Dayton, like Cleveland and Cincinnati, has many canal vestiges, but these are not easy to find in heavily urbanized areas. A good place to start is the Carillon Historical Park. This is by no means focused on the Miami& Erie Canal per se, but rather on the history of the Miami Valley from the mound builders to the birth of powered flight. It nicely establishes the importance of the canal in this evolution. There are 23 buildings spread over 65 acres in this facility. A reconstructed canal lock and canal supervisor's house are part of the exhibits.
Canal Lock 17, formerly located in Huber Heights, was threatened by development and subsequently disassembled, each stone marked, moved to Carillon Park in Dayton and reassembled. After the 1913 flooding, the only M&E remnant that still exists in Dayton proper is the partial South abutment at the Mad River. To the North in Huber Heights, lock 18 remains in a roadside park and lock 19 is on private property one mile South of lock 18.
Canal Society of Ohio Inc.
Click on each photo to enlarge.
Location: Carillon Park is 2 miles South of Dayton on Patterson Avenue at Carillon Park Drive