Akron in Summit County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
The Old Portage Path
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., June 8, 2011
1. The Old Portage Path Marker
The Old Portage, an eight-mile overland connection between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers, was the longer of two portages used by prehistoric peoples and early settlers. This was just one link in the water route between Lake Erie and the Ohio River that prehistoric Native Americans traveled seasonally. Using canoes and small dugout boats, they navigated the rivers and wetlands of this region to harvest wild food and hunt. The water route was also important for trade, especially for the high quality flint found at Flint Ridge near Newark, in southern Ohio. Most arrowheads found locally are made from such flint.
As early European explorers and settlers began to move into this area, they too traveled the Old Portage. With the signing of the Treaty of Fort MacIntosh in 1785, the Portage Path became a boundary between "Indian" lands to the west and those available for white settlers to the east.
[Inset photo caption reads] The bronze statue commemorates the lives and the route of ancient peoples and marks the beginning of the Portage Path. It was made from a model created by Peter Jones, a member of the Onondaga tribe of New York State.
Erected by Ohio & Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor, City of Akron, and Metro Parks Serving Summit County.
Topics. This historical marker
this page online
Location. 41° 7.994′ N, 81° 32.884′ W. Marker is in Akron, Ohio, in Summit County. It is at the intersection of Portage Path and Merriman Road, on the right when traveling north on Portage Path. Marker is along the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, at the Portage Path North Terminus Memorial Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Akron OH 44313, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater Cleveland and in the Western Reserve. It is also in the American Midwest. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Portage Path Connected Lake Erie with the Ohio River (a few steps from this marker); Yeck Family Portage Path North Terminus Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Portage Path North Terminus (a few steps from this marker); 1797 Portage Path Survey (a few steps from this marker); Treaty of Fort McIntosh Boundary Line (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Gate Lodge, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens (approx. 1.1 miles away);
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., June 8, 2011
2. The Old Portage Path Marker
Looking SSE from the towpath trail toward Merriman Road in background
Another marker is no longer nearby. Stan Hywet Hall (was approx. 1.2 miles away but has been confirmed missing).
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.
Also see . . . Walk Portage Path. Portage Path Collaborative website entry (Submitted on October 20, 2024, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)
Photographed by Chuck Ayers, undated
3. Image on The Old Portage Path Marker
[Caption reads] Canoes were made from bark, usually elm. Dugout canoes were usually made from chestnut.
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., June 8, 2011
4. Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail Sign
Credits. This page was last revised on October 20, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 26, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 4,400 times since then and 176 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 26, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
