Ohio's Grand Canal: A Brief History of the Ohio & Erie Canal

3. Administration and Finance

42  3  Early Administration, 1822–1836 With the passing of the Canal Act of 1825 by the Ohio State Legislature, a Board of Canal Commissioners was created to administer to the construction of Ohio’s canals. This act also authorized the creation of a canal fund, from which money would be disbursed as required to pay for the cost of constructing, maintaining, and operating the canals. The Canal Act handed over the administration of this fund to a Board of Canal Fund Commissioners.1 A three-man Board of Canal Commissioners had first been organized in 1822. Its task then was to supervise the work of the initial surveys. The board was made permanent in 1825 and its makeup increased from three members to seven. The governor appointed all seven and their terms of office were indeterminate. All were prominent in state politics, and nearly all had extensive business interests as well, so time spent serving the state was considered duty. Two of these men, Micajah Williams and Alfred Kelley, had been active in the original field surveys and were named acting commissioners. Williams and Kelly were the actual superintendents of the canal project. Williams initially supervised work on the Miami Canal and Kelley on the northern division of the Ohio. Later, Williams moved over to assist on the southern division of the Ohio Canal. They had both left highly respected positions to perform this service for the princely salary of three dollars a day (with an extra dollar per day for expenses when AdministrationandFinance Administration and Finance 43 in the field).2 Kelley, originally from the Cleveland area, was a lawyer and a state representative from Columbus when tapped to be a canal commissioner. Williams, also a lawyer, had dabbled in engineering in the Cincinnati area. At their initial meeting in Columbus, the board set up an engineering corps for the fledgling canal system. They adapted a plan of organization that was a close copy of the system used in New York. A principal engineer headedthecorps,advisedtheboardontechnical questions, and supervised work in the field. His salary was set at $2,000 per year plus expenses, nearly twice what the acting commissioners received. Resident engineers—whose responsibilities included laying out the line of the canal, preparing cost estimates, specifying contracts, and overseeing and estimating work done by contractors in the field—were appointed as necessary. The board set the salaries for them at three dollars a day while in the field. Senior assistant engineers were paid $45 per month, and junior assistant engineers and surveyors were paid $35 per month. The state engineering corps also employed rod-men, ax-men, and common laborers whose wages were calculated on a per diem or hourly basis.3 The Board of Canal Commissioners, a creation of the state legislature, reflected the desires of the people. During the late 1820s and into the late 1840s, Ohio citizens and the legislature favored the canals. Initially, when the construction phase of the canals took place in a location that the legislators were not familiar with, their control over the board’s powers was marginal. The legislature did not give the Board of Canal Commissioners free rein, however. Technically, all decisions pertaining to Ohio’s canals were the result of legislative acts. The state legislature also required that the Board of Canal Commissioners report to them annually about canal activities.4 Ohio’s political climate in the 1820s was simple and uncluttered. At that time there were no strong political lobbyists or intrigue. That made the job of the board a bit easier. The Board of Canal Commissioners was a unique entity in the history of Ohio. Only in the mustering of men for the War of 1812 were so many people involved. Yet the canal project also involved millions of dollars to be spent in an efficient manner over a number of years. Fortunately for the citizens of Ohio, the men picked for the initial Board of Canal Commissioners were outstanding in their intelligence and zeal to build and perfect a statewide canal system. Not only 44 ohio’s grand canal did the commissioners have to supervise an operation of unprecedented proportions, but they had to do so in a manner that pleased the citizens along the canal route and appeased those who had been bypassed. Disagreements about the priority of construction and whether new canals should be added to the system were common...