238    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

entrance of the canal from the river, at an expenditure of $300 each; to

which add the above and we have $5,400. Some grubbing of timber and other

contingent expenses, say $400, which added to the above, makes $5,800.

It is believed that this expense will be more than counterbalanced by

the great advantage which the thriving village of Milan will derive from the

canal. Nearly one-half the above sum is already offered to be advanced by

responsible individuals.

Committee:

Geo. W. Choate

Mr. Bates, of N. Y.

Geo. Lockwood

Engineers:

P. R. Hopkins

Chas. Wheaton

This report of the possibilities of a Milan canal was followed

two and a half years later by an advertisement which appeared in

the Sandusky Clarion for October 28, 1826, as follows:

NOTICE

Is hereby given, that petitions will be presented to the next Legislature

of the State of Ohio, for the following purposes, viz:

For declaring the Huron River a public highway, from the mouth of said

river to the village of Milan, and to prevent any obstruction being put in said

river, within said limits.

Also,-for a Canal for sloop navigation, to be located from the present

sloop navigation on the Huron River, to "Merry's Mill" pond, at the village

of Milan; and for legislative aid for constructing the same.

Also,-for a tow-path to be laid out on either side of the Huron River,

from the mouth of said River, to the head of sloop navigation on said River.

Milan, October 25th, 1826

The canal began just north of Milan, and covered a distance

of three miles to deep water of the Huron River at a point below

Abbotts' Bridge. It was constructed, owned, and operated by the

Milan Canal Company, chartered January 24, 1827, and capitalized

at $35,000, divided in shares of $50 each. On October 28, 1833,

a contract was entered into for the construction of the canal, which

took six years to complete because of lack of funds. The final cost

was reported at $23,392 instead of the estimated $5,800. The open-

ing of the canal to traffic coincided with a celebration of Independ-

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THE MILAN CANAL                          239

 

ence Day in 1839. The report of the celebration in the Norwalk

Reflector of July 9, 1839, follows:

 

CELEBRATION

Of the Completion of the Milan Canal, on

the 4th day of July, 1839

A procession of about five hundred persons formed in front of the

Presbyterian Church, and proceeded thence through the town, and descended

the hill to the head of the Canal Basin, where the Schooner KEWANNEE,

Capt. Moran, had just arrived through the Canal under the salute of cannon,

lying along side of the dock. When the procession arrived at the schooner,

Miss Maria Butman, escorted by the Orator of the day and Reader of the

Declaration of Independence, advanced to the vessel side and presented Capt.

Moran with a Flag and the following address:

Capt. Moran: Sir--I have the honor this day to present you, on behalf

of the Ladies of Milan, this Flag. Accept it, Sir, as a testimonial of the

high consideration, respect and esteem in which they hold your Class of the

American Nation, for their courage, skill and usefulness in navigating the

waters. Be assured, Sir, that nothing can be more highly gratifying to us,

than to bid you as Commander of this first Schooner that ever visited our

town, a hearty welcome.

To which the Captain replied as follows:

Miss Butman: The Flag which you have this day done me the honor to

present to my vessel, on behalf of the Ladies of Milan, is accepted in the same

kind manner in which it is intended to be given. And the sentiments you

are pleased to express of my Class of the American Nation, are received as

highly complimentary to the hardy sons of the waters. To receive such a

present, from such a source, at this place and on this National day, combine

so many gratifying considerations as justly might make men in the highest

stations of life proud that such an event had happened in their life time. The

Ladies of Milan may be assured that nothing on my part shall remain undone

to render myself worthy to command a vessel wearing such unmerited honors.

The Captain then run up the Flag to his mast-head, and the procession

went on board the Schooner and canal boat Waterwitch. They both proceeded

down through the locks to the lower termination of the Canal, and thence

returned in the same manner, accompanied with a band of excellent music,

to the dock from which they started. The ladies and gentlemen then disem.

barked and repaired to the Eagle Tavern, and sat down to an excellent dinner,

prepared by Messrs. Jennings and Kline, to which the guests did ample justice.

After the ladies had retired and the cloth was removed, the gentlemen

proceeded to the concluding part of the Celebration, when the following toasts

were drank, accompanied with fire of cannon and loud cheers.

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240    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

REGULAR TOASTS

1. The 4th of July, the Day we celebrate: May its annual commemora-

tion witness the completion of many new works of internal improvement.

2. The president of the United States.

3. Our Free Institutions: May they be supported by wise councils and

liberal minds.

4. The State of Ohio: As in population, so in internal improvements,

ranks the third in the Union.

5. Internal Improvements,-Canals, Railroads, Turnpikes and McAdam-

ized Roads: The first and best are Canals.

6. The Directors of the Milan Canal Company: May they persevere

and surmount every obstacle in future as in time past.

7. The Milan Canal Basin: May its surface ever be whitened by the

spread of canvas, and studded with spars.

8. The Milan Canal: May her banks ever remain firm and her gates

yield only to a press of business.

9. DeWitt Clinton, the American Patriot and Statesman, the patron of

Canals: May his name ever be perpetuated.

10. Our Navy: As in war, so in peace, our Country's glory and our

Country's boast.

11. The Spirith of '76:   May the same Spirit that influenced the

Revolutionary Patriots, ever pervade the breasts of their descendants.

12. The Ladies: The progress of refinement is graced by the Fair:

Let them not cease to exert their good influence on the other sex.

13. The Memory of George Washington.

After which the following Volunteer Toasts were drank:

By J. S. Butman, Esq. Capt. Moran, of the Schooner Kewannee: His

urbanity has won for him our esteem, and his skill evinces his capability of

navigating our Western waters.

By a Guest. The President and Directors of the Milan Canal Company:

May they reap a rich reward for their enterprise.

By Thomas Hamilton, Esq. The Captain and Crew of the Schooner

Kewannee: They are welcome to the Indian Village.

By Wm. S. Rose, Esq. The first projector of the Milan Canal.

By Wm. S. Hyde, Esq. The completion of the Milan Canal: The de-

lightful tour we have this day enjoyed, has brought before us its realization,

and removes from over our heads the cloud that has so long enveloped us.

By Levi Wilcoxson, Esq. The enterprise we celebrate: May it prove

to be a permanent work, firm and enduring as the works of Nature.

By Doct. A. B. Harris. Our Host: Good on a sudden emergency.

By Henry Lockwood, Esq. To the Citizens of the County generally, who

have mingled with us in celebrating this day: May health and happiness

attend them.

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THE MILAN CANAL                     241

 

By J. S. Butman. The Milan Canal: Notwithstanding the burlesque it

has received abroad, may it prove an honor to its projectors, and a lasting

public benefit.

By a Citizen. The Milan Canal, now a navigable arm of Lake Erie:

May it prove a lasting benefit to this section of country.

When the directors of the company were authorized to increase

capitalization to $75,000, the state of Ohio took $25,000 in stock.

The state was also a creditor, lending $15,000 for a period of

thirteen years at six per cent. The state was repaid. The town of

Milan was also a stockholder. Part of the increased funds were

subscribed for stock in the Milan and Richland Plank Road Com-

pany which built a "feeder" road for wagon deliveries of wheat

to the canal warehouses for transshipment by water.

The records of the Milan Canal Company show that tolls for

the first year of operation were $4,163.10, and that dividends total-

ing 37 3/4 per cent were paid through ten years ending 1851 when

the last dividend was authorized. During the year 1849 the two

dividends totaling ten per cent would seem to indicate a rather

prosperous year. Vessels paid such tolls as the following: 25

cents per short ton of general merchandise; 2 cents per barrel of

salt; 3/4 cent per bushel of barley, oats, buckwheat, potatoes, and

apples; 1/2 cent per bushel for pot and pearl ashes; 4 cents per

barrel for whiskey, linseed oil, cider, pork lard, butter, beef, and

fish; 3 cents per barrel of flour and other produce; 6 1/4 cents per

perch of stone; 37 1/2 cents per 1,000 feet of lumber; 1/2 cent each

for cedar posts; 2 cents per 1,000 pine shingles; 13 3/4 cents per ton

of coal. Horses or mules walked the towpaths to take the vessels

through the canal, but these were later replaced by a steam tug

constructed at Milan.

Fourteen warehouses lined the canal basin at the foot of the

Milan hill. Shipments of wheat reached 917,800 bushels in 1847.

During this period, when Ohio was one of the great grain-producing

areas of the country, it was claimed that "Milan was . . . the greatest

grain port in the world." Weekly arrivals and departures averaged

15, to total 219 during the navigation season of 1843. The export

trade of Milan in 1844 was $825,098, and import trade reached

$634,711, of which amount $585,300 was in general merchandise.

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242    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Exports increased to $1,250,000 in 1847, and fell off to $435,000

in 1851. A report of the collector of internal revenue at Milan

was published in the Daily Sanduskian for January 31, 1850:

Below we give the canal collector's statement of the exports and imports

of Milan for the year 1849. In comparing it with the trade of 1848, we find

that the material deficiencies in the wheat crops of '48 and '49 have had

their effect upon our commerce; the exports of that article having fallen off

over 50 per cent. In staves a better showing is made than ever before; wool,

pork, and other items show well. Among the imports, merchandise and other

items have increased. Taken together, the statement presents a flattering

view of the commerce of our town; and with such crops of our staples as we

usually have, we may look for a firm and steady advance in the trade and

prosperity of Milan.

R. M. GORDEN,

Collector of Internal Revenue

Milan

Total value of Imports       .............................................. $ 627,291.00

Total value  of Exports ..............................................  626,154.00

 

$1,253,445.00

A review of some of the exports and imports over the more

prosperous years of the canal is shown in the following tabulation,

compiled from    the Sandusky Clarion of January 11, 1848, and

February 25, 1849, and the Daily Sanduskian, January 31, 1850:

 

 

MILAN EXPORTS AND IMPORTS

Exports          1846           1847       1848                   1849

Wheat .................bu. 650,259    917,800       417,917           281,866

Corn .................."   17,844         137,935       115,418           151,953

Barley  ..............."                                                                  1,185         335

Oats ................. "            48,513      80,616      68,291

Potatoes .............. "                                                                   567                313

Ashes ............... bbls.                 1,521           1,136               1,044           1,148

Pork .................. "                      4,459           3,385               5,360           5,007

Flour ................. "                      1,257           7,182               1,421           6,734

Beef  ................. "                            171

Timothy Seed ......... "                      88                286                161                364

Clover Seed  ......... "                   1,252                972             1,440                916

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THE MILAN CANAL                   243

 

Exports         1846      1847                   1848      1849

Flax Seed ........... "                         116                623             1,425                408

Lard  ................ "                           216                121                434                189

Lard ..............kegs                          145                198                294                542

Butter ............                               843              1,347            1,038                762

Butter .......... bbls.                         33                  74

Beans ............ "                             45                  9                    184

Highwines ........ "                          348                451             1,008     2,404

Tallow ........... "                             19                  4          6

Wool .........  lbs. 201,876         180,551       222,273   228,630

Staves ..........no. 515,000         1,005,000    1,316,029 1,981,000

Leather ........lbs.                       17,078         10,284                1,206            2,480

Sheep Pelts ...... "                     14,637               9,671            5,065            15,100

Hides ............ "                         17,614                 800             8,000

Beeswax ......... "                            800                600

Rags ............ "                          50,000         24,000                10,500          4,500

Feathers ........ "                        1,383                   809             1,490            5,444

Fruits .........bbls.                           148                206                825                159

Eggs ...........bbls.                                                                        120                59

Lumber ...........ft. 64,000         333,000       234,918         132,093

Grindstones .....lbs. 42,889      112,996       872,315              37,381

Live Hogs ...........                                                 1,350          2,150

Linseed Oil .....bbls.                                               36

Corn meal ........ "                                                 295                206         11

Oil Cake .........lbs.           154,000 70,606         26,300

Broom Corn ...... "                                                                  2,500            20,300

Salt .......... bbls.    582

 

Imports         1846            1847            1848                1849

Merchandise .......lbs. 2,660,900    3,831,000    3,859,074     3,958,467

Lumber .............ft. 224,000     137,000       822,698         1,840,000

Shingle Bolts ....cords      76          151        420        190

Shingles .......... no. 150,000     213,000       1,742,948  2,866,000

Salt .............bbls.                      16,094         10,062           13,037              10,179

Fish .............. "                               232                536                431                489

Water Lime ......... "                        189                323        320               435

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244    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

Imports              1846      1847                                 1848       1849

Plaster .................. "                       529       321   1,689       300

Flour  .................. "                         60                                         20                 50

Cedar Posts ............no.                    539                490                 307

Beer .................bbls.                        10                  73                   18                 65

Coal ..................tons                       36                  200                 125               208

Pig Iron .............  "                                                39                   26

Stone ..............cords                        13                  12

Vessels arrived                                 184                199

Vessels cleared                                 220                224

The independence which the canal reportedly gave to citizens

of Milan is given as the cause for their refusal to allow a right of

way through the village to what is now the southern division

(Norwalk) of the New York Central Railroad. The canal company

even announced a resolution concerning the proposed Cleveland-

Toledo railway via Sandusky in 1848, as reported in the Daily

Sanduskian for November 29, 1850:

The president and directors of this company held a meeting on the 9th

of September last, at which it was resolved that they would resist the building

of any bridge or other structure across the navigable waters of Huron river,

between the basin of the canal at Milan and Lake Erie, for the purpose of

constructing the Junction Rail-Road, as a violation of the ordinance of 1787,

establishing the North West Territory, and of the chartered rights of the

company. A notice to this effect is published in the Milan Tribune of

November 26th.

The last regular meeting of the directors of the canal company

was held September 20, 1865, after which they met every three

years. At the meeting in 1881 the towpaths were leased for 99

years, renewable forever, at a rental of $50 per year, for use by

the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad Company. The final meeting

of the canal company was held November 8, 1903, when dissolution

was voted. Thereafter an application for dissolution, filed in the

common pleas court of Erie County, at Sandusky, was approved

March 28, 1904, and the company whose canal had had a useful life

of 26 years, ended its chapter in the history of the inland waterways.

The application for dissolution of the Milan Canal Company

indicated ownership of real estate consisting of the so-called dry-

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THE MILAN CANAL                         245

 

dock, the canal basin, the upper and lower locks, and a strip of land

150 feet wide along the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad right of

way, extending in a northerly direction from the south end of the

canal basin near the intersection of Main and Union streets in Milan

to the mouth of the Huron River in the village of Huron. Personal

property consisted of $1,006.17 in cash. There were 98 share-

holders listed for a total of 1,434.0826 shares. There were reported

to be no liens or encumbrances except the Wheeling and Lake Erie

lease, and no bills or accounts payable.      The attorney for the

petitioners was Roy H. Williams, late judge of the supreme court of

Ohio; and the judge of the common pleas court of Erie County,

Ohio, where the application was filed, was Charles S. Reed, who

later became a resident of Cleveland.

In 1868 a letter from Milan to the Cleveland Herald commented

on the passing of the canal:

It is well known, I think, along our Lake shore, that in years gone by,

Milan was a large shipbuilding port. Since the Milan canal has been aban-

doned, we are obliged to go to the navigable waters of the Huron river, three

miles below our town, to do all that is done in that line. Captain David

Edwards has lately built a very large and desirable steam tug, at the place

mentioned, for Messrs. Brown and Walker, of Norwalk. Her engine was built

by Warner Bros. of Norwalk. Her boiler was built by N. Moore, Sandusky,

I believe. From the description shown me of the construction of the tug in

all her parts, she must be A No. 1.

Captain Edwards has built, or assisted in the building of many of our

finest Milan vessels. I hope this, his last effort, perhaps, on the Huron river,

will prove a success.

Several fine vessels are still owned by citizens of Milan. Mr. S. C.

Lockwood owns or controls the John B. Wilbur which has the capacity to

carry 25,000 bushels of wheat, also the schooner Iuka, 16,000 bushels.

Mr. Valentine Fries owns the following vessels, with the following

capacity:

Schooner Atmosphere, 18,000 bushels; Amaranth, 18,000 bushels; Shupe,

15,000 bushels; Raynor, 14,000 bushels.

Captain Henry Kelley owns the following vessels: Schooner Seventh

Ohio, 8,500 bushels; Exile, 25,000 bushels; King, 20,000 bushels; Oak Leaf,

17,000 bushels.

A. P. Mowry owns the following: Schooner M. Stalker, 17,000 bushels.

A. J. Mowry owns the following: Schooner Idaho, 17,000 bushels; brig.

Mowry, 13,000 bushels.

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246   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

In 1863 the schooner Idaho was built at Milan by A. J. Mowry

of Milan, a dealer in drugs and an investor in lake trade operations.

It could carry 350 tons and was 135 feet long, what sailors termed

a "fore and aft" rigger, having two spars or masts for the carrying

of fore and main sail, with a boom and jib boom. The Idaho sailed

the inland seas for ten years in a prosperous trade, but in the panic

year of 1873 lake freight rates declined, bringing small vessels to

harbor and the Idaho toward Milan for overhauling. The Idaho

entered the canal during the closing days of navigation in the year

1873, and the crew was dismissed when she tied in the first lock,

while Captain Wood kept watch. But the fall of freight rates con-

tinued, and the Idaho kept her berth, taking the beatings of wind

and weather, so that her mooring place became her grave. There

her hull remains, her ribs and keel steel visible in the mud that has

all but filled the lock of the canal. Parts of the canal are still filled

with water, and its whole course can be followed east of the Huron

River. In the spring and after heavy rainfalls, water still flows

down the canal bed, but it passes over the wood sills of the lock

and over the frame of the Idaho, to join the Great Lakes, whose

waters have all but forgotten the past glories of the Milan Canal.

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