OHIO CANALS
WORK ON THEM INAUGURATED IN 1825
The year 1825 was a memorable one in
the history
of Ohio. On May 19 General Lafayette
crossed the
river in his tour through what were
then called the
"western states" and stepped
on the Ohio shore at Cin-
cinnati in the midst of patriotic
demonstrations un-
paralleled in the history of the state.
For a time he
was the guest of this city, then the
metropolis of the
West, after which he proceeded up the
river to Wheel-
ing, making short stops at Gallipolis
and Marietta.
The newspapers of that time bear
extended accounts
not only of his visit to Ohio but of
his tour through all
the states.
The year 1825 also marked the beginning
of work on
the Ohio canals and popular
demonstrations at the in-
auguration of an era of internal
improvements. At
no point were the initial formalities
more enthusiastic-
ally celebrated than at the Licking
Summit, near New-
ark, Ohio. The day chosen was the
Fourth of July, a
day then devoted on its annual return
to fervid oratory
-- to "bonfires and
illuminations." The citizens of the
United States were only fifty years
removed from the
opening scenes of the Revolution. The
tour of Lafay-
ette through the country added to the
popular interest
in the observance of the day. The canal
commissioners
of Ohio wisely chose this date for
breaking sod at the
Licking Summit. They had succeeded in
persuading
Governor DeWitt Clinton of New York to
be present
(63)
64
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
on the occasion. He was regarded
throughout the
country as the champion of internal
improvements. He
came to congratulate Ohio upon the
commencement of
a work that had been successfully
prosecuted in his own
state.
In this issue of the QUARTERLY is reproduced
an ac-
count of the commencement of the Ohio
Canal at the
Licking Summit. This was published in a
pamphlet,
which is now very rare. Through the
kindly interest of
Honorable Thomas Ewing of New York
City, the
grandson of Senator Thomas Ewing of
Ohio, we have
been furnished a copy of this pamphlet
which is pre-
sented in full on the following pages.
It seems espe-
cially appropriate that it should be republished
at this
time in this centennial year of the
commencement of im-
proved transportation facilities in the
state. Follow-
ing is the wording of the title-page of
the pamphlet.
COMMENCEMENT
OF THE
OHIO CANAL
AT THE
LICKING SUMMIT
JULY 4TH, 1825
LANCASTER, OHIO:
Printed by John Herman