The Need for Waterways

The Need for Waterways. . , Ohio was a sparsely settled frontier state in the early nineteenth century, comprised mainly of scattered communities and small towns. The state had poor roads, making travel and trade between communities difficult. Dayton was a small town with a stable population of about 1,000. Its proximity to the Miami, Mad, and Stillwater rivers led to trade and the construction of mills in the years following its settlement in 1796. Dayton's early exports included wheat, rye, tallow, corn, hides, and whiskey. Before the opening of the Miami Erie Canal, goods were transported from the Miami River to the Ohio River and then down the Mississippi. Exporting goods to the eastern, populated states was limited from the lack of efficient means of transport. For advocates such as Ohio Governor Ethan Allen Brown, waterways were necessary for commerce and the economic progress of the state., [Caption:] , This 1802 map of Dayton shows the original plat of Daniel Cooper. The Miami Erie Canal was built along Mill Street, named for the Cooper and other mills nearby. The lots highlighted in red were set aside for public use in 1808. Today, the lots between Second Street and Third Street are occupied by the Dayton Metro Library and Cooper Park. Mill Street is now Patterson Boulevard and Canal Street.