Shelby County, Ohio, was covered by virgin forests during this time. The canal builders often encountered trees with a diameter of seven feet or more. These giants had to be cut down, and the stumps removed by hand. The men lived near the work site in shanty towns where unsanitary conditions and disease were common. Working conditions were miserable during much of the year, with freezing temperatures in the winter and the threat of malaria (known by the canalers as 'auge'), cholera, and other diseases in the summer. These problems were especially prevalent in Shelby County because of its swampy conditions. Terry Wright has written that, for each mile of the canal, at least one worker died of sickness or winter exposure.

Fort Loramie historian Clarence Raterman recorded in 1940 the experiences of Henry Meyer working on the canal, as related by his grandson, Richard Thaman. Meyer was a contractor on the canal. He had to feed and board his crew, so he took his wife along to cook for the men. The son of an area family, Henry Berning, worked for Meyer as a water boy. Meyer later recalled that after his men had dug out the canal bed, clay was applied, and cattle were driven down the canal to seal the bed. Meyer was quoted as saying, "I never asked any man to do something I could not do. My work was the measure of what I expected from my men. When I rested, they rested."