Last evening I went on the latest Akron2Akron walking tour. This one started at the Mustill Store and we walked along the Towpath through Cascade Locks. I always find it interesting that one of my favorite, most peaceful parts of Akron used to be its most bustling and one of the biggest reasons Akron grew into the city it did. It could take around a day to get a canal boat through Locks 10-16 so the crews would get off the boats and spend their day(and money) in the city. The elevation gain also made it the perfect spot for a mill race and industry sprouted up to take advantage of the water power. There are so many great stories and so much history in the area it is definitely worth spending some time reading the interpretive signs and stopping in the Mustill Store which is now a museum.
Though I've hiked and biked the locks for years it was really cool to have a guide give some more perspective on this place.
There was a great turnout for this walk - we even broke into two groups.
Our knowledgeable guide.
"Mustill Marker"
Perfect night for a walk.
Crossing North Street.
"Race Remnants"
This was the site of Ferdinand Schumacher's, aka The Oatmeal King, mill. His company later merged and formed Quaker Oats.
"Lock Looking"
The foundation of the smoke stack.
An representation to show the size of the mill wheel.
"Walking II"
Talking 'bout locks.
Yes it was the 1913 flood that ended the canal for good - but most goods were already being moved by train.
"Lock Looking II"
Unfortunately I had to skip out on the rest of the tour. I was on bike and had to be at another event across downtown.
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