Early settlers built a system of canals to connect the rivers and lakes in the midwest - they were a sort of interstate highway on water! Farming communities across Ohio needed a way to transport their goods to larger markets. Roads were slow, and navigating rivers was unreliable. 

In 1825, the Ohio legislature authorized building the Miami and Erie Canal that, when completed, would connect Lake Erie at Toledo with the Ohio River at Cincinnati. Construction of the 248.8-mile canal was done in sections. The Cincinnati to Dayton leg was completed in 1829. The entire canal was finished in 1845. The canal was located where Patterson Boulevard is today. This replica recalls it's path into Dayton. 

A period of commercial growth flowed from the canal banks. Populations grew, hotels and businesses opened and farmers were able to deliver their goods to larger markets. But the advent of the train—combined with the Great Flood in 1913, led to the demise of the Miami-Erie canal in the early 1900's.