Whitewater Canal - Metamora, IN
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 39° 26.806 W 085° 08.024
16S E 660587 N 4368019
The Whitewater Canal is sixty-eight mile long and was completed in 1847.
Waymark Code: WMC4CM
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 07/24/2011
Views: 4
Near the boat dock of the Whitewater Canal in Metamora there is a sign explaining the history of the canal and information about the canal era in general.
The sign reads:
Whitewater
Canal
State Historic Site
The Whitewater Canal is one of several projects
begun by the Indiana Improvement Act of 1836, which
was designed to improve transportation and develop
commerce state-wide. Constructed to link southeastern
and central Indiana, the canal was completed in 1847.
The canal extended 68 miles from Lawrenceburg
to Cambridge City, with an eight-mile extension to north
Hagerstown and a 25-mile extension to Cincinnati.
Although canal traffic flourished for several years,
the project proved to be a financial disaster for the state
of Indiana. The costs incurred in the construction of the
56 locks and seven feeder dams required to maintain
the canal totaled over one million dollars.
The advent and development of the railroad
during the early 1860s marked the demise of the
Whitewater Canal and the canal era in Indiana.
In 1946, the State of Indiana began the process
of reclaiming and restoring a 14-mile section of the
original canal.
Group that erected the marker: State of Indiana
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Columbia Street and Lovers Lane
Metamora, IN United States
47030
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