Canal Westchester
OHIO HISTORICAL MARKER
CANAL WINCHESTER AND
THE OHIO AND ERIE CANAL
You are standing on the site of Ohio
and Erie Canal. The canal helped
to open the interior of Ohio to trade
and settlement and played a part in
Winchester's prosperity during the
mid-1800s. Local farmers exported
grain from the village via the canal while
local merchants imported such items as coffee,
dishes, and tools for sale. Winchester was later
named Canal Winchester to distinguish it from
other “Winchesters" and to honor the role
the canal played in its development.
Construction of the Ohio and Erie
began in 1825 and the first canal
boat sailed through Winchester in
1831. The entire 308-mile length
of the waterway from Cleveland to
Portsmouth. opened in 1832. The advent of
the railroad in Ohio in the 1850s heralded the
end of the canal era. The last canal boats
passed through Winchester in 1901. After many
years of decline, the Ohio and Erie Canal
was abandoned in 1913.
Submitted by Allan Ayers