The canal was completed just before most of the railroads in Ohio were built , and it had to compete directly with railroads for the remainder of its operation . Due to the canal freezing over in the winter , as well as the slowness of the boats , the canal was less practical than railroads , especially for perishable goods and passenger traffic . Although the canal services were often cheaper than the railroads , particularly for bulk cargoes such as grain and salted pork , the canal had largely ceased to operate by 1906 . The catastrophic Great Dayton Flood of 1913 and the subsequent flood control measures constructed by the Miami Conservancy District destroyed much of the canal infrastructure along the southern portion of the route , where it paralleled the Great Miami River . The canal was permanently abandoned . What was not destroyed was no longer maintained , and slowly many of the remaining locks and sections of canal were destroyed , with the open canal filled in
Great Dayton Flood
Great Dayton Flood
Miami and Erie Canal