Enters Akron from Springfield township and flows westward roughly following route 76 to Kelly Avenue. At that point it turns and flows north and then west as it passes through downtown Akron. Continuing north and west it finally empties into the Cuyahoga River in Cascade Valley Park. To create his mill race Dr. Eliakim Crosby diverted the river at the corner of Bank and Case and made the water flow in a contained channel along the top of the hills and then back down to the Little Cuyahoga at Lock 17 by a shorter route avoiding the longer lazier route taken by the River. He was able therefore to create a precipitous drop of the water thus using the waters from the Little Cuyahoga to power his Great Stone Mill at the site of what is now Cascade Plaza as well as other industries in what is now Cascade Locks Park. These days without the benefit of the shortcut provided by the mill race the Little Cuyahoga River merges with the canal just north of Lock 15.
