The Ohio and Erie Canal was constructed in the early 1800s and connected the Ohio River at Portsmouth and Lake Erie at Cleveland, Ohio. The canal carried freight traffic from 1827 to 1861, and then freight traffic rapidly diminished due to the construction of railroads. From 1862 to 1913, the canal served as a water source to industries and towns. In 1913 the canal was abandoned after much of it was destroyed by a flood.