 Although Hudson anticipated that the trip would take less than a month , it took 56 days . Most of the journey was by water , and ice on the Niagara River , inclement weather and ice on Lake Erie , and unnavigable portions of the Cuyahoga River contributed to the travelers ' slow progress . Although ice on Lake Erie and the Buffalo River near Niagara Falls destroyed one boat , the group reached Cleaveland ( present @-@ day Cleveland , Ohio ) on June 9 , 1799 . After purchasing more supplies , they set off down the Cuyahoga River . Although Hudson believed that the river could carry their boats as far south as required , they only reached present @-@ day Northfield on June 20 . When the settlers arrived in the vicinity of their parcel they had difficulty locating its four boundary markers , finding the southwest marker in late June . Only one of the two groups herding cattle overland reached the settlement . 
