CONSTRUCTION OF THE WABASH AND ERIE
CANAL
By LEE NEWCOMER
Perhaps the most important event in the
early history of
northwestern Ohio was the opening, in
1843, of the Wabash and
Erie Canal from Toledo to Lafayette,
Indiana. During the brief
period between that date and the coming
of the railroads, this
canal was responsible for opening up a
large and important agri-
cultural area. Immigrants from the East
poured into the Maumee
Valley; farms were cleared; and towns
and cities sprang up. In
the decade following 1843, the amount of
corn shipped from
Toledo rose from a comparatively
insignificant amount to millions
of bushels. For a time, Toledo became
the chief port in the
United States for the shipment of corn.1
The influence of the
Wabash and Erie Canal on the development
of the Maumee region
is of great significance. An historical
study of the development
of the Wabash and Erie Canal reveals a
multitude of difficulties
such as local jealousies, disease and
epidemic, labor troubles,
financial difficulties, and problems of
sanitation. It is the pur-
pose of this paper to discuss some of
these non-technical diffi-
culties which were encountered and
overcome in the construction
of this canal.
For several years prior to 1827, Indiana
had contemplated
building a waterway to connect the
Maumee with the Wabash
River. On March 2, of that year, the
state secured from Con-
gress a handsome grant of land to help
in financing the pro-
jected improvement. This federal aid
consisted of alternate sec-
tions for five miles on each side of a
canal that would connect
navigable points on the two rivers.
Indiana accepted the land
grant, but soon found that any navigable
canal that was built
would have to be extended down the
Maumee River through
1 Elbert J. Benton. The Wabash Trade
Route in the Development of the Old
Northwest, John Hopkins University Studies (Baltimore,
1903), Ser. XXI, nos. 1-2,
p. 99.
(199)
200
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Ohio's territory. Accordingly, a
conference was held in 1829
between representatives of the two
states. The agreement reached
at this meeting provided that Ohio
should undertake that part
of the work within her borders and in
return receive a propor-
tionate share of the federal land grant.
Indiana assented to the
proposal and Congress accepted the
transfer of a part of the
land grant. For some time, however, the
Ohio Legislature de-
layed in taking action but it finally
also ratified the agreement.2
Nevertheless, Ohio hesitated long before
she actually began
work. It was argued by some that the
proposed canal would
compete with the Miami Canal, the Ohio
Canal, and even draw
trade from the National Road.3 Indiana
kept urging her neigh-
bor State to begin construction. By
1835, Indiana had completed
a considerable part of her section of
the canal but it was of very
little value since it had no outlet to
Lake Erie. It appeared to
be to Ohio's advantage to commence
digging her portion of the
canal immediately. Friends of the
waterway pointed out the fact
that Indiana was likely to abandon her
canal program and concen-
trate on a system of railroads if Ohio
did not begin work soon
on the Wabash and Erie.4
Ohio, however, was confronted by an
obstacle in the form
of a boundary dispute with Michigan. It
was the rivalry over
Toledo Bay and the terminus of the canal
that gave to the Ohio-
Michigan "war" its intensity.
Ohio would not begin construction
until she was certain that the entire
length of the canal would
lie within her borders. In a letter to
Indiana, the Board of Canal
Commissioners asserted that "we
cannot consent to terminate
this canal in a neighboring territory or
state nor in such a manner
that the important commercial emporium
consequent upon the
improvement may in any event grow up
under foreign juris-
diction."5
Two years later, after the boundary
dispute was out of the
2 Ohio, Joint Resolution Relative to
the Construction and Maintenance of the
Wabash and Erie Canal, February 21, 1871.
3 Report of the Board of Canal
Commissioners, December 26, 1833, in the collec-
tion of documents relating to the
Ohio canals in the Archives Division of the Library
of the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society at Columbus. Hereafter,
this collection will be cited as Canal
MSS.
4 Letter, Canal Commissioners of Indiana
to Canal Commissioners of Ohio.
June 16 1835, Canal MSS.
5 July 26, 1835, ibid.
WABASH AND ERIE CANAL 201
way, Ohio finally began work on the
canal. By the end of 1837,
contracts had been let for the
construction of the entire line from
Toledo to Indiana. At this time,
conditions were favorable for
the work since there was an abundance of
labor available due to
the suspension of much business in the
East.6
As preparations for the canal were going
on, the spirit of
speculation raged in the Maumee Valley.
Although the country
was as yet sparsely populated, villages
were laid out and cities
planned. People in the towns along the
route saw a rosy future
opening up before them. The prospects
for Toledo were bright.
When all the canals contemplated by
Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois
were completed, Toledo would become the
center of over one
thousand miles of inland navigation. It
would be the chief city
in the West.7 In 1837,
the editor of the Maumee Express pic-
tured the future effects of the new
canal as follows: "A new
empire will be opened to the gaze of the
admiring world. A new
era will commence in agriculture, in the
occupation of a soil of
untold fertility, by a free, an
enlightened, and a happy
people. Commerce will learn a new lesson
in this vast field of
national intercommunication. The
arts and sciences will
flourish."8
Several difficulties were encountered in
fixing the exact loca-
tion of the canal route. In the first
place, there was the question
as to whether it should end at the foot
of the rapids of the
Maumee or whether it should be carried a
few miles farther to
Manhattan on Toledo Bay. Many persons
thought that it was
unnecessary to extend a canal alongside
the river from the rapids
to Toledo. Of course the citizens of
Maumee City wanted it to
terminate at the rapids. That would make
their town a great
lake port. For several years, the
newspapers of Toledo and
Maumee carried on a lively dispute over
the relative advantages
of their respective locations as a
terminus for the canal.9
This rivalry was settled in 1837 by a
report of the chief
engineer. Because of some uncertainty in
regard to the naviga-
6 "Report of Board of Public
Works," Ohio Executive Documents, 1838, 7.
7 Toledo Gazette, November 12, 1836.
8 Maumee Express, June 3.
9 See Toledo Gazette, July
20, 1836; Maumee Express, April 29, 1837.
202 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
tion of lake vessels on the lower
Maumee, he advised the con-
tinuation of the canal to Manhattan,
just below Toledo. This
view prevailed and the canal line was
extended to the bay.10
A typical question connected with the
specific location of the
canal route concerned the little village
of Gilead in Wood County.
According to the engineers, it would
prove cheaper to construct
the Wabash and Erie on the north bank of
the river. However,
Gilead protested. The town was on the
south bank and would
lose commerce, water power, and similar
privileges if the canal
were not built on its side of the river.
When the controversy
was finally settled, Gilead lost the
canal. The route ran along
the opposite bank of the river.ll
In 1837, Gilead protested again. This
time the engineers
had proposed the construction of a
feeder dam across the river
at the head of the rapids. To do this,
it would be necessary to
buy considerable land on the Gilead side
of the river. Satisfac-
tory arrangements for this purchase
could not be carried out.
The village was opposed to a dam at that
point because it would
have meant the destruction of part of
the town by backwater. It
was not until 1844 that this question
was definitely settled. In
that year, it was decided to construct
the proposed dam farther
upstream so as not to interfere with the
citizens of Gilead.12
The Wabash and Erie was for size and
strength superior
to any other canal in the State. It had
almost three times the
capacity of the Ohio Canal.
Consequently, it proved to be com-
paratively expensive to build. Yet,
there does not seem to have
been the profligate expenditure of money
on this canal that was
claimed by some at the time. The whole
line was placed under
contract to the lowest responsible
bidders. Bids were invited
by advertisements in a large number of
newspapers in both Ohio
and neighboring states. As it turned
out, many contractors took
work at lower prices than were justified
by the circumstances.
In the years from 1838 to 1841, a number
of contracts were
abandoned and had to be relet. Most of
these failures were due
to the high cost of provisions and labor
which prevailed during
10 "Report of Committee on
Canals," Ohio House Journal, 1837-38, 8 (Appendix).
11 "Report of the Board of Public
Works," ibid., 8-9.
12 "Report of Board of Public Works," Ohio Ex. Docs., 1843,
1-2.
WABASH AND ERIE CANAL 203
most of this time. In all probability,
more money was lost by
the unfortunate contractors than was
gained by the more suc-
cessful ones. The canal cost a good deal
to build, but, in the
opinion of the Board of Public Works, it
could not have been
constructed for much less.13
Labor for use on the Wabash and Erie was
recruited from
two sources, local inhabitants and
immigrants. It is impossible
to determine the percentage contributed
by each source but it
seems probable that most of the
unskilled workers on this canal
were Irish immigrants.
Wages were generally high. The reports
of the Board of
Public Works during this period
frequently refer to the high cost
of labor because of the competition of
other public works in the
western states. Whenever a section of
the canal was put under
construction, there was a general
advance in the price of labor
and provisions in that vicinity. This
increased the cost of the
canal and constituted one of the factors
which caused many con-
tractors to lose money.14
The laborers were paid by the
contractors and not by the
State. At times disagreements arose over
the payments. A few
employers were dishonest and absconded,
leaving their workers
unpaid. This lack of integrity brought
some sections of the
canal into disrepute.15 Nevertheless,
when laborers failed to re-
ceive their pay, the fault usually lay
not with their employers, but
with the State. Payments by the State on
contracts were usually
slow. For several months in 1839,
workers were paid with
Michigan "wild-cat" bills
because of lack of funds. This cur-
rency depreciated rapidly and caused a
great deal of distress to
all concerned.16
Numerous complaints came to the State
officials from con-
tractors who were not receiving their
payments. One agent on
the Wabash and Erie wrote in 1838 that
construction was at a
standstill. Men could not be hired, he
said, because those who
13 Ibid., 1842, 18-19.
14 Letter, F. D. Cochran to W. Kenedy,
September 28, 1838, Canal MSS.;
Samuel Hasbeer to Alfred Kelly, February
7, 1829, ibid.
15 "Report of Canal
Commissioners," Journal of the Senate of Ohio, 1826, 125.
16 Clark Waggoner, ed., History
of the City of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio,
(New York, 1888), 595.
204 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL
AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
had been working had not been paid for
several months.l7 Situa-
tions such as this were common much of
the time. In a report
a few years later, the Board of Public
Works stated that for the
past fifteen months no money had been
available with which to
pay the canal contractors.18
Notwithstanding these financial
difficulties, the work of con-
structing the canal went on. When money
was not to be had,
promises were made to the laborers.
Sometimes, when a con-
tractor was hard-pressed to keep his men
on the job, he would
offer a keg of whiskey as an inducement
to continue work.19
The Irish canal-laborers lived in camps
along the construction
line. When a considerable number of men
were working on one
section, their lines of huts would often
resemble the barracks of
a fortified post. The Irish digger's
chief means of recreation
seemed to consist of Sunday drinking
carousals and fights. Picks,
shovels, clubs, and stones were used
freely in these encounters
and broken heads resulted frequently.
A great deal of this turbulence was
caused by excessive
drinking. Indeed, a propensity for
ardent spirits seemed to be
the Irishman's chief vice. Several factors
favored a large per
capita consumption of liquor by the
canal laborer. In the first
place, whiskey was cheap. The best
quality cost little and in-
ferior grades could be purchased by even
the poorest Irishman.
Furthermore, canal contractors of the period
often provided their
workers with alcoholic beverages. A
barrel or two of whiskey
would be supplied periodically in the
hope of getting more work
out of the men.20
Although the canal worker probably drank
more whiskey
than was necessary for medicinal
purposes, one reason for its
wide use was a preventive against
disease. Sickness among the
laborers took a terrible toll of life.
Country which is today quite
healthy was then just the opposite. This
was particularly true
of the Maumee Valley and the near-by
notorious Black Swamp.
17 Letter, Oscar White to William Wall, September 15, 1838, Canal MSS.
18 Ohio Ex. Docs., 1843, 19.
19 "Receipts of Laborers, 1830," Canal MSS.
20 Ibid.
WABASH AND ERIE CANAL 205
Contemporary letters from the Maumee
district are full of ref-
erences to sickness.21
This prevalence of disease was caused
largely by the many
swamps and bodies of stagnate water.
Morasses and marshes,
small lakes and ponds dotted the woods.
In places where the
canal was not dug but was made by piling
up embankments,
water would trickle through these walls
and gradually flood the
surrounding lowlands. Mosquitoes and
malaria were notoriously
bad throughout the river bottoms, and
flat lands. The sun was
unable to penetrate the deep foliage
down to the swamps and
drowned woodlands. During the summer
months, the Six Mile
Reservoir west of Defiance frequently
became little more than
a stagnate frog pond. It contributed its
share to the prevailing
sickliness of the region.
As a result of these conditions,
epidemics of smallpox, ty-
phoid, pneumonia, and other diseases
frequently ravaged the
Maumee Valley. During certain seasons of
the year, the ague
was very common. Cholera was
particularly bad at Toledo in
some years.22 It was reported
in 1839 that contractors on the
canal were operating under unusually
difficult conditions because
of recurrent epidemics among the
workers.23 Both the Maumee
and the Wabash Valleys acquired an
unenviable reputation in
this respect. Travelers considered
themselves fortunate to get
through the region without illness.24
The shanties which quartered the
laborers were generally un-
sanitary and the men fell easy victims
to epidemics. At\regular
intervals, a doctor would ordinarily
make his rounds of the camp
handing out quinine, calomel, and blue
mass. Whiskey was used
without stint as a protection against
malaria. Every few hours
during the day, a boy would pass along
the line of diggings and
give to each man his "jigger
full" of whiskey. Still, even the
most vigorous were not immune from the
fevers, and, notwith-
standing all the precautions taken, a
great many of the workers
died.
21 See Canal MSS.
22 "Report on Northern Division of
Miami and Erie Canal," 1852, Canal MSS,
23 "Report of Board of Public Works," Ohio Ex. Docs., 1889,
14.
24 J. Richard Beste, The
Wabash, or Adventures of an English Gentleman's
Family in the Interior of America (London, 1835). II, 220.
206 OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The unhealthful nature of the Maumee
Valley made it diffi-
cult at times to secure men for the
construction gangs. During
the summer months, laborers often left
the canal to avoid dan-
ger of sickness. In some years construction proceeded very
slowly because workers, through fear of
disease, had kept clear
of the region altogether.25 In 1838, a contractor wrote from
Maumee City that "here in truth
almost everybody is sick and
hands are very scarce." In order to
secure more laborers, he had
"caused a notice to be published
editorially in the Maumee Ex-
press for 2000 hands with a request that other papers in the vi-
cinity of a surplus laboring population
would give it an insertion
and it has been noticed by nearly all
the Eastern papers." 26
The Catholic population of Toledo at
this time was com-
posed mainly of immigrants who had come
to Ohio to work on
the canal. Most of these were Irish,
although some Germans
were included in the group. Catholic
priests, working among
their people, attempted to improve the
social and moral conditions
in the construction camps. They were,
however, severely handi-
capped in their efforts by lack of
numbers. It often happened
that the Catholic laborer on the canal
would not see a priest for
months at a time. During these years,
few were available for
work on the frontier and along the
canals.27
In 1841, the first definite step was
taken toward permanent
Catholic work in the Maumee area. Father
Rappe was sent to
northern Ohio in that year. His parish
extended west from To-
ledo to Indiana and as far south as
Allen County. Father Rappe
found a difficult task before him.
Intemperance was a special
vice of the canal workmen. Too often the
laborer spent his hard
earned money on drink instead of on his
family. In addition
to the problem of liquor, there was the
dreaded "Maumee fever"
to cope with.28
Father Rappe worked hard in organizing
parish and temper-
ance societies. In 1846, he was joined
by another priest who
came to aid him in the fight against
whiskey and disease. At
that time, the outlook at Toledo was
anything but hopeful. "At
25 Letter, Oscar White to William Wall,
September 15, 1838, Canal MSS.
26 Ibid.
27 Catholic Almanac, 1833, 32.
28 Waggoner, History of Toledo, 595.
WABASH AND ERIE CANAL 207
certain seasons," wrote the new
priest, "it was almost impossible
to meet a healthy looking person, and
frequently entire families
were sick and unable to help one
another. Apart from the
dread malarial fever, we were
occasionally visited by such epi-
demics as erysipelas, and towards the
end of 1847 we saw the
ship fever emigrants landing on the
docks to die among strangers
within a few hours after arrival."
29
Many difficulties were encountered in
building the Wabash
and Erie Canal. Yet, despite the
obstacles of local jealousy, finan-
cial problems, and disease, the work of
construction steadily
progressed. By 1843, the Ohio section of
the waterway was com-
pleted. On July 4 of that year, the
canal was opened for navi-
gation from Toledo to Lafayette.30 A
great celebration was held
at Fort Wayne as part of the
festivities. Cannons were fired,
bonfires lighted, and speakers
proclaimed the arrival of a new
day for the Maumee Valley. The future
history of that section
of Ohio was to prove the validity of
their predictions.
29 Ibid., 595-6.
30 Two years later, in 1845, the
Miami and Erie Canal was completed from
Cincinnati to its junction with the
Wabash and Erie in Paulding County,
Ohio.