Author Archives: Donna Webb

(Liriodendron tilippifera) A tall North American timber tree having truncate, somewhat lobed leaves and large tuliplike yellow and orange flowers in early summer. Its soft white wood called whitewood, poplar, or yellow poplar) is used … more →

(Ailanthus altissima) A Chinese tree that was treasured when it was rare, before l830’s. It has become very common and weedy.

The path parallel to the canal along which the drivers and animals walked, pulling the canal boat on a towline. It was a minimum of two feet above the water line and a minimum of … more →

A stout, braided hemp line about 160 feet long attached to a canal boat on one end and to three mules in tandem on the other. The boat was pulled by means of the towline … more →

Canal building tools included a pick, shovel, a wooden scoop for lifting out earth and the wheel barrow for hauling it away.

The place where boatmen paid tolls. One of the eleven tollhouses along the Ohio & Erie Canal was located in Akron at Lock 1.