Ohio History Journal

SANDY AND BEAVER CANAL1

By W. H. VAN  FOSSAN

As a part of the Ohio system of canals the Sandy and Beaver

was a branch from Bolivar, Tuscarawas County, to Smiths Ferry

on the Ohio River forty miles below Pittsburgh. Bolivar was its

junction point with the Ohio and Erie Canal which extended from

Cleveland to Portsmouth. Its promoters were planning a more

direct route to join Ohio and Lake Erie with the Pennsylvania

canals between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

The practicability of the project was investigated in 18262

and on January 11, 1828, the Ohio legislature granted a charter

which was amended and renewed in 1834. The directors were

Benjamin Hanna, the grandfather of Marcus Hanna, who was

elected as president, David Begges, Horace Potter, George Mc-

Cook, James Robertson, Joseph Richardson and Elderkin Potter.

These seven represented Columbiana County. There were also

four from   Stark County: William    Christman, William  Henry,

William Reynolds and Jacob Hostetter. Tuscarawas had Christian

Deardoff and Henry Lepper.

The charter of 1834 and the reports of the engravers were

printed at New Lisbon (now Lisbon) by Joseph Cable November,

1834 -- 40 pages with a map.³ In a letter written by Hanna in

his office at New Lisbon, October 4, 1834, he commended the

legislature for the liberal terms it had granted. The company was

given the privilege to collect the tolls for seven years, the only

tolls due the State were on freight transported not less than

twenty miles. The matter of the canal and its charter also came

before the U. S. House of Representatives. A resolution was

1 In the Library of Congress a few years ago the writer ran across an old document

containing important information on the Sandy and Beaver Canal. He was greatly in-

terested in his discovery, for nearly all his life he had lived where he had the oppor-

tunity to learn many things about it. Out of the material he has gathered from

various sources he has written this brief sketch on the building and operation of this

old waterway.

2 Ohio Canal Commissioners, "Annual Report," Ohio Senate, Journal, 1826/27,

p. 126.

3 A copy may be seen in the Western Reserve Historical Society Library, Cleveland.

165

SANDY AND BEAVER CANAL                  167

Philadelphia] . . . to the . . . charter and reports [of the engi-

neers], and respectfully solicit their aid, by the liberal subscription

of stock, in the early completion of a project which promises

generous terms to the capitalist, and inestimable benefits to the

public."⁴

For the purposes of construction the canal was cut into three

divisions: Middle, Western, and Eastern. The Middle Division

reached from the Middle Beaver, nearly two miles above New

Lisbon across the watershed to a point on Sandy Creek two miles

beyond Hanover, a distance of twelve miles. Guilford (Gill's

Ford) and Dungannon were in this section. The cost as esti-

mated by the engineers was $287,000 or $20,000 per mile. The

following figures show the cost of the West Fork reservoir, now

Guilford Lake: 68,000  cu. yd. embankment $13,600; 500 linear

feet of pipe, $2,700; 672 perches of stone for wall $1,300; 200

perches stone for wall, $600; sluice gates $1000. A total of

$19,200.

A visit to this lake, the building of which was financed by the

State, always calls up old memories. The lake farm   was the

writer's home during the closing years of the Civil War. A maple

grove stood along that part of the lake now occupied by cottages.

The season for gathering the sap and boiling it down in big ket-

tles into syrup and sugar he remembers very clearly, then being

in his eighth year. Perhaps his most interesting recollection was

to watch the large droves of sheep and cattle before his door on

the State highway en route to eastern markets. A necessity be-

fore the days of railroads, the practice had not been discontinued

entirely. The part of the lake just above the embankment was a

big creek bottom containing fifty acres of rich pasture.  The

writer's father frequently rented it for the night where the stock

would find needed rest as well as abundance of grass and water.

In these droves there were as many as eight hundred to a thousand

or more sheep or five hundred head of cattle.

A smaller reservoir, that of Cold Run, was built east of Guil-

ford. It was fed by the head waters of that stream. The esti-

mated cost was $11,700.

4 U. S., 23 Cong., 2 Sess., Doc. No. 50 (Washington, 1834), 27 pages with map.

SANDY AND BEAVER CANAL                 169

surprising discovery in finding the bones of a Mastodon. When

attending high school at Hanover, the writer saw these huge relics

at the home of Morris Miller who was one of the canal con-

tractors.

The "little tunnel" was northeast of Dungannon and was near

to 1000 feet in length. It was arched with stone. This was not

required in the larger one as it was cut through solid rock. With

this tunnel and one or more locks the canal was let down to the

level of the West Fork of Beaver three or four miles below

Guilford.

The Western Division ran from a point near Hanover to its

junction with the Ohio Canal at Bolivar--33 1/2 miles. The cost

was estimated at $332,000 -- $ [10,000 a mile. This section followed

the Sandy Valley through Minerva, Malvern and Waynesburg to

Bolivar where Sandy Creek empties into the Tuscarawas River

It was a comparatively level course and free from a hill country

like that in Columbiana County which the canal had to cross in

getting from one stream to another. A small reservoir was built

on the farm of Peter Preston less than two miles west of Ken-

sington -- then called Maysville. The embankment is in sight of

U. S. Route 30, about half a mile to the north. The writer has

no figures of its cost. A claims committee gave Mr. Preston $200

in damages.

The Eastern Division began at the summit above New Lis-

bon and followed Middle Beaver through the county seat, Elk-

ton, Williamsport, Fredericktown and then through the Little

Beaver itself into Pennsylvania and to the Ohio at Smiths Ferry,

its terminal. It was the longest of the three divisions -- 43 miles

Its cost was $535,000 -- $12,000 a mile.

The cost of the entire canal was $1,144,000 and its length

90 1/2 miles. In a straight line the terminals were little more than

half that distance apart. Its many necessary meanderings in

following the course of streams and especially in crossing the

hilly lands of Columbiana County account for its length. At

the surface it was 40 feet wide; at the bottom 28. Its depth was

four feet. There were 40 locks between Hanover (now Han-

overton) and Bolivar and 140 from Hanover to Smiths Ferry.

170  OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Work began north of New Lisbon on land originally owned

by Gideon Hughes, who, in 1808, had built the iron furnace and

the stone mansion now owned by the Boy Scouts organization of

Columbiana County. It was at this historic spot where the

ceremony of breaking ground took place, November 24, 1834.

A large crowd had gathered there. Elderkin Potter, a prom-

inent lawyer and a director, was the speaker of the day. He

pictured eloquently the great future for New Lisbon and the

county. A letter from President Hanna was read which gave

instructions to the engineers.⁵ The first shovelful of dirt was

thrown by Mr. Potter.

The work begun in 1834 was carried on vigorously. By

1838, the funds were exhausted. Already $1,300,000 had been

spent and only about one-half of the canal was completed. At

that time the country was passing through the severe panic of

1837 and work on the canal was stopped. The legislature was

again appealed to for funds and construction was resumed.

In 1846, the Eastern Division was finished. The first boat

arrived at New Lisbon, October 20 in command of Captain Dunn.

Amid wild enthusiasm a great meeting was held at the Hanna

canal warehouse, followed by a supper and ball at the Watson

House. The program for the day of general rejoicing ended

with a display of fireworks.

A somewhat amusing incident occurred a few weeks later.

which dated back to the canal jubilee. Strange as it may seem

it is on record in the Minutes of the Presbyterian Church, Mon-

day, December 7, 1846. It was discovered while a sketch of the

church was in process a few years ago. A member had been

cited to appear before this body of elders on the charge of drunk-

enness. He confessed his guilt but offered in defense that it

occurred on the night of the celebration of the opening of the

canal. His confession bore the marks of truthfulness, and with

a promise of good conduct in the future, the charge was dropped.

The usual punishment for the offense was suspension from the

communion table and other church ordinances for such a time

as might be needed for the offender to show "fruits meet for re-

5 Ibid.

SANDY AND BEAVER CANAL                 171

pentance." This judicial body of church fathers was convinced

that he was not the only one of the Presbyterian flock who had

imbibed too freely on that hilarious night.

Another of the packets on the Eastern Division was named

for David Begges who was a New Lisbon man and a director

of the canal corporation. George Ramsey was its captain. The

warehouse just referred to was of a type similar to others built

on the banks of the canal at shipping points. Some of them

were three stories. After canal days they were occupied by pri-

vately owned stores. The writer remembers two of these big

frame buildings at Dungannon. The one at the west end was

known as Hagan's General Store. The other stood just across

the canal from the grounds of the one-room school. Unoccupied,

its windows were a target for the boys. But the glass was all

gone before the writer's two years in the school. Hanover also

had the same number of stores. The one to the east was built

by J. R. and A. R. Arter. The other by David Arter and Perry

Nicholas. The Arters used the former for many years for dry

goods and general merchandise.  It is the only one of these five

warehouses that is still standing. At present it is occupied as

a hardware store.

The canal was opened in divisions as each was completed.

The first boat to reach Hanover arrived from the east, January

6, 1848.6  The night before, it had grounded just below the place

where the Lincoln Highway (U. S. Route 30) crosses West

Fork. The work on this section was not entirely finished, but

in order to hold the charter it was necessary that a boat be gotten

through. Morris Miller, the contractor at Hanover, aided with

seven yoke of oxen. Along with him were many citizens of the

town, and the band. The boat was raised and dragged into the

channel and all went well until the big tunnel was reached. Here

a large piece of rock had fallen into the canal. The obstruction

removed, the boat soon reached Hanover and was tied up at the

lower warehouse. Other boats passed through this tunnel for a

few years; but in the dry summer of 1854 it could not be used

6 Ohio Board of Public Works, "Special Report," Ohio Exec. Doc., 1847/48, pt. 2,

doc. 26, p. 492-3.

172   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

owing to a lack of water. The last boat to go through was the

Hibernian which was owned by Hanover men. Though the

Middle Division had 700 acres of reservoir there were parts of

the year when it suffered from shortage of water. At the divide

north of New Lisbon the engineers gauged the flow at the lowest

point and found it to be 1200 cu. ft. per minute. Here the canal

intersected and received the water of Middle Beaver. This was

the initial supply for the Eastern Division. Though small, it

was larger than that of the Middle Division.⁷

From another quarter the canal was about to be given a

much harder blow. The Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad was

built about 1852 and quickly took over most of the business in

that section of the canal. Boats continued to run for a time

between Hanover and Bolivar, but not long. In its short career,

however, the canal had carried large cargoes of wheat from Han-

over which was a live town of 600 people. Dr. James Robert-

son was a director, and Michael Arter was the treasurer of the

canal company. Both were Hanover men. The enterprise of

its people was shown by their building a switch to the railroad

station a mile away at Kensington, then called Maysville. It

was a crude affair. Wooden rails were fastened to the ties and

flat bars of iron were spiked to them. Cars were switched to

this spur and drawn by horses to and from Hanover. A loco-

motive was too heavy to be used. It was an easy grade and ran

parallel to the canal. A tram car was put on for mail and pas-

sengers. The track being difficult to keep in order it was soon torn

up and a bus was put on in place of the car.

In the years of its inception and building the time seemed

opportune for the Sandy and Beaver. The population of Co-

lumbiana County had passed 40,000. Only two counties ex-

ceeded it--Hamilton and Richland. New Lisbon was its largest

town with 1800 people--a promising little city. Salem had 1300

and Wellsville 800. James Bennett had built East Liverpool's

first pottery in 1839, then a village of 600. Settlers were pour-

ing into Ohio from Pennsylvania and the seacoast states. Many

7 W. S. Potts, "Early History of Columbiana County," History of the Upper Ohio

Valley (Madison, Wis., 1891), II, p. 140-1.

SANDY AND BEAVER CANAL                 173

were coming directly from Great Britain and Germany. Ohio

was a wheat growing state. A group of five counties in eastern

Ohio, known as the "backbone counties," were famous for its

production. Columbiana and Stark were two of them. Wheat

was the farmers' money crop and farm housewives made much

of their bread from rye and corn rather than from wheat. The

wheat crop was marketed over the old State Road which entered

the State from  Pennsylvania and crossed Columbiana County

through New Lisbon, Guilford, New Alexander and westward

into Stark and to Massillon which was a port on the Ohio Canal.

When a small boy the writer heard his father tell of his expe-

riences when he drove one of the big wheat wagons with its four-

horse team along this road.

The canal boatman had taken the place of the wagoner. In

1822, the legislature had passed a resolution to build a system of

canals. Three years later, on July 4, ground was broken for the

Ohio and Erie from Cleveland by way of Akron, Massillon, New-

ark and Columbus to Portsmouth. In 1833, it was completed.

A second, the Miami and Erie, from Cincinnati to Toledo fol-

lowed. Together with several branches, their combined length

was 813 miles. It was the greatest engineering enterprise ever

carried out by the State. Its cost was sixteen million dollars,

but it paid back great economic dividends to its sponsor. For a

quarter of a century these canals were of inestimable worth to

Ohio in enlarging its trade and increasing its production and

population. In the beginning the State was comparatively poor.

It had become wealthy and great.

But the prosperity of the canals was not to last. By the early

fifties their annual reports showed a deficit. They were feeling

the steam railroad a crushing competitor and before the Civil

War they had practically been supplanted. In rapidly moving

Ohio the canals were found to be too slow. Because they were

frozen over in winter they were even useless for months. The

business of the State had risen beyond their capacity to handle

it. In a word, Ohio had outgrown the canals.

As for the Sandy and Beaver it had come too late to have

even a short and prosperous career. Like the Western Division,

174  OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

the Eastern continued to operate in a way for a short time. The

story of the canal system was a completed chapter in the history

of Ohio. Some short sectors of the Ohio Canal were kept open

and did a small business after the through traffic had ended.

The writer has some pleasant memories of those last days of that

canal. With several friends he spent a few weeks camping on

the banks of the Tuscarawas River and the banks of the canal at

Zoar, that interesting and prosperous community village of Ger-

man Separatists, two hundred of whom had emigrated from

Wurtemberg in 181₉. Bolivar was only a few miles away. Now

dissolved, its 8000 acres and village properties were then held in

common. A beautiful and restful spot, the writer and his

friends had selected this place with the trim quaint village in

sight, a bit of old world life transplanted to Ohio. Here a sector

of the canal was still doing a small business. It was a novel

sight to see a boat passing with a team of mules drawing it lazily

along the towpath. Here it was that James A. Garfield when

a fourteen-year-old lad from the Western Reserve had tramped

the towpath as the driver of a canal boat. At the time of the

summer outing, which was in 1882, the death of the martyred

president, who had been assassinated the year before, was still

fresh in the mind of every one.

As the canal days ended, the railroads were rapidly writing

a new and far-reaching chapter in the history of Ohio transpor-

tation. The building of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad

has already been mentioned. About the same time the Pennsyl-

vania Company was mapping its main line from Pittsburgh to

Chicago. New Lisbon was on the direct route, a live centrally-

located county seat town. Its business men were sorely disap-

pointed over their investments in the canal and were lukewarm

toward the new project and the terms offered. They generally

believed that the company would not fail to make their prosper-

ous town its first important station in Ohio. In this they were

mistaken and New Lisbon missed its opportunity to get this

trunkline which would have been a big factor in its growth as

a center of trade and industry.

Many years have passed but the course of the canal can still

SANDY AND BEAVER CANAL                  175

be traced easily, though its ditch has been obliterated in places

and most of its finely cut blocks of native sandstone have been

torn out of locks for cellar walls and other uses in masonry. A

hike on almost any part of it would be worth while for the sight

of old landmarks and beautiful scenery.

Along the Sandy Valley are many places of quiet beauty in

the villages and the fertile farms through which the canal passes.

The canal's outstanding features, however, are found in the rough

terrain of Columbiana County. In fact, it was primarily a proj-

ect of this county. Tunnel Hill near Hanover is the site of one

of its most expensive undertakings; then there are the Guilford

and Preston reservoirs. On the divide north of New Lisbon and

near the Rebecca iron furnace it was found necessary to build

a line of fifteen locks in less than two miles.8

The writer recalls a beautiful scene along the canal with

which he was familiar in his boyhood days, where the Lincoln

Highway intersects West Fork five or six miles west of Lisbon.

Here was a sawmill with its race and dam. A good place for

fishing and swimming. A covered wooden bridge spanned the

stream at this point as the concrete bridge does now. The breast

of the dam was close up to the bridge. Below was Frost's, later

Roller's flour mill. Upstream on a high elevation called Pine

Hill, stood a large clump of tall white pines proudly overlooking

the canal and valley. It is a lovely and long-cherished picture.

In the southern part of the county at such places as Williams-

port, Fredericktown, Spruce Vale, and Gaston's Mill the fine

scenery reaches its climax. Here in scene after scene of sur-

passing beauty the canal winds among the lofty hills and along

the deep wild gorges as it nears the Ohio.

Among the outstanding relics still in existence are two or

three locks that are in good condition. One of these is near

Spruce Vale. The most noted, Lusk's Lock, is about six miles

east of Lisbon, where it is hidden in a steep, rocky ravine of the

Middle Fork of Beaver. It is exceptionally large, being one

hundred and two feet long, including the abutments at each end,

8 W. F. Gilmore, A History of the Old Sandy-Beaver Canal (Canton, O. [1937?]),

map, views, and descriptive text.

SANDY AND BEAVER CANAL                 177

enterprise, has left us many interesting reminders of its brief

career in the pioneer days a century ago. The locks and other

striking relics of the canal will add a background of historic and

even romantic interest to the State park which may soon be made

of a large area in southeastern Columbiana County.  Such a

development would make out of the way places accessible to the

public, and the whole section, with its natural beauty and pioneer

story, would become an attractive pleasure ground for a great

number of people.