Ohio Canal Expedition

The Ohio Canal was a waterway between Lake Erie at Cleveland and the Ohio River at Portsmouth. The canal was destroyed by the floods of 1913, although many parts of it, especially the "lateral canals" had fallen into disuse before that. There are many areas where almost all remnants of the canal are gone, but there are other areas where the canal exists in much the same state as it was a hundred years ago.

In the northern part of the state, the Canal Heritage Corridor has refocused attention to the canal. This is unfortunately not the case in the south. The purpose of this expedition is to bring a renewed interest in recognizing the importance of the entire canal system to the vitality of the State of Ohio.

A proposed method to accomplish this is to record as much as possible of the canal as it exists today on video. This would be done by travelling the entire length by foot, bike, boat, and other means and capturing on video tape and still camera much of the "essence" of the canal. Attempts would also be made to include nearby historical, cultural, and tourist sites.

In order for the project to be a success, the participation by others is needed. The input and guidance of local historians, naturalists, and educators is needed as is the support of area chambers of commerce, community developement organization, historical societies, schools, service organizations, businesses, and the media.

This project will take more than one year to complete due to the limited resources available to the participants. It is not being supported by PBS or the History Channel or any other organization. However, sponsorship will be accepted and credit will be given for such sponsorship on brochures and subsequent videos. Please contact Ken A Starcher at imsys@worldnet.att.net for details on how you may participate in or sponsor this project.