Portage Lakes
The Portage Lakes are a group of glacial kettle lakes and reservoirs in Northeast Ohio. The name comes from an old Indian portage path that connected the Cuyahoga River flowing north to Lake Erie and the Tuscarawas River, a tributary of the Muskingum River, which flows south to the Ohio River. This proved advantageous for the Indians and early settlers as navigation from Lake Erie to the Ohio was possible with only an eight-mile portage. Portage Lakes State Park lies at one of the highest points of the state and on a major watershed divide in Ohio. Some water from the lakes reaches Lake Erie and some flows to the Ohio River.

There is an unincorporated community named Portage Lakes in Summit County, near Elevation: , in the area.

The area became an important trading post for settlers and Indians. It was a recognized landmark during the War of 1812, serving as a rendezvous point of American troops. The old Indian portage path was part of the ancient boundary between the Six Nations and the Western Indians.

The city of Akron was laid out in 1825 and was first settled by Irish laborers and others working on the Ohio and Erie Canal. Once the canal was completed, the town flourished. Several important industries brought prosperity to the area including stoneware potteries, sewer pipe manufacturing, the match industry and, most recently, the tire and rubber industry. At one time, the Blue Diamond Match Company in Akron used three million board feet (7,000 m³) of white pine lumber per year for the manufacture of its matches.

Several of the Portage Lakes were built as feeder reservoirs for the canals to maintain the required depth of . The lakes were used for this purpose until the canals were abandoned in 1913. The lakes were then used to meet the water needs of the local industries. Some portions of the remnant canals in the Akron area can still be boated.

The Ohio Department of Public Works maintained the canal lands for recreational purposes until 1949 when the Portage Lakes were transferred to the newly formed Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation.
Q1424609
kettle lake
Concept
Q1397
Ohio
LOC
Q49297
Indian
PER
Q1522907
portage path
Concept
Q1146724
Cuyahoga River
LOC
Q5492
Lake Erie
LOC
Q750945
Tuscarawas River
LOC
Q1595409
Muskingum River
LOC
Q4915
Ohio River
LOC
Q16919503
Portage Lakes State Park
LOC
Q3313437
Portage Lakes
LOC
Q485536
Summit County
LOC
Q1818899
settler
Concept
Q26013
War of 1812
EVE
Q68518
Six Nations
Concept
Q163132
Akron
LOC
Q22890
Irish
Concept
Q2016424
Ohio and Erie Canal
LOC
Q37507
match
Concept
Q169545
tire
Concept
Q131877
rubber
Concept
Q157230
white pine
Concept
Q1370714
lumber
Concept
Q131681
reservoirs
Concept
None
Ohio Department of Public Works
UNK
Q7080799
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
ORG
Q7231424
Portage Lakes
LOC
Q7231424
Portage Lakes
LOC
Q7231424
Portage Lakes
LOC
1812-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1812
DATE
1825-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1825
DATE
1913-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1913
DATE
1949-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1949
DATE
+7.000^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
7,000
NUMBER
located in the administrative territorial entity
lake outflow
instance of
mouth of the watercourse
mouth of the watercourse
located in the administrative territorial entity