Note 159 — Chapter XXXII · PASSAGE OF THE OHIO CANAL AND LAKE ERIE TO THE FALLS OF NIAGARA, FROM THE 21ST TO THE 30TH OF JUNE
Hannibal Evans Lloyd translation
Licking Summit, the highest point on the canal, 413 feet above the level of Portsmouth, is on the watershed between the Scioto and Muskingum systems. At this place excavation for the canal was begun July 4, 1825, when Governor Clinton, of New York, threw out the first spadeful of earth, as one of the features of a celebration in anticipation of the building of the canal. Near this point, also, was constructed the Licking reservoir, with an area of three thousand acres, to supply water for the lower reaches of the canal.—Ed.