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
237
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-
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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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.
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.
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
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
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-
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.
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.