No longer in use, the remnants of the Ohio & Erie Canal preserved in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, is an overgrown yet potent reminder of America's past. Once the main mode of the transportation of goods, livestock, and sometimes even people, canals throughout the upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions served their purpose in providing safe, accessible ways to move supplies in controllable fashion, without having to worry about the pitfalls or meandering direction of the local rivers. Locks strategically placed in intervals helped keep the canal levels steady, and special boats built to fit exactly within the confines of the narrow canal were towed along by mule teams on dry ground. It's rather startling to see how ingenious people can be if given enough time and motivation, and the canal system still around today stands in as proof of human tenacity.
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