The Canal Experience

Providence Metropark is located in what was once the canal town of Providence, Ohio. Since the park now has one of the greatest concentrations of canal era features in the country, I thought it would be a fun place to check out during kid weekend in Toledo. Have a little fun, learn a little history.

Back in 1876, life along the Miami and Erie Canal moved at the pace of plodding mules. Today aboard The Volunteer it is no different. The 60-foot boat is a reproduction of a barge-style vessel commonly known as a “government” or “state packet” boat. Unfortunately, they sit rather low and it was nearly impossible to see out the windows … let alone take pictures. Nonetheless, during our hour-long journey on a restored stretch of the waterway, we learned what canal life was like as a two-mule team pulled the boat from the towpath.

In the 19th century, canal boats carrying freight and passengers traveled the 249 miles between Toledo and Cincinnati via the Miami and Ohio Canal. Built between 1825 and 1845, the waterway linked Lake Erie and the Ohio River. The Providence Dam was constructed in 1833 to maintain water levels in the canal from Providence to Toledo and still does so today. Most of the labor on the canal was provided by German, Irish and French immigrants who were paid 31 cents a day and a jigger of whiskey. Many of them settled in the small towns that sprang up next to the canal they helped build.

The peak year for the canal operations was 1851, with revenues in excess of $350,000 and approximately 400 boats in operation. Passenger fees were 2 to 3 cents per mile, with the hauling of freight netting 2 cents per mile per ton and decreasing to 1.5 cents on trips over 100 miles. The boats traveled at a whopping 4 to 5 miles per hour. In the 1860s when the railroads came through, the commercial value of the canals was greatly reduced.

Providence Metropark is the only place in Ohio where visitors are able to completely travel through a functioning limestone lock. The highlight of our trip was definitely passing through Lock 44 as the crew handled the ropes, and opened and closed the massive gates to adjust water levels.

This Metropark is also home to the Isaac Ludwig Mill, a working water-powered saw and gristmill. It houses a collection of equipment from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, it is the last of more than 100 mills that once dotted the Ohio landscape. Stone-ground products and other unique gifts can be purchased in the General Store.

It was a neat experience, but admittedly a bit underwhelming. Faith is fascinated by all things historical, but only a four-year-old could be so brutally honest:

“Kaden, did you like the boat ride?”

“No. It was boring.”

Ah well. I tried!