Through this lock passed many canal boats carrying produce, goods, and passengers not only from Ohio and Indiana but from as far south as New Orleans and as far east as New York City. Boats were drawn by horses, or more often by mules, 2 to 6 in number depending on the size of the load. Spare animals were either carried on board the boats, to the discomfort of the passengers, or stabled along the canal. Speeds varied from 5 to 8 miles per hour. There were also, on the canal, huge rafts of logs cut from the virgin forests. These were floated to mills, operated by canal water power, and sawed into lumber for many uses.
Independence Dam, located on the Maumee River just below here, was built to provide slack water for the canal. It derived its name from a town a mile up stream which sprang up during the canal construction period. Independence grew into a thriving center of commerce, rivaling Defiance at one time, but, like many canal "boom towns," it all but disappeared when the canal was abandoned.
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