US Migration Canals

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Historic Background

Canal traffic in the United states helped connect isolated rural areas to urban population centers from 1820 until the spread of railroads about 1860. Settlers flooded into regions serviced by such canals and the waterways they connected, since access to markets was available. The Erie Canal connected New York City to the Great Lakes. The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River system. Pennsylvania combined canals and railroads. Maryland, Ohio, and Indiana also built canals that were inviting to settlers.

List of Significant Canals

Some of the most significant canals to American settlers were:

Chronological List of United States Canals Used by Settlers

Name	Date Opened	Origin	Destination
Erie Canal	1825/1832	Albany, New York	Buffalo, New York
Ohio and Erie Canal	1828/1832	Cleveland, Ohio	Portsmouth, Ohio
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal	1836	Georgetown, D.C.	Cumberland, Maryland