| Johnston Farm was named in honor of John Johnston, a noted Indian agent. He lived on the farm and
discharged his duties as agent between 1802 and 1829. Johnston shipped pork and fruit from
his farm on the canal to Cincinnati. General William
Henry Harrison, who later would become president of the United States, was a visitor
to Johnston Farm. John Johnston also served as member of the Ohio Canal Commission. Despite its brief time in existence, the Miami & Erie Canal had a greater impact on the development of Shelby County, Ohio than any other event or project in its history. Pioneers, struggling to survive in the vast wilderness, immediately began to participate in the country's emerging free market economy. Prosperity was more than just a pipe dream. Historian Harlan Hatcher summed up the importance of the canal as follows: "This trickle of water, conducted through the valley between low, man-made banks, first connected (our) interior with New York, New Orleans,...and the markets of the world. It expressed the vision and hopes of our fore-fathers. It was...their magnificent gamble with their destiny. On its four feet of water floated the products of their toil. It made all the difference between a stagnant and isolated western theater and a thriving, prosperous and growing region linked up with the rest of the world. It was, in short, the ditch that brought the world to the wilderness." Pictured below is a panorama view of Sidney from the south end of the city which shows a supply-laden canal boat making its way up the canal. Photo courtesy of city of Sidney. |
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[Back] [Next] [Up] [New Search] 'Canal' segment written in December, 1998 by Rich Wallace