Ward’s Canal Historical Marker dedicated

        A dedication was held Oct. 3 for an Ohio History Marker for Ward’s Canal, located at Howard Marsh Metropark in Curtice.
        Toledo Metroparks, Eber Brock Ward descendants, Charles and Eva Herman descendants, and Ohio History Connection sponsored the marker.
        Debbie Miller initiated the process of procuring the marker – conducting research, locating the property on which the marker would be placed and submitting the application to the Ohio Historical Marker program.
        Miller, who grew up in Bono, said her goal was to preserve and spread the story of the canal’s history.
        “As a kid, I knew nothing about the canal; it was just a ditch,” Miller said. “Now that I am older and wiser, I realize that the canal is what opened the area to settlement. I just think it is a really cool story and I don’t want it to get lost in time.
        “It was challenging to find information, but when I found actual handwritten logs by Eber Ward giving names of vessels that were built in New Jerusalem, wow – exciting,” she said.
        In her application, Miller noted that Ward’s Canal was instrumental in the harvesting of timber, creating the first important industry in Jerusalem Township. “Vessels were built and traveled the canal to reach the Great Lakes. Years later, the canal provided the first major drainage of the land now using it for agriculture and opening the area for more permanent settlement,” she wrote.
        “Finally, the canal has seen the area come full circle as it is currently used to bring fish in and out of the newly reverted wetlands on former Howard Farms as well as providing habitat for migratory birds. As in its beginning, Ward’s Canal continues to be used year-round for fishing as well as a means for boats to enter and exit Lake Erie,” her application said.
        The marker reads:
        “To utilize the area’s rich timber stands, Detroit industrialist Eber Brock Ward (1811-1875) built a canal around 1870 in what was then Oregon Township, Lucas County. Known as Ward's Canal, it stretched approximately 2-3/4 miles through wetlands to Lake Erie. Through the canal passed timber sawn at Ward's mills and ships from his boatyards. Two settlements formed to house workers: Shepherdsville, renamed Bono in 1898, and New Jerusalem.
        Residents from eastern Oregon Township sought their own local government and petitioned to form Jerusalem Township in 1893. After Ward, sawmills and stave-makers harvested timber stands until a disastrous fire ended commercial lumbering in 1895.
        Around 1900, Howard Farms purchased Ward land to grow onions and other crops and used the canal to drain wetlands. Commercial fisheries also worked the area, one of which harvested sturgeons’ eggs for caviar.
        Approximately 150 years after Ward built his canal, the area features a yacht club, marina, and boat launches, and hosts anglers and bird watchers on restored wetlands.”
        Learn more about the Ohio Historical Marker program at remarkableohio.org.
 
Following is the full text of Debbie Miller's research:
        One of the early purchases and development of land in Jerusalem Township, Lucas County, OH began in May 1863 when Eber Brock Ward purchased approximately 4,089 acres of land in the Black Swamp from John James through a trustee, James P. Kilbreath. Ward, a giant1 industrialist of the entire Northwest from Detroit, Michigan, shipbuilder, and owner of vast tracts of timber lands, purchased this land teaming with oak, walnut, ash, and elm trees to further his shipping empire. 2
         At that time there was no waterway that connected the interior treed area through a wetlands area to Lake Erie. To transport the lumber, Ward constructed Ward’s Canal, approximately 2-3/4 mile long, 30-60 foot wide, (sources vary) and 15 foot deep.3 The canal stretched from Lake Erie inland to Cedar Creek, which had no mouth but instead dissipated into the marshland.
        The canal opened the area to permanent settlement. The area reminded Ward of his travels abroad in Jerusalem, so he called his settlement New Jerusalem. In New Jerusalem, he built a boarding house, his own large home, a stable and a racetrack. Near his home and on the south side of the canal, he built a sawmill.4 He used the lumber for his vessels as well as  sending lumber to various other places on the Great Lakes.
        Ward constructed a shipyard about 1-1/2 miles north of New Jerusalem, which operated from 1870-1875. Large schooner-barges, steamers and tugs were built in Ward’s successful shipyard. Mercury, Saturn and Venus are just a few of the vessels that were built there.5 The steamer, Music, described as one of the finest vessels on the Great Lakes, was built in New Jerusalem. It had accommodations for 75 first-class cabin passengers, with cabins constructed with black walnut. The vessel also had an officers’ quarters, a dining room and an after cabin.6 At one time as many as 100 men were employed at the canal.7
        More housing for the workers was needed, so in the 1870s, Dan Shephard purchased land south of the Ward’s Canal and called it Shephardsville. He platted the land and sold most of it to mill workers.8 The settlement grew as people came to work along the canal. In the 1890’s, application was made for a post office, but was denied because there was already an Ohio post office under the name Shepardsville, The townspeople discussed and voted to change the name from Shepardsville to Bono. Francis Bunno, a respected Cherokee native living in the community, is the community’s namesake.9 The Bono post office was opened in 1898 under the corrupted from repeated usage, new name of Bono. The post office closed in 1974, but the Bono community remains.10
        Ward’s business on the canal thrived until the crash of 1873 and Ward died unexpectedly two years later.11 Shortly after Ward’s death, Fred Tank began a stave mill business near the Ward shipyard site and Shephardsville. Mr Tank’s staves were shipped via steamer on the canal to Kelly’s Island.12 In 1895, fire destroyed most of the remaining timber in the canal area, thus ending lumbering, but Tank’s mill continued operating into the 1900s.13 Shephardsville continued to thrive with work along the canal.
        Around the turn of the century, George A. Howard, of Howard Farm Company, purchased 1485 acres of Ward’s property, including the canal for the purpose of farming.14 First, he had to drain the swamp land. Howard’s knowledge on draining land came from traveling in Holland. Using Ward’s Canal as the first major drainage improvement in Jerusalem Township, Howard changed the swamp land to flourishing farmland opening the area to further settlement. Howard Farms was one of the earliest and largest company owned muck farm in Jerusalem Township.15
        Using this reclaimed rich soil, Howard introduced onion farming to Northeast Ohio. Men, women and children worked the onion fields. The onion fields were called a “show place,” revealing the great prosperity of the area. Using the canal for  water control, agriculture was now the major industry in Jerusalem Township.16 Many families moved to Bono to work in the onion fields, making it a thriving village, with a number of trades and occupations. In 1902, the Bono Baptist Church, the first village church, was built with a foundation of stones transported from Kelly’s Island via Ward’s Canal.17 At the mouth of  Ward’s Canal, Tom Wolff operated a commercial fishery, capturing sturgeon to harvest the eggs for cavier.18
          At the same time Howard was draining his property, Mr. Metzger purchased land on the south side of the canal. He also used the canal to drain the land, which he used for farming until 1929. In that year, dikes along Lake Erie broke flooding the farm.19 In 1955, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources purchased portions of the land and Ward’s canal for hunting, trapping and fishing.20 Today, additional portions of Metzger’s land and Ward’s Canal are owned by a yacht club, a public boat launch, a private marina.21
        Ward’s Canal continued to provide water control for agriculture. In 1930s Howard Farms was purchased by Herman Wiener and farming continued.22
        After a decade of planning and purchasing 1,000 acres of Howard Farm, including a portion of Ward’s Canal, Toledo Metroparks in April 2018 opened Howard Farms Wetland.23 This project recreated a coastal wetland similar to the land Ward encountered when he used the area for shipbuilding. Howard Marsh Wetlands, including Ward’s Canal, is now part of a coastal wetlands that stretches miles along Lake Erie in Lucas and Ottawa counties, providing migratory birds habitat along their journey. Howard Marsh Metropark, which includes a portion of Ward’s Canal is now included in “The Biggest Week In American Birding” schedule.24 In 2019, this event attracted visitors from 47 states and 20 countries.25
        In summary, Ward’s Canal was instrumental in harvesting timber creating the first important industry in Jerusalem Township. Vessels were built and traveled the canal to reach the Great Lakes. Years later, the canal provided the first major drainage of the land now using it for agriculture and opening the area for more permanent settlement. Finally, the canal has seen the area come full circle as it is currently used to bring fish in and out of the newly reverted wetlands on former Howard Farms as well as providing habitat for migratory birds. As in its beginning, Ward’s Canal continues to be used year-round for fishing as well as a means for boats to enter and exit Lake Erie
 
1. Lucas County Deeds, Vol. 40, p.347-8
2. George W. Stark, City of Destiny, The Story of Detroit, Arnold-Powers, Inc., Detroit, 1943, chapter 12, pg 350; na, Ever Brock Ward, “Telescope”, Oct. 1957, vol.6 #10, pg 3, Toledo Public Library, Local History and Genealogy Dept., Toledo,.OH
3. Ward’s Canal, 1938, The Historical Society of NW OH Quarterly Bulletins vol 1-10 1929-1938, Vol 10, #4, pg 7-8, www.toledosattic.org; Josephine Fassett, History of Oregon and Jerusalem Township, The Hurley Company, Camden, Arkansas, 1961, p. 95
4. Josephine Fassett, History of Oregon and Jerusalem Township, The Hurley Company, Camden, Arkansas, 1961, pg 95, 96.
5. Eber Ward, Vessels, 1846-1895; Kenneth R. Hall collection, GLMS 101, Box 1, 59; Center for Archival Collections, University Libraries, Bowling Green State University.
6. na, July 28, 1874, The Steamer Music, The Toledo Blade, Toledo OH.
7. Rev. John J. Vogel, Letter to Silas E. Hurin, July 28, 1938, Canal Memorabilia file, Folder #4, Toledo Public Library, Local History and Genealogy Dept., Toledo, OH, (TLS, photocopy)
8. Josephine Fassett, History of Oregon and Jerusalem Township, The Hurley Company, Camden, Arkansas, 1961, p.199
9. John Grigsby, April 17, 1991, Bono’s name chosen to honor memory of Cherokee Indian chief who lived here, Toledo Blade, Oregon/Jerusalem Historical Society, Oregon, OH.
10. Electronic document available at www.postalhistory.com
11. Carroll, L. M., The Lake Erie Netherlands, Northwest Ohio Quarterly, Fall 1979, The Maumee Valley Historical Society, p.121
12. Josephine Fassett, History of Oregon and Jerusalem Township, The Hurley Company, Camden, Arkansas, 1961, p.95
13. Nov. 16, 1957, August W. Tank obituary, Toledo Blade, Toledo Public Library, Local History and Genealogy Dept., Toledo, OH, Vertical File, Lucas County, Townships, Jerusalem.
14. “The Story of the Howard Farm”, pgs.12,13, pamphlet owned by Mr. Clarence Sharlow (1896-1986) given to daughter, Jean Sharlow-Witt, email: jwitt@lutherhome.org, na,np,nd, referenced in Josephine Fassett, History of Oregon and Jerusalem Township, The Hurley Company, Camden, Arkansas, 1961, p.109
15. Howard Farms Wetland Restoration Project Jerusalem Township, Lucas County, Ohio, February 2017, The Mannik & Smith Group, Inc. p. ES-2, Metropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area, 5100 W. Central Ave., Toledo, OH
16. Toledo Public Library, Local History and Genealogy Dept., Toledo, OH, Vertical File, Lucas County, Townships, Jerusalem, July 1905, pg 2, nt, na.
17. Josephine Fassett, History of Oregon and Jerusalem Township, The Hurley Company, Camden, Arkansas, 1961, p.199
18. Josephine Fassett, History of Oregon and Jerusalem Township, The Hurley Company, Camden, Arkansas, 1961, p.171
19. Carroll, L. M., The Lake Erie Netherlands, Northwest Ohio Quarterly, Fall 1979, The Maumee Valley Historical Society, p.126
20. Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) - Division of Wildlife, Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area Map and Fact Sheet. http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/metzgermarsh. n.d.
21. Anita, Lopez, Lucas County Auditor, Stephen Evinsky email dated May 9, 2018
22. James H Metcalf, 9/25/1949, Colorful History Marked By Battle to Maintain Lake Dikes, Toledo Public Library, Local History and Genealogy Dept., Toledo, OH, Vertical File, Lucas County, Townships, Jerusalem; Lucas Co. Deeds, vol 1108 pg 356-359
23. Staff Writer, February 11, 2019, Governor’s Award given for Howard Marsh, section 1, The Press, Oregon, OH, p 1.; Tax Records 2019 Metropark ownership Ward’s Canal, http://icare.co.lucas.oh.us/LucasCare/Datalets/PrintDatalet.aspx?... 3/21/2019.
24. Black Swamp Bird Observatory, The Press Newspapers, 13551 West St #2, Oak Harbor, OH 43449, The Beacon, Biggest Week In American Birding Visitors’ Guide, 2019, pg 43
25. Electronic document, www.ToledoMetropark.org, Howard Marsh Metroparks, pg 7