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In 1825\, Ohio began construction of a can al system that eventually grew into a nearly thousand-mile system of chann els\, towpaths\, locks\, ponds\, and lakes. This network created a pathway to and from Ohio\, exporting grain and goods all across the world\, while receiving goods in turn from as far away as Europe. These canals were the link between the Great Lakes and the Ohio River\, making it possible to m ove from Chicago to the Gulf of Mexico. While building this massive networ k\, workers had to adapt to Ohio&rsquo\;s variable landscape across glacia l deposits and the Allegheny Plateau and\, in the process\, stitching toge ther Ohio&rsquo\;s many settlements into a unified state.
\nO&rsquo\ ;Grady has been an instructor of Observational Astronomy in the evenings a t Ohio University for thirty years. He has spent a considerable amount of the past twenty-five years studying Ohio history\, researching its geograp hy and settlement\, the mound builders\, Ohio canals\, and several of its interesting characters and their stories.
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More information about Tom O&rsquo\;Grady\, Instructor in the \;College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio University\, can be foun d here.
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