Miami and Erie Canal Chapter

Chapter background

The Miami and Erie Canal Chapter celebrates the legacy of Ohio’s historic canal system while stewarding a trail that connects communities, farmland, and river valleys across western and northwestern Ohio. Volunteers here help maintain scenic towpath routes and provide hikers with a unique perspective on the state’s transportation and cultural history.

Natural features, history, and geography:

• The Great Black Swamp
• The Bowling Green Fault
• Indigenous tribal lands
• Sites from the War of 1794 – 1795 include: Fort St. Mays, Fort Winchester, and the Greenville Treaty Line, which was signed on August 3, 1795.
• Sites from the War of 1812 include: Fort Loramie, Fort Barbee (St. Marys), Fort Jennings, Fort Brown, and Fort Winchester (Defiance).
• In October 1846, Native Americans were removed from the area, loaded onto canal boats and sent to Cincinnati and westward.
• Miami and Erie Canal reached this area in 1840s and was completed to Junction in 1845, where it joined the Wabash and Erie Canal, linking the Ohio River to Lake Erie. After a major flood in 1913 damaged most of the structures, several historic canal locks and towpaths have been rebuilt, including Lock 1 South in Lockington, Lock 1 North in New Bremen, Lock 13 North in St. Marys, and Lock 14 North.
• Two canal boat rides, including one at Johnston Farm and Indian Agency that uses the original canal, and another at Grand Rapids, where Metroparks Toledo offers a canal boat ride through an existing canal lock.
• Great Miami Auglaize River watershed, including Great Miami River, Loramie Creek, St. Marys River, Little Auglaize River, Auglaize River, and the Maumee River watersheds.
• Flat canal valley terrain, farmland, and small canal towns.
• The trail is routed within three miles of the Grand Lake St. Marys, once the world’s largest manmade lake, built to feed the canal system. A hike does go over the Grand Lake feeder canal just south of the city of St. Marys.

Towns, villages, and cities on the trail:

Tipp City, Troy, Piqua, Lockington, Newport, Ft. Loramie, Minster, New Bremen, St. Marys, Spencerville, Delphos, Fort Jennings, Ottoville, Defiance, Florida, Napoleon, Waterville