Inlandia
After my Grandpa Jacobs died in 2008, my family started going through a lot of old family stuff. There were old brochures for world’s fairs that were funny to look at in retrospect and there was also a pamphlet about some proposal called Inlandia. I don’t have that pamphlet, but as it was described to me, it was to be some sort of man made waterway that would tap into Lake Erie and wind its way through Ohio. I guess the idea was that since the Great Lakes were tied into the St. Lawrence Seaway, this could provide duty free trade routes through Ohio.
I found the picture above in some old photos that came from my Grandpa Curler. Apparently they must have been promoting this idea in parades throughout Ohio — that or it was a local hair-brained scheme. According to my information, this photo was taken in 1958 and I can’t tell what town, but I would guess Rushsylvania, Ohio. I would love to know more about this, but I can’t find anything about it online so far. If anyone knows more, please share.