Events

July 26: Canal Days Parade and Festival Downtown Middletown

  • 11:00 AM-4:00 PM: Thunderfest historic car show

  • 4:30 PM: Canal Days Parade featuring a canal boat replica

  • 5:00-9:00 Canal Days Festival at Swallen’s lot

2025 Miami & Erie Canal Bicentennial Celebrations in Middletown, Ohio

The Canal Bicentennial Steering Committee: A Steering Committee has been formed to commemorate the Bicentennial of the Ground Breaking for the Miami & Erie Canal with the goals of (1) educating students and the public on the key role of the canal in Middletown’s history and (2) leveraging the history of the canal to establish Middletown as a Historic Art & Entertainment destination.  Members of the Steering Committee include Downtown Middletown Inc (DMI), the Middletown Historical Society (MHS), the Middletown City School District (MCSD), Miami University Regionals, the Miami and Erie Canal Corridor Association (MECCA), the MidPointe Library System, the City of Middletown, the Middletown Community Foundation (MCF), and many local canal enthusiasts.

2025 Miami & Erie Canal Bicentennial Events: Planning is ongoing, but the 2025 Miami & Erie Canal Bicentennial Celebration and Commemoration are intended to encompass several projects and events, including:

  • April 2025: Development of a Middletown Miami & Erie Canal history module for the Middletown City School District 3rd grade Ohio history curriculum.

  • April 23: “Supply & Demand on the Canal" presentation by Neal Brady at the Shartle House

  • May 6: “Middletown and the Miami & Erie Canal" presentation by Sam Ashworth at the Verity Lodge

  • May 8 & 9: A bus tour field trip for all the MCSD 3rd graders to several notable sites including the First Dig Boulder Monument, Excello Lock, Port Middletown Art Installation,  the Canal Museum and Hydraulic Canal, and a movie of the 1929 Canal Closing Parade at the Shartle House.

  • July 18 & 19: Ohio Balloon Challenge in Smith Park – Drone display and historic Canal Bicentennial interactive display

  • July 21: Official commemoration ceremony and historical reenactment at 11:00 AM by the Miami & Erie Canal Boulder Monument

  • July 26: Canal Days Parade and Festival Downtown Middletown

    • 11:00 AM-4:00 PM: Thunderfest historic car show

    • 4:30 PM: Canal Days Parade featuring a canal boat replica

    • 5:00-9:00 Canal Days Festival at Swallen’s lot

For additional information contact Mary Johnson at mbegojohn6700@gmail.com

Canal
History

The Miami & Erie Canal is woven into the fabric and history of Middletown.   The ground-breaking for the canal occurred on July 21, 1825, in Middletown, Ohio.  The site is commemorated by the Miami & Erie Canal Boulder Monument located on property owned by Cleveland Cliffs at the corner of Verity Parkway and Yankee Road. 

Once completed in 1845, the 248.8-mile-long canal would stretch from Cincinnati on the Ohio River to Toledo on Lake Erie where it connected with the Erie Canal leading to the Hudson River in New York.  By 1832 over 1,000 passengers a week were using the waterway. Freight boats hauled farm goods, building supplies, and other commodities along the canal and throughout the region. 

The canal was a catalyst for economic growth and prosperity for Middletown and the surrounding communities including the establishment of several paper mills.   Importantly, the canal was also a vital route on the underground railroad as slaves fled across the Ohio River and headed further north to freedom and safety. 

The 1851 advent of the railroad in West Middletown led to declining use of the canal.  The Great Flood of 1913 permanently damaged the canal and further limited its use.  In 1929 the Miami & Erie Canal in Middletown was officially closed with a commemoration ceremony and a parade featuring a canal boat on wheels. 

The canal was eventually filled and paved over to create Verity Parkway.