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Wabash and Erie CanalBefore steam was harnessed and driven with enormous burdens across the continent, water channels were the great highways which floated the products of commerce. Streams of all sizes were utilized- widened and deepened- and at last other means were sought to increase the number of such highways to meet the demand for large and rapid transits. Artificial channels were constructed and filled with water, and furnished a much better means of intercommunication, owing to their safety, than the natural streams whose currents and floods were dangerous. The Wabash and Erie Canal was a shipping canal that linked the Great Lakes to the Ohio River via a man-made waterway. The canal provided traders with access from the Great Lakes all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. The canal known as the Wabash & Erie in the 1850s and thereafter, was actually a combination of four canals: the Miami and Erie Canal from the Maumee River near Toledo, Ohio to Junction, Ohio, the original Wabash and Erie Canal from Junction, Ohio to Terre Haute, Indiana, the Cross Cut Canal from Terre Haute, Indiana to Worthington, Indiana (Point Commerce), and the Central Canal from Worthington to Evansville, Indiana. The United States Congress provided a land grant on March 2, 1827 for the canal's construction; construction was to begin within 5 years and be finished within 20 years. On January 5, 1828, the Indiana General Assembly accepted the grant and appointed three commissioners. These commissioners concluded that the canal would have to extend into Ohio and petitioned that state to appoint a commission of their own. The state legislature approved the plan and new commissioners appointed. After several legislative battles begun by proponents of the railroad, the Indiana General Assembly approved the borrowing of $200,000 to begin construction. The State Internal Improvement Bill, enacted late in the thirties, provided for, among other stupendous projects, a system of canals to meet the growing demands of the State. Accordingly the above-named canal was projected and built During the forties, to complete the work, land grants were made, State bonds were issued and bought in England. After much negotiation between the states of Indiana and Ohio and the Federal Government, construction of the Wabash and Erie canal began at Fort Wayne on February 22, 1832, ground was broken and construction began. Work began at Fort Wayne in 1832 and by 1835 was completed to Largo, Indiana. The original plan was to go as far as Lafayette and then terminate. In 1836 pressure from area businessmen, including Calvin Fletcher, led to the passing of the Mammoth Internal Improvements Act, this extended the Wabash and Erie Canal to Terre Haute. Construction of the canal reached Logansport by 1837-1838. The State legislature in 1835 ordered a survey to be made where to join the Wabash and Erie Canal and the Central Canal which was to come the White River. The building of the canal progressed very slowly because of a depression, and the state was badly in debt. The Panic of 1837 caused a depression in 1839 that led to workers' strikes and statewide debt. It devastated Indiana's program of internal improvements; expensive canal projects began to slow or die and public sentiment began to turn away from them but did not stop construction entirely. The canal reached Lafayette by 1841 or 1843, Terre Haute by 1848-9. Segments also extended eastward towards Ohio, and the canal opened in Toledo in 1843. The final steps connected the Terre Haute section with the twenty-mile stretch of canal leading from Evansville (the Evansville section had been completed by 1839). This connection to Evansville was completed by 1853 by way of the abandoned Crosscut canal works and the old proposed Central Canal Route Finally, in 1845, the Federal government sold Indian Lands and a deal was worked out with bond holders to raise the money to finish the canal. Congress granted Indiana another 800,000-900,000 acres which could be sold to pay for the canal. Indiana and her creditors needed a compromise. Charles Butler was the perfect man to negotiate a deal. Dissatisfied investors, both American and European, hired Butler who was a noted lawyer, philanthropist, and faithful churchgoer. In 1846 Charles Butler, representing the canal bondholders, proposed that the state turn responsibility of the canal over to the bondholders in exchange for bondholders assuming half the debt and the land granted for construction. Butler also proposed that the state issue new bonds at 4 percent yearly interest for the other half of the debt, with an option for the state to redeem the certificates at its discretion. This ended state control of the canal and put the Wabash and Erie Canal in the hands of private trustees by 1847. Butler was pessimistic that investors wouldn't see any of their money back. But he was not one to admit defeat, and he lobbied for legislation to levy a tax to provide income to pay the interest and renew faith in the Certificates, the ones with Canal lands pledged as security. Canal tolls also contributed to this cause. And it worked, at least for the time. Many investors traded their certificates for state stocks and canal stocks, which reimbursed them for the principal and the interest. The "Butler Bill" created a board of Trustees. From 1847 to 1853 they methodically brought the Canal to completion, or as close to completion as it would ever get. The most successful years for the canal were between 1847–1856. Its peak year was 1852 when tolls reached $193,400. Some sections, like the direct connection to the Ohio River were never finished. While many towns celebrated the construction of Canal as it came their way, Evansville hardly noticed. The route was changed from the original plan which was to join the Central Canal near the mouth of Black Creek in Knox county bring the canal system into Greene county a Point Commerce. The lines on the map below show the finished canals. The dotted lines are where canals were going to be built.  Point Commerce, Worthington, Bloomfield, and Newberry were located on the canal system in Greene county by this map. Of the section of the canal below Newberry - a state historical maker at the intersection of State Road 57 and State Road 58 in Elnora (Daviess county). states the following:
The "cross cut" of the canal, as it was called, extended from Terre Haute, entering Lewis Township, Clay County near Old Hill, and following near Eel River on the west side, entered Smith Township of Greene County near the Northwest corner of Section 3, thence down to Worthington; thence along the west side of White River to Newberry, where the river was crossed by constructing a large chute or trough, technically a flume. This flume was above the river, and the boats traveled through it. Otherwise the water would have all drained from the canal into the river, when the river was at low water mark. The canal ran from Newberry in a southwesterly direction into Daviess County, thence on to Evansville. The work on this "cross cut" was started in 1846 or 1847 and completed so that regular traffic was established between Worthington and Terre Haute in 1850. The beginning of this schedule was observed by a grand excursion between the two towns. One location along the canal is going North on state road 59 after crossing Muir's Lake bridge a distance of 1 1/2 miles, and just a short distance before swinging East to Brunswick you cross the canal on a concrete bridge or culvert. During the years 1849 and 1850, the work was done through Greene County, the route lying as follows: Entering the county at Johnstown, thence down to Worthington; thence along the west side of the river to Newberry, where a dam was built and the river crossed: thence southwestwardly into Daviess County. Contracts were taken by moneyed men to excavate certain limits of the canal, and then hundreds of Irishmen and others were employed to do the earth work. The means at hand then were not what they are now. The work was done almost wholly with the spade, shovel, pick, wheelbarrow and one-horse cart, with an occasional scraper. Regular traffic north by boat began at Worthington in 1850, at which time the occasion was celebrated by a grand excursion up the canal to Terre Haute. In 1851, regular boats were running across Greene County. The Trustees of the Wabash & Erie Canal were indicted by the grand jury at the April 1852 term for nuisance. The alleged nuisance was the erection and maintenance of a dam across White River at Newberry, and thereby backing the water over the lowlands adjoining the river. There was a trial by the court, and the case was held under advisement until the next term. At the next term, the court found the defendants guilty, and assessed a fine of $10 against each one of them. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court and reversed. Navigation between Newberry and Maysville opened June 1852. By 1853, Wabash and Erie Canal, America's longest at approximately 460 miles, linked Lake Erie at Toledo, Ohio with Ohio River at Evansville. By 1860, most of southern section no longer used because of repair costs and railroad competition. Entire canal in Indiana sold at auction 1876. Construction of the canal during the years of construction was delayed by cholera outbreaks among workers, many of whom were Irish immigrants. The reservoir near Lewis was built for a reserve water supply for the canal or "Feeder" as it was called, and covered about 4,000 acres of land, running to a depth of 15 to 18 feet. Dams were built along the river to raise the water level and thus feed the canal. The settlers who had ever been plagued with ague, chills and malaria saw in this newly flooded land additional threat to their health and life. On the night of June 22, 1854 the bank of the Birch Creek reservoir was cut and the water let out. The canal officials called a meeting with the residents of the locality but reached no agreement. The company repaired the dam, placed guards along the canal, and again filled the reservoir and resumed traffic. About a year later a group, said to be one hundred strong, of disguised and armed men, drove away the guards and again cut the embankment. Canal officials complained to Governor Wright who ordered two companies of militia from Evansville, under the command of John W. Dodd, to the scene of the trouble. Most of them were young, single men and received $1.00 per day from date of enlistment. About 15 were stationed at Spluge Creek reservoir and about 50 assigned to duty at Birch Creek. After about ten days the militia departed for Evansville and a short time later the Spluge Creek reservoir was cut and this spelled doom of this section of the Wabash and Erie Canal, but the southern section continued operation.The canal played a prominent part in developing the state of Indiana, and praticuarly Greene County. 380 miles of the canal is within the boundaries of Indiana and Fifteen miles of the longest canal (468 3/8 miles), in the United states lay within the boundaries of Greene county. A general description of the canal is:
During this time period the town of Worthington was established to take advantage of the important juncture of the Crosscut Canal section running from Terre Haute, with the Central Canal Section planned to run from Indianapolis to Evansville. Ground was broken in 1832 for the Wabash and Erie Canal at the junction of the Wabash and Maumee Rivers and on July 1, 1836 Water is let into the first stretch of the Erie and Wabash Canal. Daniel Ingersoll was a carpenter and built locks in the canal. It was 29 July 1853 when the boat "Pennsylvania" Made the first tripfrom the Toledo, Ohio to Evansville, Indiana. The route was through Terre Haute, to Worthington on the Crosscut Canal section, then south to Evansville on the Central Canal section. The local toll collector, Nathan Rowley, did not bother to collect the toll on the Pennsylvania until two days later. The Crosscut Canal had been completed about three years earlier, and commerce began from Greene county to Terre Haute and beyond about 1850. Several Greene County residents owned boats and were shipping iron, milling products, grain, livestock, and a variey of produce. Alexander Downing, who conducted the iron furnace; Stuart and Company, flour merchants of Worthington; and Peter C. Van Slyke of Bloomfield were among boat owners. There were several boats engaged in transporting iron products to southern markets, principally Louisville for $26 a ton, of which $20 went for transportation. Andrew Downing, who was then conducting the iron furnace, owned two boats on which he shipped the products of his furnace. Alexander Thompson was one of his Captains for a time. Large quantities of iron were sent to Evansville. One of his boats was finally wrecked at the Richland cut-off, where the half rotten remains may be seen imbedded to this day. His brother Paul was also one of his Captains. Start & Co., flour merchants of Worthington, also owned several boats and shipped large quantities of milling products off on the canal. P. C. Vanslyke, of Bloomfield, owned two boats called respectively the John H. Eller and the H. T. Ford, the latter being a very rapid sailer. He made a business for several years of shipping grain and other products. The first boat from Terre Haute to Worthington, according to a Terre Haute newspaper account, wad the "fastest running-sink 'Aeolus', her deck crowded with citizens." Prominent citizens of Greene county were said to have been aboard. Among other canal boats were the packet "Marion", the "Prairie Queen", and the "Pride of the Wabash". Coming north from Evansville were the "Rowley" and the "Evansville". Mules and horses treading along the canal's towpath pulled packet and line boats loaded with freight or passengers at a rate of four to eight miles an hour. Those needing to stretch their legs would sometimes disembark at one of the canal's locks, and catch up with the vessel at its next stop. The average packet consisted largely of a long narrow, low ceiling room which served as both sleeping and dining quarters. There was a small galley at one end for the cook. Along either side outside the cabin was a catwalk, a twelve-inch passageway. Above the entire cabin was an upper deck used for daytime travel with low-backed seats called srttles from which passengers could enjoy the landscape. Canal boats were restricted to eleven feet in wideth because of the narrowness of the canal, and to eight fieet in height because of low bridges. But they were quite long - usually between eighty and ninety feet. some of the canal boats were frieghters, hard-driving boats for cargo only. Each boat has a driver and a steersman. The steersman stood at the tiller bar to duide the rudder, while the driver - usually a young boy - walked the towpath with the mules or horses, keeping them in line and moving at the necessary speed. A team of two horses pulled most of the boats. When the boats came to a lock, the boats were lowered or raised by poeration gates and valves for filling and empting the locks. Shanty boats were numerous along the canal. They were much like flat boast with a room or so added, usually a lean-to-porch on the rear. The portion of the Central Canal from Indianapolis to Worthington was under construction but was never completed. The canal which still runs through Indianapolis is a part of the old Central Canal. But for about ten years, 1850 to 1860, the canal played a significant part in the history of Greene County. And after the canal was opened to Evansville in 1853, it connected to the important Ohio River trade. The canal through this part of its course was never finished and therefore never furnished the proper depth of water for large loads. There were six locks in the county. A fair business was done until about 1859, when the canal was mainly abandoned. It was revived from time to time until about 1863, though it could not be depended on and was regarded as an eyesore and a nuisance. Most historians agree between 1847 and 1852 was the hey day of the canal. From 1853 until its demise, canal receipts steadily declined. Despite the charity of local counties and municipalities, it was necessary to abandon the Canal south of Terre Haute in 1861. A private company agreed to maintain the canal from Terre Haute to the Ohio line. It would only last until 1873, and only emergency repairs got done. Why did the canal fail? First, it probably overextended itself. In a way, the canal also served as its own enemy. As the canal came into operation, towns, businesses, and industry sprang up along its banks. As the population centers grew, the people needed and demanded more efficient transportation than the canal could provide. In effect, we can see that the canal was one of the factors that made the railroad a necessity and it was the railroad, among other things, that eventually killed the canal. The Coming of the railroads ended the Canal Era, as the railroads proved themselves to be reliable. The canal could only remain navigable for eight months a year. Cold weather not only closed the canal, but invariably damaged it, requiring expensive repairs every spring. The occasional drought was a problem too. The canal brought many good things to the state. While some towns lived and died with the canal, others grew and prospered after the canal was gone and forgotten. The canal in building was from 1832 to 1853, a period of 21 years; and in operation from 1833 to 1874, a period of 41 years. From the date of the first grant of land until the close of the canal, the population grew from a quarter of a million of people, to one and three quarters." - History of the Wabash and Valley. Stuart. 1924. p 56 The result was that the first sections completed were a valuable aid to westbound immigrants. When the canal was begun in 1832 Indiana had probably a little more than 350,000 inhabitants. By 1840 she had 684,000 and in 1850, 988,000. The Indiana counties bordering on the section of the canal opened in 1835 had at that time 12,000 inhabitants; in 1850 they had 150,000. In the three years following of the first section from Fort Wayne to Huntington, five new counties were created along the route. Many people in Southern Indiana moved up to the northern part of the state, attracted by the boom created by the canal. Old Towpaths. Alvin F, Harlow 1926 D. Appleton Co. History of the Wabash and Valley. Stuart. 1924. p 56
The Wabash and Erie laid the basis for our present standard of citizenship, not only on the Wabash, but for the whole state of Indiana. Before the canal, much of the business was done by barter, and the people lived within themselves, but it brought about a revolution in business and business methods. Business methods were changed from one of barter to a money basis. It brought a reverse of trade for forty miles or more, on both sides of the canal. Along the canal towns, all kinds of manufacturing plants were built up; large stores and warehouses were erected, and printed on them were "Cash for Wheat;" "Cash for Wool and Hides;" "Cash for Produce, Dry goods, Boots and Shoes, Hats and Caps." Some people were loath to believe that the time had arrived for them to receive cash for the produce of their farm. During the operation of the canal, many made fortunes, and on its closing many of them were lost. The canal was dug with pickaxes and shovels, mainly by Irish immigrants. Each gang had four shovelers and four carts. Canal specifications were forty feet wide at water level, four feet deep, and towpaths ten feet wide; a sixty foot swath would be cleared First the area had to clear the of trees and other interferences. There were often fights and bodies were often found floating in the canal. Some say the reason bodies were found floating is that people got drunk and walked into the canal. There were also mosquitos and diseases and one death every for 6 feet of canal. Traces of the Wabash and Erie Canal can still be found in Greene county. It entered the county at our northern border, several miles east of Jasonville, near Johnstown, then followed Eel River and White RIver southward. By 1859 the railroads had taken much of the business, both passengers and freight, and the canals could no longer operate at a profit. The Canal Era was ending. Railroad tracks were laid on towpaths and much of the calal was filled in. Years later, an old gentleman recalled: "Twas a sad time when the scraper came along, fillin' in the old Crosscut after the last boat pulled through on her last run. Many wept. Wpet for the boats and horses and canal men - all run to teir end together." During the summer of 1991, the Gronauer Lock was uncovered at New Haven, Indiana, during the construction of I-469. This is the only intact wooden timber lock discovered. Part of the Gronauer Lock is now on display at the Indiana Museum of History. And in recent years a relic of the canal era in Greene County was found as related by this article Linton Daily Citizen 19 September 2003 Historic anchor found near old canal By Nick Schneider, Staff Writer
A large iron forced boat anchor was uncovered Tuesday near the site of the old canal, just off County Road 150W -- north of the Veteran's Memorial Bridge --- by workers Donnie Albright of Linton and Marlin Hastings of rural Bloomfield. The find was made on property owned by David Hill Farms, located west of Bloomfield. Landowner Hill has retained possession of the anchor, but says he hopes to clean it up and then donate it to be put on display somewhere in the renovated Greene County Courthouse. Hill said he was surprised by the good condition of the heavy iron anchor that was most likely used on one of the long flatboats that frequented the waterway during its heyday. "It's amazing to be in the ground that long and still look this good," Hill said looking over the rusty anchor. Albright, a heavy equipment operator, was running an excavator machine -- cleaning out a ditch along the roadway -- when he uncovered the anchor that weighs about 100 pounds. Hastings, a 14-year veteran truck driver with the highway department, was hauling away the dirt that Albright was removing from the ditch. Albright recalled when he first saw the tip of the iron sticking out of the ground, he thought it was possibly an old railroad iron. "I saw how long it was and pulled it out the ground and I thought, boy what is this?" he recalled. "I lifted it up on the old railroad path. At first I thought it was an old railroad iron. We find a lot of those." He quickly called for some assistance from Hastings and the two men hoisted the rusty, but intact, anchor from the ground -- which was located right on the edge of the old bank that once formed the canal. Albright said he feels the anchor should become the county's property and be displayed in the courthouse or at the Greene County Historical Society's office, located on the southside of the courthouse square to cherish from a historical standpoint. "It should be displayed somewhere," he said Thursday afternoon after Hill brought the relic to the Historical Society office for members of the Canal Society of Indiana to review. Local canal historian, Ed Borter, of Newberry, was very excited about the find. Borter has studied the Greene County link to the Wabash and Erie Canal for a number of years. "This is just great," he said with a smile from ear to ear. Borter invited two members of the Canal Society of Indiana -- Norman Klass from Coal City and Dr. David Combs M.D., from Vincennes, to view the unearthed anchor. Klass called the anchor a major historic find. He said artifacts from the old canal are also on display at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis. He said it's unclear exactly how old the anchor is, but he noted that the Wabash and Erie Canal operated locally from about 1850 until 1862. "I don't see any other way it (the anchor) could have got there except by the canal," Klass said. "The boats on the canal were usually flatbottom boats because there was only four-foot of water in the canal. Sometimes they were up to 80 foot long. They hauled grain and lumber and they had passenger boats too." The boats were powered by ropes attached to horses, mules and other animals that moved along the pathways along the canal. Klass said he couldn't estimate the exact value of the artifact, but said in the eyes of historians it is probably pretty valuable. "It probably isn't worth that much in actual cash value, but it has pretty good historical value as an artifact," he added. "The Canal Society of Indiana would be very interested in it," Klass stated. He agrees that the anchor should be shared with Greene County residents in the form of a public display. "This shouldn't be something for an individual. This should be something for everybody to see and appreciate. The really ought to be for everybody around here," he said. Legislation that set the wheels in motion for the establishment of the canal through Greene County actually originated on March 2, 1827, when the U.S. Congress provided a land grant to encourage Indiana to build the Wabash & Erie Canal. The original plan was to link the navigable water of the Maumee with the Wabash through the seven-mile portage at Fort Wayne. Work began five years later on Feb. 22, 1832 in Fort Wayne. Construction proceeded west as the canal reached Huntington by 1835, Logansport in 1838, and Lafayette in 1841. Work was also performed east toward the Ohio line, but the canal did not open to Toledo until 1843. A second federal land grant enabled the canal to reach Terre Haute by 1849. At Evansville, 20 miles of the Central Canal had been completed north by 1839. The Wabash and Erie was extended south in the late 1840s through the abandoned Cross-Cut Canal works to Worthington and then south following the old proposed Central Canal route. The connection with the Evansville segment was completed in 1853 forming the longest canal in the United States. Nobody knows for certain and historians have documented conflicting data on the exact distance of the Wabash and Erie Canal. The Canal Society of Indiana has done research and believes the most likely total distance to be 468 miles. Reports generated at the time of operation say 458 3/8 miles. The 42-mile long Cross-Cut Canal waterway between Terre Haute and Worthington that connected the Wabash and White Rivers lifted canal waters 78 feet over a summit level. The Eel River feeder and the Birch Creek and Splunge Creek Reservoirs supplied water for this summit. Begun in 1836, the works were abandoned in 1839 only to later be completed in 1850 as part of the Wabash & Erie Canal, Klass said. By about 1862, portions south of Terre Haute were closed and the process of decline continued northward.Two Greene County Highway Department workers are credited with unearthing a historic relic of the local Wabash and Erie Canal era that is believed to be at least 140 years old. A large iron forced boat anchor was uncovered Tuesday near the site of the old canal, just off County Road 150W -- north of the Veteran's Memorial Bridge --- by workers Donnie Albright of Linton and Marlin Hastings of rural Bloomfield. The find was made on property owned by David Hill Farms, located west of Bloomfield. Landowner Hill has retained possession of the anchor, but says he hopes to clean it up and then donate it to be put on display somewhere in the renovated Greene County Courthouse. Hill said he was surprised by the good condition of the heavy iron anchor that was most likely used on one of the long flatboats that frequented the waterway during its heyday. "It's amazing to be in the ground that long and still look this good," Hill said looking over the rusty anchor. Albright, a heavy equipment operator, was running an excavator machine -- cleaning out a ditch along the roadway -- when he uncovered the anchor that weighs about 100 pounds. Hastings, a 14-year veteran truck driver with the highway department, was hauling away the dirt that Albright was removing from the ditch. Albright recalled when he first saw the tip of the iron sticking out of the ground, he thought it was possibly an old railroad iron. "I saw how long it was and pulled it out the ground and I thought, boy what is this?" he recalled. "I lifted it up on the old railroad path. At first I thought it was an old railroad iron. We find a lot of those." He quickly called for some assistance from Hastings and the two men hoisted the rusty, but intact, anchor from the ground -- which was located right on the edge of the old bank that once formed the canal. Albright said he feels the anchor should become the county's property and be displayed in the courthouse or at the Greene County Historical Society's office, located on the southside of the courthouse square to cherish from a historical standpoint. "It should be displayed somewhere," he said Thursday afternoon after Hill brought the relic to the Historical Society office for members of the Canal Society of Indiana to review. Local canal historian, Ed Borter, of Newberry, was very excited about the find. Borter has studied the Greene County link to the Wabash and Erie Canal for a number of years. "This is just great," he said with a smile from ear to ear. Borter invited two members of the Canal Society of Indiana -- Norman Klass from Coal City and Dr. David Combs M.D., from Vincennes, to view the unearthed anchor. Klass called the anchor a major historic find. He said artifacts from the old canal are also on display at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis. He said it's unclear exactly how old the anchor is, but he noted that the Wabash and Erie Canal operated locally from about 1850 until 1862. "I don't see any other way it (the anchor) could have got there except by the canal," Klass said. "The boats on the canal were usually flatbottom boats because there was only four-foot of water in the canal. Sometimes they were up to 80 foot long. They hauled grain and lumber and they had passenger boats too." The boats were powered by ropes attached to horses, mules and other animals that moved along the pathways along the canal. Klass said he couldn't estimate the exact value of the artifact, but said in the eyes of historians it is probably pretty valuable. "It probably isn't worth that much in actual cash value, but it has pretty good historical value as an artifact," he added. "The Canal Society of Indiana would be very interested in it," Klass stated. He agrees that the anchor should be shared with Greene County residents in the form of a public display. "This shouldn't be something for an individual. This should be something for everybody to see and appreciate. The really ought to be for everybody around here," he said. Legislation that set the wheels in motion for the establishment of the canal through Greene County actually originated on March 2, 1827, when the U.S. Congress provided a land grant to encourage Indiana to build the Wabash & Erie Canal. The original plan was to link the navigable water of the Maumee with the Wabash through the seven-mile portage at Fort Wayne. Work began five years later on Feb. 22, 1832 in Fort Wayne. Construction proceeded west as the canal reached Huntington by 1835, Logansport in 1838, and Lafayette in 1841. Work was also performed east toward the Ohio line, but the canal did not open to Toledo until 1843. A second federal land grant enabled the canal to reach Terre Haute by 1849. At Evansville, 20 miles of the Central Canal had been completed north by 1839. The Wabash and Erie was extended south in the late 1840s through the abandoned Cross-Cut Canal works to Worthington and then south following the old proposed Central Canal route. The connection with the Evansville segment was completed in 1853 forming the longest canal in the United States. Nobody knows for certain and historians have documented conflicting data on the exact distance of the Wabash and Erie Canal. The Canal Society of Indiana has done research and believes the most likely total distance to be 468 miles. Reports generated at the time of operation say 458 3/8 miles. The 42-mile long Cross-Cut Canal waterway between Terre Haute and Worthington that connected the Wabash and White Rivers lifted canal waters 78 feet over a summit level. The Eel River feeder and the Birch Creek and Splunge Creek Reservoirs supplied water for this summit. Begun in 1836, the works were abandoned in 1839 only to later be completed in 1850 as part of the Wabash & Erie Canal, Klass said. By about 1862, portions south of Terre Haute were closed and the process of decline continued northward. In 1876, the canal was auctioned off by the trustees -- a financial boondoggle. In 1876, the canal was auctioned off by the trustees -- a financial boondoggle. |
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