newly-incorporated Village of Cleveland in 1815. As a member of the Ohio General Assembly, he championed the construction of canals, and as a Canal Commissioner oversaw the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal. Known as the "father of the Ohio and Erie Canal", Kelley was one of the most dominant commercial, financial, and political people in the state of Ohio in the first half of the 1800s. One of the ablest bankers and financiers in Ohio, Kelley personally went to New York City to sell C&X bonds, and raised enough money to not only complete construction of the railroad but also to buy locomotives and rolling stock to equip it. Kelley had accompanied the surveyors when they located the route of the Ohio & Erie Canal, and now he and engineer Sylvester Medbery traveled along the likely routes surveying them together. Kelley personally approved the route of the C&X. Grading and tracking the line Construction on the C&X began when contracts were issued in October 1847 for grading of the line from the west bank of Scioto River in Columbus west to Georgesville. The west of Georgesville went under grading contract in September 1848, and the last to Xenia were under contract two months later. Grading was expected to be complete by February 1, 1849. Work constructing the track bed began in February 1849. This would allow the line to open in October 1849. The track bed was finished in mid-June, and railroad officials hoped to have the line to open in October. Because bridging the Scioto River would take time, the C&X began construction in July 1849 of a temporary depot on the west bank of the river in the Franklinton neighborhood of Columbus. This was a two-story brick structure long and deep. For the actual track, Kelley contracted with Sir John Guest & Co. of Wales in the United Kingdom for T rails. The C&X was one of the first railroads in Ohio to used T rails instead of strap rails. The of rails did not arrive in Cleveland until July 1849, delaying the laying of track until the fall. Opening the road A locomotive was shipped via canal and rail to Columbus, where it assisted with the laying of track. Mild winter weather allowed track to be laid more quickly than expected. With only of track left to lay on February 9, 1850, the company rushed