Providence is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

on the north side of the

Maumee River The Maumee River (pronounced ) (; ) is a river running in the Midwestern United States from northeastern Indiana into northwestern Ohio and Lake Erie. It is formed at the confluence of the St. Joseph River (Maumee River), St. Joseph and St. Mar ...

in southern Providence Township, Lucas County,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, United States, about 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Toledo. After suffering a destructive fire and a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic in mid-19th century, the village was abandoned. In this period, canal traffic had also fallen off. The area is now maintained as Providence Metropark of Toledo, featuring numerous elements of the canal era, including a mule-drawn canal boat on a restored section of the

Miami and Erie Canal The Miami and Erie Canal was a canal that ran from Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati to Toledo, Ohio, Toledo, Ohio, creating a water route between the Ohio River and Lake Erie. Construction on the canal began in 1825 and was completed in 1845 at a co ...

, and an operating saw and gristmill.

History

The village of Providence was founded by a French Canadian, Peter Manor, who was the first white man to settle upriver on the

away from Lake Erie. He arrived there in 1816 in order to establish a fur trading post for the North West Fur Company, then based in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada. But the United States prohibited Canadian traders from operating below the border and he was closed down. In 1822, Manor had a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

erected next to the river, and a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

was built in 1835. This was about 24 miles from the river's mouth on Maumee Bay, where there was still an

Odawa people The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ) are an Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous North American people who primarily inhabit land in the Indigenous peoples of the Eastern Woodlands, Eastern Woodlands region, now in jurisdictions of th ...

village, part of a 34-square mile reserve on the south side of the river. As the number of settlers increased in Ohio, promoters of the state discussed a proposal for a

to improve transportation to the southwest parts of the state and connect them to markets on and served by

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

. Manor

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted the town to prepare for anticipated development. In 1837, the State of Ohio granted Manor a contract to begin construction, and the town was soon open for business. By 1843, some of the eighty-eight lots laid out were vacated. The village was, in general, considered a favorable place to live by the westward settlers. It was often seen as a haven from the problems of lawlessness, drinking, fighting, and crime that began to plague Ohio canal towns. A catastrophic fire swept through the village in 1846, destroying most of the many wooden buildings in the central business district. The destroyed buildings were not rebuilt and the town never recovered. In 1854 river travelers brought a

epidemic, also spread by contaminated water. Those who survived rapidly left Providence, so fast that most of their possessions were left behind. The remaining structures were eventually destroyed or moved, and the land plats disappeared. On October 28, 1928, Lucas County officially removed Providence from its records. The remaining buildings, the church and the saw and gristmill, have been designated as an

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

by the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

Miami and Erie Canal

The

was vital to the growth and development of Providence. The canal not only brought goods to the village; it brought passengers, both

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

s and frontiersmen. At a time of few improved roads, water travel had a great advantage over traditional horse and carriage. Because of the large influx of travelers, Providence grew daily. Once the canal began operating, the local economy boomed. Commodity amounts of

produce In American English, produce generally refers to wikt:fresh, fresh List of culinary fruits, fruits and Vegetable, vegetables intended to be Eating, eaten by humans, although other food products such as Dairy product, dairy products or Nut (foo ...

, pelts,

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

, and other goods constantly flowed through the village. When the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

s were completed in the 1870s, canal traffic greatly diminished. The canal was abandoned by the 1900s. The slow pace and low capacity of canal boats was no match for what could be offered by the railroads. The site of the village is now preserved in part as Providence Metropark, one of the Toledo Metroparks system. It includes the fully operational Isaac Ludwig mill. Near the

is Lock No. 44 of the canal system; it has been restored. In addition, during the temperate season, the park runs a mule-drawn replica canal boat, ''The Volunteer,'' which carries visitors along the small section of restored canal and goes through Lock No. 44.

Remaining structures

Many buildings and structures remain standing in the Providence area. Some have been restored. They include the following: * Isaac Ludwig saw and gristmill, restored in the Historic Providence District * Providence Metropark features a lookout for the Providence dam * Providence Township Schools; four buildings are still standing: ** The Perry School (Neowash and Manore road) ** Long School (Heller and Neowash Road) ** Strayer School (Neowash and State Route 295) ** Box School (Box and Jeffers Road) * St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, still in use, built in 1845 (the church hall and kitchen were added in 1954) * The Neapolis School and Ford School were both moved to Waterville-Neapolis Road and Manore Road, and united as one building in 1915. In 1967, the united building was converted to an auction house.

History

Miami and Erie Canal

Remaining structures

References

Further reading