(I already know this is a weird topic, but it's in History and Geography, so what can you expect. ) Portage: noun 1. the carrying of boats, supplies, etc, overland, between navigable waterways 2. archaic:. the action of carrying or transporting something We were required to take a whole year of Ohio History in 7th grade (age 12). . Boring! . Ohio has only been a state since 1803, so there wasn't that much history to begin with, there weren't any civil war battles, and they didn't even discuss The Battle of Fort Fizzle. An image of a painting, in the textbook, of Native Americans carrying canoes caught my eye, similar to the one below. I had heard of Portage Trail, Portage Path, Portage Lakes, and Portage County, but always assumed Portage was a person's name. I guess I learned something anyway. Robert Griffing - Niagara Portage
Portage Path was an important American Indian transportation route in the 17th and 18th centuries, and is located in Summit County, Ohio. The trail connected the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers and was approximately eight miles in length. American Indians could travel by canoe from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, except for this small section. Today, most of the path is located in the city of Akron, Ohio. Now they have two American Indian statues, one at each end of the path, and arrowheads marking the way. Unfortunately part of it passes through the middle of town, and under what later became a factory, I think Goodyear Tire, so there is a bit of a hiccup in the middle. Statues by Peter Jones
Yeah, there's even a town named Portage in Wisconsin, ew miles north of Madison. One of my avatars was taken there. They took three shots, wanted one for a photo contest for professional studios, theirs to be Titled, "The Marlboro Man." Then they shot my the one I use for an avatar sometimes. Their entry of me won third place, I later learned.
Horse and tram car hauling two boats past the White Horse rapids, Miles Canyon, Yukon Territory, ca. 1898.
Ancient Portage Trail in eastern New Brunswick, Canada "...in the woods of eastern New Brunswick lies a little-known pathway, a portage route that served as an incredible shortcut for Indigenous people at least a millennium ago. The path ... connects a branch of the Richibucto River with the Salmon River, but in effect, the four-kilometre trail connects the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the waters of the Bay of Fundy."
The Allegheny Portage Railroad "The first railroad constructed through the Allegheny Mountains in central Pennsylvania. It operated from 1834 to 1854. Approximately 36 miles (58 km) long overall, both ends connected to the Pennsylvania Canal, and the system was primarily used as a portage railway, hauling river boats and barges over the divide between the Ohio and the Susquehanna Rivers."
Diolkos Near Corinth, Greece, is an ancient paved trackway named Diolkos. Some scholars believe it to be the first railway, used as a shortcut to enable sailors to move boats overland across the Isthmus of Corinth. The name Diolkos comes from the Greek dia “across” and ὁλκός, holkos “portage machine.” Animation However, others disagree, and believe it was just a road to transport goods.
St-Louis/Arzviller Incline on the Marne-Rhine Canal in Alsace, France Why carry the boat, when you can take the water along with you? (time lapse)
@Nancy Hart Thanks for posting the information and starting the conversation. It's nice to learn something new and interesting!