Centrally located on Lake Erie, with access to raw materials from up the Cuyahoga River, Cleveland quickly developed into a major Great Lakes port. The opening of the Ohio and Erie Canals, coupled with advances in steam navigation in the mid 1800s, further bolstered the city�s shipping and shipbuilding industries. In the early 1900s, the City of Montreal was one of two steamers making regular trips between Cleveland and Montreal.
