Locations and Trailheads
Travel the path of the canal in this picturesque journey from Cleveland to Portsmouth

Canal Terminology
Learn just what all these terms refer to

My Canal Journal
Get updates on Canal related events and trail construction

Links
Internet sites relevant to the Ohio & Erie Canal

Resources and Recom-mendations
Some sources of information used on this website

Location: Dover (formerly Canal Dover) is located in Dover Township in Tuscarawas County. It is accessible to travelers on the CanalWay Ohio National Scenic Byway by traveling west on SR 800 (Scenic Byway) into Dover. The Scenic Byway continues northwest on Tuscarawas Avenue from SR 800 until it ends at I-77. There is currently no established Towpath Trail in Dover.

History: Canal Dover was established in 1807 by Christian Deardoff who built the first mill in the area a year earlier. When the canal came through the area, settlers poured in and the town grew along with the canal. Canal Dover developed as an industrial city, an important steel and iron making area of the county. One of the canal's toll offices was located in Canal Dover. Although it does not exist today, its location is marked by an Ohio Historical Marker on SR 800. After the demise of the canal, the name was changed to simply Dover in the 1920's. Today, Dover enjoys an intense rivalry with New Philadelphia across the Tuscarawas River.

Sugar Creek Basin

About the Area: The canal turned south in Canal Dover following the Tuscarawas River and came upon Sugar Creek as it entered from the west. Instead of building an aqueduct or culvert over Sugar Creek, the canal entered a slackwater with Sugar Creek. A dam was built across Sugar Creek to allow the canal to join with it. A series of wasteways allowed the overflow of water into the Tuscarawas River and a wooden towpath bridge was built over the dam and wasteway to allow the crossing of the mules pulling the canal boats. A bit further south, a guard lock prevented the canal from flooding with excess water from Sugar Creek. Today, Sugar Creek flows into the Tuscarawas River much the same way it did before the coming of the canal. The guard lock was removed during the rebuild of the canal in the early 1900's and a sluice put in in its place. I believe this was called the Lockport Sluice, but I could be wrong. This area is private property now and access is prohibited.

Location: New Philadelphia is located southeast of Dover in Goshen Township. The CanalWay Ohio National Scenic Byway does not extend into New Philadelphia but if a traveler would get on I-77/SR 250 South from the end of the Scenic Byway, they could follow the path of the canal along SR 250, exiting at S. Broadway Street in New Philadelphia. Following S. Broadway Street north would take the traveler into downtown New Philadelphia. Plans call for the Towpath Trail to eventually end in New Philadelphia at Broadway Street although there is no established Towpath Trail in New Philadelphia today.

History: New Philadelphia was founded in 1804 by John Knisely, a miller and hunter from Pennsylvania. He discovered the area on a hunting trip to the Ohio county while visiting the Moravian Mission Village of Schoenbrunn. He was so impressed with the possibilities of the area that he sold his possessions in Pennsylvania and moved his family to Ohio. He took great care in planning the town he laid out, basing its design on Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, even going so far as to name many of the streets the same. Tuscarawas County was formed in 1807 and New Philadelphia battled Canal Dover for the county seat. New Philadelphia won the contest and has been the county seat since.

When the route of the Ohio & Erie Canal was planned, it was determined that it would not pass through New Philadelphia despite its status as the county seat. The canal would follow along the southern edge of the Tuscarawas River while New Philadelphia sat to the north. As a result, the New Philadelphia Lateral Canal was constructed to allow access for canal boats to travel into New Philadelphia.

Nearby, the two Moravian Mission villages of Schoenbrunn and Gnadenhutten were the earliest white settlements in the area, dating to the 1770's. The latter is infamous for a massacre of 90 Christian Native Americans during the Revolutionary War.

The public square in New Philadelphia is quite interesting today. The centerpiece of the square is the Tuscarawas County Courthouse (pictured above) which was rebuilt in 1882. The original in same location was built in 1818.

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