Cleaveland's group then made their way to the Western Reserve to execute the charge of surveying the land for sale and choosing the site for a principal settlement. While some members of the party traveled overland, leading cattle and horses, the majority made their way via the Mohawk River, Wood Creek, the Oswego River and Lake Ontario. .
The survey party arrived at the mouth of Conneaut Creek in Ohio on July 4, 1796. They established a base here, in an area now known as Stow, Ohio. After establishing this base, Cleaveland traveled along the shore of Lake Erie to a point where the Cuyahoga River flowed into the lake.
This spot was not unknown to Americans. George Washington had envisioned connecting the Cuyahoga to the Muskingum River with a short portage route, thereby gaining access to the Ohio River. This would provide an outlet to markets for the inland areas of Ohio. Cleaveland apparently agreed, stating "it must command the greatest communication by either land or Water of any River on the purchase or in any ceded lands from the head of the Mohawk to the western extent." .
While Cleaveland correctly assessed the benefits of the spot's situation, he failed to take into consideration the problems associated with the site. The entrance to the river at Lake Erie was blocked by numerous sandbars formed by deposition of silt from the slow-moving Cuyahoga River. The river's two sources are in the springs in the highlands of Geauga County in the townships of Hambden and Montville, approximately 35 miles east of Cleveland and further north than the river's mouth. The river flows southwest to the northern edge of Akron, where it drops into a deep valley and turns north. The total length of the river is 80 miles. About six miles from its mouth at Cleveland, the river becomes a sharply twisting stream. The twists and turns of the last six miles slowed down the flow of the river, and led to the heavy deposition of silt at the mouth; however, the twists provided a benefit of adequate space for docks, warehouses and storage yards.
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