Whitewater Canal

The Whitewater Canal is a 76-mile abandoned waterway stretching from Lawrenceburg to Hagerstown, Indiana.

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The Whitewater Canal is a 76-mile abandoned waterway stretching from Lawrenceburg to Hagerstown, Indiana. A connecting canal, the Cincinnati & Whitewater Canal, linked Harrison to Cincinnati.

History

Following the success of canal projects in the eastern United States, canal construction expanded into the Midwest. The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 inspired similar projects, transforming early American transportation. Its financial success demonstrated that canals could significantly enhance local economies.

In 1825, a canal was proposed to connect the Whitewater Valley to the Ohio River. ⁹ Until then, farmers relied on poorly maintained roads to transport finished goods and agricultural products to Cincinnati, often taking several days. ¹ The Whitewater Canal Company was incorporated in 1826. ⁹

That same year, the Indiana General Assembly granted the White Water Valley Canal Company a charter. ^{4 9} In 1836, the Indiana State Legislature passed the Mammoth Internal Improvement Act, allocating $1.4 million for the Whitewater Canal and other infrastructure projects. ⁹

Design and Construction

Whitewater Canal

The canal’s design was based on a survey by Charles Hutchens. ^{2 9 10 11} It spanned 76 miles, beginning at Nettle Creek near Hagerstown, following the Whitewater River valley through Connersville and Brookville, crossing into Harrison, Ohio, before returning to Indiana and ending at the Ohio River in Lawrenceburg. The canal dropped 491 feet over this distance, making it steeper than the Erie Canal (500 feet over 300 miles), the Wabash & Erie Canal (450 feet over 460 miles), and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal (538 feet over 184 miles). With a steep decline of 6.4 feet per mile, the Whitewater Canal would be prone to flooding. Navigating the steep grade required 56 locks, 12 aqueducts, and seven feeder dams.

In 1825, an additional survey explored extending the canal from Connersville and Cambridge City to connect with the Wabash & Erie Canal in Anderson. ⁹ A separate study in 1837 examined a potential route between Hagerstown and the Wabash & Erie and Erie & Michigan canals in Fort Wayne.

In 1835, the Indiana General Assembly requested Ohio to build a connecting canal between Lawrenceburg and Cincinnati, ⁹ coinciding with a request from Cincinnati business leaders. ¹⁰ The Ohio legislature approved this request through legislation passed in 1836. ⁹

Construction began on September 13, 1836, under the Internal Improvement Act. ^{3 9 10 11} Private citizens, organized into construction companies, carried out most of the work. ⁹ The first section of the Whitewater Canal opened from Lawrenceburg to Brookville on June 8, 1839. ^{9 10 11}

The Internal Improvement Act proved disastrous for Indiana’s finances. Construction was halted by August 1839, and by 1841, the state could no longer pay interest on its debt. ⁹

In 1842, Cincinnati businessman Henry S. Valette purchased the dormant Whitewater Canal, and flush with new funding, construction resumed. ^{10 11} It opened to Cambridge City later in that year, to the Laurel Feeder Dam in 1843, Connersville in June 1845, and Cambridge City in October. ^{9 10 11}

Hagerstown was originally intended as the canal’s northern terminus, but after Indiana’s bankruptcy, the town had to fund and build its connection to Cambridge City. The Hagerstown Canal Company, incorporated in 1846, completed its eight-mile extension in 1847. ^{1 9 10 11}

Cincinnati & Whitewater Canal

Ohio investors constructed the Cincinnati & Whitewater Canal to link the Whitewater Canal with Cincinnati. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on March 31, 1838, at the North Bend estate of William Henry Harrison, a supporter of the canal project. ^{10 11} Completed on November 28, 1843, it ran from Harrison to Cincinnati and included a tunnel under a ridge in North Bend. ^{9 10}

The Cincinnati & Whitewater Canal and the Whitewater Canal converged in a slackwater section of the Whitewater River, just south of Harrison at the state border. ¹⁰ Barges had to navigate a short stretch of the river to continue their journey. Water flow was controlled by a guard lock on the Cincinnati & Whitewater Canal, which regulated inflow from the river. Additional locks were located near Dry Fork Creek and at an aqueduct over the Great Miami River in Cleves.

Decline

In 1847, Indiana transferred ownership of the canal to the White Water Valley Canal Company, which required the completion of the project in Cambridge City within five years. ³ Boats reached Laurel by 1843, Connersville in 1845, and Cambridge City in 1847. Financial difficulties forced the company to seek funding from Henry Valette of Cincinnati to complete the Connersville-to-Cambridge City segment. The Hagerstown Canal Company finished the final stretch to Hagerstown in 1847. ^{1 3}

The Whitewater Canal, though short-lived, had a lasting impact. Funded through the 1836 Act, it received $1.4 million in state investment. Investors hesitated to take loans, expecting high returns. ¹ However, Indiana’s financial instability led to bankruptcy by the summer of 1839, halting construction until 1842.

Severe flooding in November 1847 and again in December 1848 washed out many canal sections, causing $100,000 in damages. ^{3 9 10 11} The portion between Harrison and Lawrenceburg required repairs until April 1849 to complete. ^{10 11} Another flood in 1852 led to the abandonment of the Harrison to Lawrenceburg stretch, ending Lawrenceburg’s canal operations after just eight years. ^{3 9 10 11} North of Harrison, repairs took ten months, but debt from these repairs remained a burden.

In 1855, Henry Valette sued the White Water Canal Company for failing to pay interest on bonds he had purchased in 1842. ^{10 11} A receiver was appointed, but the Whitewater and Whitewater & Cincinnati canals ceased operations in 1856. In 1861, citizens petitioned the Indiana legislature to construct a railroad along the canal’s towpath. The Whitewater Canal was sold at auction in 1862 to Henry C. Lord, president of the Indianapolis & Cincinnati Railroad (I&C), ^{6 10 11} though the deed transfer was delayed until December 1865 due to legal complications. ^{10 11}

Many canal sections, including the Metamora mill, remained in use for water power. ⁹ The canal remained open for hydroelectric generation in Connersville until 1953, when Western Avenue was constructed over the right of way.

Several canal locks and the diversion dam near Laurel, Indiana, remain visible today. Rebuilt in the 1940s, the dam supplies water to the restored canal section in Metamora and powers the town’s historic grain mill.

Reuse

Metamora State Historic Site

The most well-preserved section of the Whitewater Canal is in Metamora. The stretch from the Laurel Feeder Dam to Brookville was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 as the Whitewater Canal Historic District. ⁵ The district includes one contributing building and 31 structures, such as the Metamora Roller Mill, Laurel Feeder Dam, Duck Creek Aqueduct, and Millville Lock. ⁷ The aqueduct carries the canal over Duck Creek in Metamora. The current structure is a 20th-century reconstruction of the original wooden aqueduct built in 1846. In 1992, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) designated it a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. ⁸

Metamora recreates the Canal Era with museums, shops, restaurants, and horse-drawn canal boat rides.

White Water Valley Railroad

The Whitewater Canal was sold at auction in 1862 to Henry C. Lord, president of the I&C. ^{6 10} though the deed transfer was delayed until December 1865 due to legal complications. ¹⁰

The White Water Valley Railroad (WVRR) was incorporated as a subsidiary of the Indianapolis & Cincinnati Railroad (I&C) to build a rail line from Harrison to Hagerstown. ¹¹ The line reached Connersville in 1867 and Hagerstown in 1868. ^{9 11} Much of the canal remained intact, leading to frequent flooding that washed out sections of the railroad.

In 1890, the WVRR leased itself to the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway (Big Four), though the I&C was not acquired by the Big Four until 1906. ¹¹ That same year, the Big Four was acquired by the New York Central Railroad (NYC), though it continued operating independently until 1930.

The NYC abandoned the section between Connersville and Hagerstown in 1931, removing the tracks in 1936. ¹¹

The non-profit Whitewater Valley Railroad was founded in 1972. ¹¹ In 1974, it began offering weekend passenger service on 25 miles of leased Penn Central track between Connersville and Brookville. However, a major washout that year closed the line between Metamora and Brookville, and Penn Central removed four miles of track in 1976.

In 1979, the Indiana & Ohio Railway (I&O) took over freight operations from Brookville to Valley Junction. ¹¹ The Whitewater line between Brookville and Connersville was abandoned in 1974, and the remaining NYC branch from Connersville to Beeson’s Station was sold to the Indiana Hi-Rail Corporation in 1981.

The Whitewater Valley Railroad officially purchased the remaining 18 miles of track from Connersville through Metamora in 1983. ¹¹ Later, it acquired an additional mile of track in Connersville that was no longer needed by the Indiana Hi-Rail Corporation.

The Indiana & Ohio Railway (I&O), acquired by Genesee & Wyoming in 2012, effectively abandoned the segment from Interstate 74 to Brookville in 2014 following washouts on the line, ending service to its last remaining customer in Brookville. ¹¹

Cincinnati & Indiana Railroad

The Cincinnati & Indiana Railroad (C&I) was incorporated in April 1861 as a subsidiary of the I&C to construct a rail line from Cincinnati to the I&C at the Indiana state line. ¹⁰ The C&I acquired the Whitewater & Cincinnati Canal right-of-way with plans to use the land for its railroad. It repurposed the tunnel between North Bend and Cleves and built a new bridge over the Great Miami River utilizing the abutments and piers of the canal’s aqueduct. Similarly, the I&C utilized the abutments of an aqueduct over Dry Fork, with a road later built on the abutments and piers of the aqueduct.

In 1864, the C&I opened a freight station on Pearl Street at Central Avenue and John Street in Cincinnati, on the site of the canal’s former terminal. ¹⁰ A passenger depot on Plum Street followed in December 1865.

The tunnel at North Bend was abandoned in 1888 in favor of a cut through the hill, which was widened in 1903 to accommodate the Cincinnati, Lawrenceburg & Aurora interurban. ¹⁰

In June 1889, the I&C became the Chicago Division of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway (Big Four) following its merger with the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railway, the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railway, and the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis & Chicago Railway. ¹⁰ The Big Four was acquired by the New York Central Railroad in 1906, although it operated independently until 1930. The NYC was merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad to form Penn Central Railroad in 1969.

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Gallery

Cincinnati & Whitewater Canal

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Sources

1. Burden, Donald. Whitewater Canal Historical Corridor Guide. Ball State University, May 2006.
2. Fatout, Paul. “Canalling in the Whitewater Valley.” Indiana Magazine of History, vol. 60, no. 1, Mar. 1964, pp. 37–78.
3. Miller, James M. “The Whitewater Canal.” Indiana Magazine of History, vol. 3, no. 1, Mar. 1907, p. 109.
4. National Register Information System. National Park Service, 9 July 2010.
5. “Bridge, Tunnel Named to Historic Register.” Cincinnati Post, 6 July 2001.
6. Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database. Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.
   • Starrett, Robert D. “Whitewater Canal Historic District.” National Park Service.
7. “Duck Creek Aqueduct.” American Society of Civil Engineers.
8. Traces and Trails: Intersections of Wayne County. V. Ball Center and Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, 2004.
9. “Canal Mania in Indiana.” The Indiana Historian, Ju. 1997.
10. Jakucyk, Jeffrey. “New York Central/Big Four, CIND Subdivision – Indiana & Ohio, CIND Subdivision.” Cincinnati Traction History.
11. Jakucyk, Jeffrey. “New York Central/Big Four, Whitewater Division – Indiana & Ohio, Brookville Subdivision.” Cincinnati Traction History.