HISTORY

•1985 - Ohio Canal Corridor (former North Cuyahoga Valley Corridor, Inc.) receives official IRS 501 ©3
•1989 - Ohio Canal Corridor holds first fundraiser - When I Grow Up, I Want to Be Just Like Dad - atop Superior Viaduct - raises $10,000 - saves organization
•1989 - Cuyahoga Valley National Park opens new Canal Visitor Center on Canal Road in Valley View
• 1990 - Ohio Canal Corridor hires Tim Donovan as first Director
• 1990 - Ohio Canal Corridor introduces first RiverSweep cleanup program.
• 1991 - Ohio Canal Corridor hosts Scrooge's Nite Out as annual fundraiser, adopted from Historic Warehouse District
•1992 - Cuyahoga County Planning Commission completes Ohio Canal Corridor "Vision Plan" for Cuyahoga River Valley - North Cuyahoga Valley Corridor Study.
• 1992 - Ohio Canal Corridor produces first regional Corridor-wide series of events - BIG 160 to celebrate 160 year anniversary of completion of Ohio Canal, includes Towpath Marathon
• 1993 - Ohio Canal Corridor partners with Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) to produce Towpath Ts - 10 events to celebrate opening of Towpath Trail in Cuyahoga Valley.
• 1993 - Slavic Village creates Advisory Committee of Community Leaders to help in planning of Mill Creek Trail & Waterfall Project - Ohio Canal Corridor aids in development strategy
• 1993 - Cleveland Metroparks awarded $1.5 million to build Towpath from Rockside to E 49 St
• 1993 - Ohio Canal Corridor leads campaign for federal designation of National Heritage Canalway
• 1994 - Ohio Canal Corridor officially changes name from North Cuyahoga Valley Corridor, Inc.
• 1994 -5 - Ohio Canal Corridor purchases property on Cuyahoga and builds Hart Crane Park.
•1995 - Ohio Canal Corridor leads support campaign for federal designation of Ohio & Erie Canalway
• 1996 - Ohio Department of Transportation awards CanalWay Ohio as state's first scenic Byway.
•Congress awards Ohio & Erie Canalway National Heritage Area status - signed by President Clinton
• 1996 - FHWA awards $240,000 for CanalWay Ohio Scenic Byway Route Markers
• 1997 - Ohio & Erie Canal Association established by Ohio Canal Corridor and Ohio & Erie Canal Corridor Coalition
•1997 - Ohio & Erie Canal Association receives $1 million appropriation for National Heritage Area
•1997 - Ohio & Erie Canal Association awards 19 Competitive Grants totaling $716,000
•1998 - President Clinton designates Cuyahoga River as American Heritage River. OCC co-authors submission.
•1998 - Port Authority unveils Master Plan for lakefront without Hulett Ore Unloaders
•1998 - Ohio & Erie Canal Association awards 14 Competitive Grants totaling $711,000
• 1998 - Frank Sinito announces Thornburg Station development - Ohio Canal Corridor is partner in planning
• 1998 - Cleveland Metroparks opens Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation.
•1999 - Ohio & Erie Canal Association (OECA) awards 13 Competitive Grants totaling $440,000
•1999 - Metroparks Canal Reservation draws more than 350,000 in first year
•2000 - OECA submits Corridor Management Plan approved by Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt.
•2000 - Ohio Canal Corridor writes nomination/ wins designation for CanalWay Ohio National Scenic Byway Designation.
• 2000 - Ohio & Erie Canal Association awards 16 Competitive Grants totaling $1.1 million
•2000 - Steve Litt's "Forgotten Valley" unveiled as 5-day, front page story
•2000 - Ohio Canal Corridor launches "Byway Blitz, a cleanup program designed to address the persistant litter issue along the Scenic Byway
•2001 - Ohio Canal Corridor& Waterfront Coalition save Hulett Ore Unloaders (raise $270,000 in 90 days)
•2001 - OECA awards 12 Competitive Grants totaling $623,500
•2001 - Thornburg Station opens/ emerges as "model development" for National Heritage Canalway.
•2002 - CanalWay Ohio Scenic Byway Markers installed from Cleveland to New Philadelphia.
•2002 - OECA awards 15 Competitive Grants totaling $702,500
•2002 - Ohio Canal Corridor/ OECA introduces CanalWay Ohio Visitor Map.
•2002 - Mill Creek Falls Overlook and Neighborhood History Center opened to the public.
•2002 - OECA funds Canalway Communications Plan to define interpretation, Identity, Signage and Marketing
•2002 - County/ Cleveland approve conceptual alignment for Towpath Trail.
•2002 - Big Creek Study launched with OBCDC, NOACA, Cleveland
•2002 - Towpath Trail opens to Lower Harvard in Cleveland
•2002 Cuyahoga County portion of Towpath Trail receives 4% million earmark from the Transportation Reauthorization Bill
•2003 -Cleveland receives $745,300 of Clean Ohio Funds to restore Treadway and connect to the Towpath Trail
•2003 - OECA awards 11 Competitive Grants totaling $514,077
•2004 - Cleveland receives $3 million from Federal NOAA funds for land acquisition for Canal Basin Park
•2004 - Ohio Canal Corridor submits Scenic Byway Grant request for $400,000 for Phase 1 of Canalway Signage
•2004 - Towpath Trail Partnership Committee formalized under direction of Ohio Canal Corridor
•2004 - Canalway Identity/ Signage/ Interpretation/ Marketing Plan unveiled
•2004 - OECA unveils Canalway Report to Community which tracks $277 million in investment from 1996 - 2002.
•2004 - Canal Basin Park receives $3 million through Congress' Omnibus Bill
•2004 - OECA introduces Marketing Plan
•2004 - Gund Foundation awards Ohio Canal Corridor $35,000
•2004 - Ohio Canal Corridor submits request for $450,000 to Clean Ohio Trail Fund
•2005 - TEA-LU Bill included a$6.4 million earmark for the design and construction of the Towpath Trail
•2005 - Ohio Canal Corridor submits second Scenic Byway Grant request for $356,000 for Phase 2 of Canalway Signage
•2005 - Ohio Canal Corridor identifies funding opportunity based on Steelyard Commons and begins lobbying for TIF
•2005 - Steelyard Commons Developer, Mitchell Schneider commits to building Towpath through Steelyard (value= $1 million)
•2005 - OECA awards 12 Competitive Grants totaling $513,700
•2005 - Cleveland awarded $434,000 of Clean Ohio Funds for Canal Basin Park land aquisition
•2006 - FHWA announces $400,000 grant award for Scenic Byway Signage Plan
•2006 - FHWA announces additional award in the amount of $356,000 for second phase of signage
•2006 - Governor Taft awards $425,000 of Clean OHio Funds to the Towpath Trail in Clevland
•2006 - OECA awards 14 Competitive Grants totaling $347,000
•2006 - Ohio Canal Corridor writes and submits $60,000 TLCI grant for Cleveland/Downtown Cleveland Alliance for Canal Basin Park District
•2006 - NOACA awards $60,000 TLCI grant for Canal Basin District
•2006 - Morgana Run Run connector trail opens inSlavic Village Neighborhood
•2006 - Cleveland City Council designates a Steelyard Commons Tax Incremental Financing district, supplying a minimum of $10.5 million towards the construction of the Towpath Trail from Lower Harvard to Canal Basin Park and the development of Canal Basin Park itself
•2007 - Ohio State Capital Bill provides $1.9 million for the extension of the Towpath Trail from Harvard to Canal Basin Park
•2007 - Senator Voinovich leads official ribbon cutting ceremony of the Towpath Trail through Steelyard Commons
•2007 - OECA approves fund match formula for Canalway Kiosks/Wayfinding Beta test