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One of the most ambitious developments yet undertaken by the National Park Service within Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area involves transformation of the Ohio and Erie Canal towpath into a multiple-use trail. Since creation of the Towpath Trail would entail certain impacts to the towpath itself, as well as to lands immediately alongside that historic feature, planning for the project necessarily included archeological investigations. Those studies, which were conducted intermittently between 1987 and 1990, resulted in the discovery of three prehistoric and eleven historic archeological sites; the positions of three previously reported sites relative to the canal also were confirmed. Furthermore, cross sections of the towpath were examined and recorded at several locations. This report summarizes the methods and results of the entire Towpath Trail archeological survey with additional emphasis on finds made during the 1990 phase of operations. Recommendations also are offered for the continued management of cultural resources inventoried here.

Due to the sensitive nature of this subject this report is available to professional archeologists only. If you order this manuscript we may contact you for verification of your profession.