Miami and Erie Canal - Decline and Abandonment

Decline and Abandonment

Completed just before most of the railroads in Ohio were built, the canal competed with railroads through much of its useful life. Ice in the winter, as well as the slowness of the boats, made it less efficient than railroads, especially for perishable goods and passenger traffic. The canal was a cheaper means for carrying bulk cargoes, such as grain and salted pork, though by 1906, the canal had largely ceased to operate. A catastrophic flood of the Great Miami River in 1913 and the subsequent flood control measures constructed by the Miami Conservancy District destroyed much of the canal infrastructure along the southern portion of the route where it paralleled the Great Miami River.

One of the original locks (#17) is located in the Carillon Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio. An unrestored, but complete lock (#15) is located just off Main Street (State Route 571) in Tipp City. Remains of the Excello lock are still located in the Butler County Excello Locks Park near the intersection of State Route 73 and South Hamilton Middletown Road in Lemon Township.

Much of the original towpath served as the right-of-way for the Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad, an electric interurban streetcar that operated until 1940. Part of the right-of-way was converted to the Wright-Lockland Highway (now part of Interstate 75).

From 1920 to 1925, six million dollars was spent to use the bed of the canal to build a downtown subway in Cincinnati. The surface was later paved over to form Central Parkway as funds ran out before the Cincinnati Subway was completed.