Railroad in the Swamp

Railroad in the Swamp. . Travel in Northwest Ohio was not always as easy as it is today. Once known as the Great Black Swamp, this area was almost impassable. Early routes were simply logs laid down side-by-side in the thick mud to form bone-jarring "corduroy roads". Getting supplies in or out of the swamp was difficult, and development of the area was slow until the railroad came to town. , The Toledo, Norwalk, and Cleveland Railroad was established in 1851 as the final rail link between New York and Chicago. The route was selected because it was as close to Lake Erie as possible with the least amount of water to cross. This was a real boost to the local economy. Jobs, families, homes, and factories soon followed. Many local towns owe their existence to this railroad, including: Clyde, Lindsey, Elmore, Genoa, and Millbury. , In the late 1970's, rail road transportation slowed as companies switched to using trucks on the new Interstate Highway systems. The TN&C route was abandoned. Today, the North Coast Inland Trail brings life to the old railroad corridor, and gives travelers of many kinds a chance to enjoy the outdoors and retrace this historic route.