Canal Mania in Indiana

Transcription

1 Th A Magazne Explorng ndana Hstory lnclana Hstoran l ndana Hstorcal Bureau 14 North Senate Avenue Room 48 ndanapols, ndana TDD The Whtewater Canal at Metamora. The canal was closed as a transportaton route n The canal property was purchased n 1865; Whte Water Ralroad Company track was later lad on the canal towpath (Fatout, ). Canal Mana n ndana

2 Focus Cover llustraton: A canal weddng, May 16, 1872, at Attca on the Wabash and Ere Canal. ndlana Hstorcal Soce ty Lbrary (Negatve No. A l 3 l). The ndana Hstoran June 1997 SSN Edtor Pamela J. Bennett Lead Researcher Paula A. Bongen Desgner Dant B. Pfaff Contrbutng Edtors Carole M. Allen. J anjne Beckley. Alan Cona n t. Da n t B. PfalT. Vfrgtna Terpenng The ndana H storan provdes resources and m od e ls for the s tudy of local hstory to encourage lndtana's ctzens of all ages to become e ngaged wth U1e hstory of U1elr communlttes and the s tate of ndana. The ndana Htstorlan (formerly The ndana Junor Hstoran) ls ssued quarte rly from Septe mber througjj June. t ls a m embers hp beneft of the!ndjanajunlor lstorlca Soce ty. One complmentary s ubscrpton s provded to ndana lbrares, s chool meda cente rs, and cultural and hstorcal organzatons. Annual subscrptons are avalable fo r $5. plus lax. Back s su es a re a valable at lodlvldual and bulk prcng. Th s materal s avajlable to vs ually mpared patrons n a udo forma t, courtesy or the lndlana HJstory Project of the ndana Hlstorlcal Socety. Tapes are a va la ble througjj lbe Talkng Books Program of the ndana State Lbrary: contact the Talkng Books Program The ndana Htstorlan ls copyrtg)jted. Educators may reproduce tems for class use, but no pa rt of the pu blcaton may be rep roduced a ny way for proft wthout wrtten permlsston of the ndana Hstorcal Burea u. Ths ssue and the next September focus on ndana canals of the nneteenth century. Ths ssue provdes general background about canals and nternal mprovements. t focuses on what travel on a canal boat was lke and the economc effects of canals. The September ssue wll focus on how canals were constructed. On page 3 s a map demonstratng the long nterest n canal buldng n ndana, from 185 through On pages 4 and 5, there are bref overvews of ndana's nternal mprovements efforts and canals n ndana and natonally. Space has lmted coverage to the Wabash and Ere Canal and the Whtewater Canal. Two personal narratves are then used (pages 6-9) to demonstrate what t was lke to travel by canal boat n ndana n Both accounts descrbe travel on the Wabash and Ere Canal, but travel on oth er canals would have been smlar. The economc mpact of canals s then dscussed (pages 1-13). The ntervew of a Examne the map on page 3. Are any of the canals near your locaton? What s the closest canal-or propos ed canal-to you? See what you can fnd n local hstory sources about the canal n your area. nves tgate the Central Canal. How has that canal been used n the recent pas t? The eght projects of the 1836 nternal mprovements Act (lsted on page 4) reached all areas of ndana. What was planned for your area? Was the project ever completed? Wha t results of ths act can be loca ted on an ndana map today? There are many hstorcal markers n ndana about the canals and transportaton. Locate any near you. f there are none, nvestgate You be the hstoran Whtewater Canal boat captanwho played an mportant part n the economy-demonstrates also the enthusasm and sprt of the canal era. The sprt of that era s contnued n the present-day organzatons and people who study and commemorate canals. The Canal Socety of ndana has been helpful n our quest for materals. Paul Baudendstel, a resdent of Metamora on the Whtewater Canal, has been nvaluable. Baudendstel's long nvolvement wth the canal s the subject of Behnd the Scenes on page 14. As usual, a selecton of resources s avalable on page 15. We hope that ths ssue wll help to nterest more people n the canal hertage of ndana. Students and others should nvestgate the effect of canals n ther own areas. They should then add ths nformaton to the resources avalable a t both the local and state level as a result of those nvestgatons. There s stll much to be learned about canals n ndana, and every reader can contrbute. acqurng a marker through the ndana Hstorcal Bureau. Ralroads took the place of canals as the bes t means of transportaton. Are ralroads stll the prmary means of transportaton? What has taken ther place and why? What water transportaton s an mportant economc factor n ndana today? Throughout ths ssue, there are llustratons from a newspaper, the Brookvlle ndana Amercan from the 184s. Does your area have a newspaper tha t goes back to the nneteenth century? What was gong on n your area at that tme? What subjects were frequently covered? What sorts of advertsements appeared? ndana Canals G) Oho Falls Canal-to provde passage around the Falls of the Oho, 185, G) Wabash and Ere Canal-to connect Lake Ere wth the Oho Rver through the Wabash Valley, Whtewater Canal-to connect Whtewater Valley wth the Oho Rver, 1833, Surveys, 1825, 1837 of proposed roules for Whtewater Rchmond and Brookvlle Canal-to connect Rchmond to Whtewater Canal, Central Canal-to connect Wabash Rver wth Oho Rver at Evansvlle, ls) Erle and Mchgan Canal-lnkng Wabash and Ere Canal wth Lake Mchgan, S urveys compleled to lnk Lake h gan and Wabas h Valley, 1829, 183, 1876, 1915.! Benton rwar!,.e, --v St. Joseph Rver (of the Lake) Canal constructon completed - Some constructon, but never completed -- Surveys made, no other acton Complele documentalon for ths map s a valable from the ndana Hs torcal Bureau. 2 The l ndana Hstoran, June 1997 C> Copyrght nd ana Hstorcal Bureau 1997 C> Copyrght n dana Hsto r cal Bureau 1997 The nd ana H lstoranl June

3 Openng ndana n the early nneteenth century, n ndana-as n the rest of the exstng Unted Statestravel was accomplshed on foot or horseback, n wagons pulled by anmals, or by water. Snce roadways were qute prmtve, water was the preferred means of travel when possble. As early as 185, there was nterest n mprovng water transportaton n the ndana Terrtory. The terrtoral legslature chartered a company to buld a canal around the falls n the Oho Rver near Jeffersonvlle. No ndana canal was bult there. Kentucky later bult a canal on ts sde of the falls. New York's very successful Ere Canal was started n and fnshed n t provded the mpetus and the model for canal buldng that erupted n the nneteenth century from the east coast to llnos. ndana's canal buldng started wth the Wabash and Ere Canal at Fort Wayne n Ths canal was enabled by a federal grant of land n 1827 followng a Projects and Appropratons n ndana's 1836 nternal mprovements Bll (see map on page 3 for canals) 1. The Whtewater Canal, $1,4, 2. The Central Canal, $3,5, 3. Wabash and Ere Canal, $1,3, 4. Madson to Lafayette Ralroad, $1,3, 5. New Albany to Vncennes macadamzed road, $1,15, 6. Jeffersonvlle to Crawfordsvlle ralroad or macadamzed turnpke, $1,3, 7. Removal of obstructons n Wabash Rver, $5, 8. Survey for Fort Wayne to Mchgan Cty canal or ralroad, no appropraton treaty wth the Mams and Potawatoms n Passage by the General Assembly n 1836 of An Act to provde for a general system of nternal mprovements marks the state's further commtment to openng ndana for expanded trade and travel. The 1836 law provded for eght projects to construct roads, canals, and ralroads throughout the state. See the chart on ths page. Ths 1836 law resulted n fnancal dsaste r for ndana. Constructon on projects was stopped n 1839; the state was unable to pay n terest on ts debt n Paul Fatout has asserted that the system was conceved n madness and nourshed by deluson (76). The many reasons for the falures are too complex to dscuss here. As a result of the experence, ndana's 1851 Consttuton prohbts the state from gong nto debt. Durng the debates at the 185 consttutonal conventon, Judge Davd Klgore, who voted for the 1836 bll n the legslature, noted n part what went wrong: t never entered nto the mnds of those who voted for the bll drectng those surveys that all the publc works. should be carred on smultaneously. We sent out engneers, chan-bearers, and workers, to get useful nformaton of dfferent routes and localtes upon whch to base a good and practcal system of nternal mprovements. But, sr, the very fact that those surveys were made. made the people lose Adapted from: Taylor, 35. {!)Ere Canal, Pennsylvana Man Lne Chesapeake and Oho Canal, James Rver and Kanawha Oho and Ere Mam and Ere Canal, <!)Wabash and Ere Whllewater Lousvllte and Portland Canal, l/uno1s and Mchgan Canal ther mental balance; every neghborhood became so ntoxcated wth the dea that a ralroad or canal was to pass near t, that the people became mad, as t were, and were unable to judge. Report of the Debates and Proceedngs of the Conventon for the Revson of the Consttuton of the State of ndana, 185 (ndanapols, 185), 677. As James H. Madson concludes, Smultaneous constructon. began on many dspersed segments: when t was halted the state was left wth bts and peces of 'scatteraton. rather than any sngle completed project (86). The fact remans that ndana commtted n 1836 to projects that would connect t, ts people, and ts products to the rest of the country and the world. Remnants of those projects are part of ndana's landscape today. Madson has a knder assessment of those early poneers: The generaton that approprated ten mllon dollars to revolutonze transportaton at a tme when the state's annual revenues averaged less than $75, took a rsk. They lost, and looked foolsh n the end, but only n the end. At the outset one must apprecate the forward-lookng optmsm, the belef n progress, the ntense desre to lft ndana out of the mud and leave behnd the solaton of poneer lfe (85). Most references to ndana's canal era emphasze the falures. The canal era and canals, however, need to be studed as a once vtal dmenson n the growth of the Old Northwest. Canals contrbuted agrcultural expanson and the export of agrcultural surpluses, the mport of eastern merchandse, and economc dversfcaton towards manufacturng and commerce (Shaw, 17, 15). n ndana, the two. canals whch were completed and n operaton for some twenty to forty years- the Whtewater and the Wabash and Ere canals- had a postve mpact upon ther regons, served to stmulate agrcultural and urban growth, and helped develop the towns, the mllstes, the populaton, and the trade whch the ralroads of a later tme domnated so completely. Gray, 129. The 468-mle-long Wabash and Ere Canal was the longest canal n the country. t connected Lake Ere at Toledo wth the Oho Rver at Evansvlle n t was begun n 1832 at Fort Wayne, and crossed through Peru (1837), Lafayette (1843), and Terre Haute (1849). t cost approxmately $8,2,. After 1841, ndana could not pay the nterest on ts canal and nternal mprovements bondsmany of whch had been purchased by people n foregn countres. Work on the Wabash and Ere Canal contnued because of more grants from the federal government of land to sell. Bondholders, under the leadershp of attorney Charles Butler, supported contnued operaton and completon of the canal under trustees to recoup some of ther money. There were perods when the canal was proftable. Floods, vandalsm, and ralroads (whch were bult along the canal routes) fnally caused closure of the canal n The Whtewater Canal n the Whtewater Valley of southeastern ndana eventually extended from Cncnnat, Oho to Hagerstown, ndana. The canal was proposed n Progress was frst made wth the ncorporaton of the Whtewater Canal Company n Much of the canal was completed through the efforts of prvate ctzens who organzed nto constructon companes. Explore the tmelne n ths ssue for events of ts progress. After the Whtewater Canal ceased operatons n 1865,... t contnued to serve a number of mlls and, on the secton between Mlton and Connersvlle, to develop hydro-electrc power for almost a century thereafter.. the canal had a long hstory and a long term of spasmodc usefulness.. Among the earlest n ndana, they [canal supporters of the Whtewater Valley] were also foremost n determnaton, n tenacty, and n blnd courage. Fatout, 156. The map on page 4 demonstrates that canals were an mportant step n the process of connectng the areas of the Unted States. As Shaw notes, the cost of transportaton fell dramatcally from more than ten cents per ton mle to as lttle as a cent; a canal network of 3,326 mles was bult by 184 at a cost of more than $125 mllon, and the way was opened for the ralroad to follow (1). ndana's late entry nto the canal era, n hndsght, doomed ts efforts. New York, Pennsylvana, and Oho had bult over 1, total mles of successful canals by 183. n 183, only Pennsylvana ndana's canals (seventy mles) and Massachusetts (three mles) had bult ralroads. By 184 n all states, the complete mleage of canals was nearly equal to the complete mles of ralroads. By 185, the complete ralroad mles were roughly two and onehalf tmes the canals. By 186, the complete ralroad mles were roughly eght tmes the canals. The canal era had gven way to ralroads (Taylor, 79-8). Canals were expensve. Most were possble only wth governmental support from states. Many were possble only because the U.S. Congress granted publc land that could be sold to support constructon. The concept of such publc support for nternal mprovements has contnued to the present day, for example, wth the n terstate hghway system. SALE OF rol\n LOTS N ;;: R.o c f E S ' E R. : ',,1u::rn: 1<ll he ufrec'd for tnf,,- nn Frd11y-,,. lhe 61h d;,' f sp te mber, S/, br1e nunhcr of Jou ll thp. luwn of Rorhe lrr,.,; Frn11l.ln ruul), b. Thc e fols are n ne w S ph, jll l ld nut, lelwc'co 1he nld rn or lhtt '',.,' 11d the C1111al!oek, and uc loatcd on 1.o;,:,, ' r::r.:-ro1 s on 1h \'hte W1- tcr.co'nul, Jl mle from Cncnnat, 11nlf!.::; m:,;., from nrook,l\.. The cnol and St lc u tnoj 'n n 1hrouct1'1hc ('('f\l re or the tnwn.- Ther 9 11 Joel; ;11!! tq,wu of ten feel fall, nn- g ' kn r-c'clle: : wn1er pnwcr. t 1 n the md ell o[; fne C'<)Ull\ )', nbl the h.ll odnccnt 11bo11nd :n cxcc::nt Qnhrr f11r uol lrnltl n. a larl,le husndse or,\ hch r cntr:ej on n the town. Th!! 1ow11 1 h-.1tl]y nr11l ptc1anlfy 1hu1e.d. Thr.res n l o'c n l''l'. mll rn opcrallon n ' 11.n. ; Tf.RJ:; 1-.nc thrd n hnnd, one thru n' ' year, d tc '. oth.!rl lhrd n l\\'o )'ear. A Le bond w.: e \'1'11 fnr.ded when the HL roy: r.nt s 111ac. JTh() tt!c lo the pro pert 1 s r;uoj., \. \ '!1. l:'l G!?J::EN, Proprel?. Ju1>,11h, M n -'1m. 1 Rochester, later Cedar Grove, Frankln County, s typcal of towns that prospered or were founded because of canal constructon. Carefully read the advertsement. What other transportaton advantage dd the town offer? What were some of the canal-related busnesses? ' 't 4 The ndana Hstoran, June Copyrght ndana Hstorcal Bureau 1997 Copyrght nda n a Hstorcal Burea u The ndana H s toran,. J une

4 Canal travel ndana author Maurce Thompson n hs 1898 work Stores of ndana, noted that Many old people now lvng remember the pecular experences of voyagng on board a canal boat (217). Thompson presented the followng summary: The canal boat was a long, low, narrow structure bult for carryng both passengers and freght. ts cabn and sleepng berths were of the most prmtve descrpton, ll-ventlated and dmly lghted. The boat looked lke an elongated floatng house, the heght of whch had been decreased by some great pressure. t was drawn by one or two horses htched to a long rope attached to the bow of the boat. The horses walked on a path, called the towpath, at the sde of the canal, and were drven by a man or boy, who sometmes rode, sometmes walked. The boat had a rudder wth whch a plot kept t n ts proper place whle t crept along lke a great lazy turtle on the stll water. Surely there never was sleeper mode of travel. Thompson, Stores of ndana (New York: Amercan Book Company, 1898), As the boat dagrams throughout ths ssue llustrate, the constructon of canal boats vared. The dmensons were lmted by the standard lock sze of approxmately ffteen feet wde by nnety feet long. Locks on the Whtewater Canal vared n sze. As wth every mode of travel, passengers (many thousands) who traveled on these boats had dfferent reactons to the speedreports vary from three to eght mles per hour- and the comfort. Overall, however, Compared to stage or wagon, canal boat travel was smooth, seemed effortless, and the close banks or forest enhanced the sense of speed. Day and nght travel changed the concept of dstance. Shaw, 16. A 1912 source provdes the comparson below to prove that canal boats were a great beneft over stagecoaches to the traveler or busness person.. the round trp from Brookvlle to Cncnnat was regu larly made between Monday evenng and Wednesday mornng at the followng expense: Passage to Cncnnat and back, ncludng board, $4; dnner at Cncnnat, ffty cents; one day lost (worth), $1; total $5.5. Ths amount s... '\ Canal boat Wllam ' Speece of Delph on the Wabash and Ere Canal. Fatout, followng page 92. thus compared wth the expense of the trp by stage, causng the loss of four days on account of them only runnng tr-weekly, and occasonng the followng tems of expense: Passage to Cncnnat and back, $6; dnner on road gong and comng, seventy-fve cents; fare at ordnary house for three nghts and two days, $5; four days lost (worth), $4; total $15.75; makng a savng of $1.25 tor one trp. Henry Clay Fox, edtor, Memors of Wayne County. (Madson, W: Western Hstorcal Assocaton, 1912), 125. The travel accounts on the followng pages gve two perspectves of lfe on a canal boat durng trps of several days. Keep n mnd how you travel today as you read the words of travellers wrtten on canal boats on the Wabash and Ere Canal n A l<entucl<y lady on the Wabash and Ere Canal, 1851 Thompson quotes from a seres of letters n July 1851 by a young lady of Lousvlle, Kentucky. He does not explan the orgn or locaton of the letters from whch he quotes. Tom s her brother. Ths excerpt s from Thompson, We went on board, by way of a board, a gangplank, that s, and soon found ourselves n a dark, hole-lke room, where t was hard to breathe and mpossble to see planly.. We presently went up a steep lttle starway and came out upon the top of the boat, whch was already n moton,- very slow moton, though,-and the dngy houses began to slde, so t looked, back to the rear. A sngle horse pulls our vessel, and the loutsh boy who manages hm has har that s as whte as tow. t looks as though he had never combed t. He chews tobacco and swears at hs horse; but yet he seems good-natured, and he sngs between oaths some very doleful hymns, alternatng wth love songs of a lvely cast. Sometmes the horse po!::es along; sometmes the boy makes t trot for a short dstance. am sttng on a stool on top of the boat, wrtng wth my paper on my knee The frst lock th at we went through caused me to have a very queer feelng. Our boat entered a place where the sdes of the canal were walled up wth logs and plank, and stopped before a gate. At the same tme a gate was closed astern of us, and then the boat began to rse, up, up, as the front gate was slowly opened. By ths means we were lfted to a hgher level, upon whch we proceeded. But when the boat began to rse, felt as though somethng dreadful was about to happen. t seemed. that all of the heat spent by the sun durng the day had settled down nto that hot and stuffy lttle room, and that all the mosqutoes ever hatched n the mud puddles of ndana were condensed nto one hummng, ravenous swarm rght around my hard lttle bed All nght lay there under a smotherng mosquto bar and lstened to the buzzng of the nsects, persprng as never supposed that anybody could. t was awful, horrd! t seemed that daylght was never gong to come agan. You cannot magne how tedous ths way of travelng s. You creep along lke a snal n perfect slence. There are two horses to our boat now, but we go slower, thnk. Our present drver s a lttle red-headed man, not larger than a twelveyear-old Kentucky boy. He never curses, but he smokes a ppe all the tme He wears no coat and has but one suspender, a dngy blue, over hs red shrt, slantng across hs back. He appears to be well acquanted wth every person that comes along, and always has somethng smart to say.. To-day s Sunday, and the people all seem to be fshng n the canal. We have passed hundreds of them sttng on the banks wth poles n ther hands and danglng ther fshhooks n the water; but have seen no fsh caught.. The most dsagreeable part of ths knd of travelng s, next after the sleepng, the eatng. You know how lke good thngs to eat.... To get to t from the cabn have to clmb up a ladder through a hole to the top of the boat, then go down through another hole nto a suffocatng box. The table s horrd, so s the cookng. Pork and bread, bread and pork, then some greasy fsh, mackerel, and btter coffee lukewarm, three tmes each day. am ravng hungry all the tme, and nothng ft to eat. t makes me volently angry to see Tom gorge lke a pg and pretend that stewed beans and catfsh are delcous.. The publc roads n many places run along close to the towpath of the canal, and see people n wagons. They go faster than we do. The packet boat Swan was owned by Augustus Boden, Sr. He brought the boat to Cncnnat n He later moved hs operaton to the Whtewater Canal. Baudendstel, 7. The packet boat was desgned for passenger travel. t had better anmals generally and moved faster than other boats. The cost of passage on a packet boat ncluded meals and a sleepng bunk (Dunbar, 851, 861 ). Northwest Terrtory U.S. Congress establshes Northwest Terrtory. (Barnhart and Rker, ) ndana Terrtory establshed. (Barnhart and Rker, ) Lawrenceburg platted. (Garman, 133) ndana terrtoral legslature charters ndana Canal Company to buld a canal around the Falls of the Oho; ndana General Assembly charters Oho Canal Company n 1817; canal started but not fnshed. (Buley, 1:435-36) Engravng of the Clermont. Brookvlle platted. {Barnhart and Rker, 42} Adapted from: George Pence and Nelle C. Armstrong. lndfana Boundares (lndanapolls: ndana Hlstortcal Bureau reprnt), 137. Fort Washngton establshed on Oho Rver; adjonng vllage later named Cncnnat. (Garman, 133) Constructon completed on frst true canal n U.S. connectng Santee and Cooper rvers n South Carolna. (Carruth, 71) Oho becomes seventeenth state. (Carrulh, 74) Mchgan Terrtory establshed. (Barnhart and Rker, 337) U.S. Congress provdes for road from Cumberland, Maryland to Oho; becomes known as Cumberland or Natonal Road. (Buley, 1:446 48) Robert Fulton's steamboat Clermont makes frst voyage from New York to Albany. (Carruth. 8) Bennet Woodcrort, A Sketch of the Orfgfn and Progress of Steam Nauaga.tlon. rlondon: Taylor, Walton. and Maberly, 1848). opposte p. 6. War of 1812 begns: ends n (Carruth, ) 6 The ndana Hstoran, June 1997 Copyrght ndana Hstorcal Bureau 1997 Copyrght ndana H storcal Bureau 1997 The ndana Hstoran, June

5 An Englsh famly on the Wabash and Ere Canal, J. Rchard Beste came to the Unted States wth hs wfe and eleven chldren. He became ll n Terre Haute, and hs youngest daughter ded there. Beste publshed a narratve of ther trp as The Wabash: or Adventures of an Englsh Gentleman's Famly n the nteror of Amerca (2 vols., London, 1855; reprnt 197). Journal entres by hs chldren are placed throughout hs account. Entres by two of hs daughters are n cluded n ths excerpt from volume 2, pp TUESDAY, 12rn AuGusT. At fve o'clock n the afternoon, we stepped from the lttle quay at Terre Haute on board the ndana canal boat. Three horses were harnessed to a rope, about ffty yards ahead of the boat; they started at a moderate trot; and the town. was soon lost to our sght. No other passengers were on board: and we wandered over the vessel, well pleased wth the promse t gave us of tolerable accommodaton. The captan, a very young man, was very cvl and attentve to our wants: and told us that tea could be served at seven o'clock The constructon of the canal boat was-n mnature-much the same as. that of the lake and rver steamers. There was no hold or under-deck; but, on the deck at the stern, were rased the ktchen, steward's room, and offces; n the centre of the boat, was the large saloon-the sttng room of all by day, the sleepng room of male passengers by nght; adjonng t was the lades' saloon; beyond whch agan, was a small cabn contanng only four berths. Ths cabn was separated by a doorway and curtan 8erlh hru - Ht.tLC Freght Stable - ' Be rth Berth Bar : OS.oo Sto \p n t GolJey 1 ' Cool' l t t.c Sh11rlc --- ' Fore Cabn Md Cabn Aft: Cabn Ths cutaway of a canal boat shows the layout of a typcal ndana canal boat. As you look carefully at the d fferent compartments, equpment, supples, and goods, remember that canal boats were generally smaller than ffteen feet w de and nnety feet long, the standard lock sze. from the lades' saloon, and on the other sde opened upon the bow of the vessel. n t, was a lookng-glass, a hand bason, two towels, a comb and a brush, for the use of the lades. t was a rule n the boats that no gentleman should go nto the lades' saloon wthout express nvtaton from the lades; consequently, the thrd lttle room was sacred to the female sex unless entered from the bow.. A flat roof spread over the whole of the saloons; and on t was pled the luggage; and here passengers walked up and down or sat to enjoy the vew. Our chldren had wondered where they were to sleep, as there were no vsble berths The steward, however, soon solved ther doubts by hookng up some shelves to the wall, and layng mattresses and sheets upon them.. all complaned btterly of the bad tea and coffee, of the heavy hot corn bread, and of the raw beef steaks. then produced my brandy bottle. Dr. Read had advsed me to gve a tablespoonful of brandy to each one of my chldren every nght and mornng, n the hope of keepng off the ague and fever of the canal: and admnstered hs prescrpton regularly as long as we were n the boats. 'After tea, we all began,' wrtes Agnes [Beste's daughter], 'a most murderous attack upon the mosqutoes that swarmed on the wndows and nsde our berths.. WEDNESDAY. 'What wth turnng abo on account of the heat and tryng to catch the musqutoes, who bt us dreadfully, we dd not get much rest After breakfast, whch was much the same as the tea had been, papa began readng some of The Corsar aloud to us.. The monotony of the day was only broken by the many locks that we had to pass t hrough: although t was not agreeable to feel the boat strke suddenly aganst the wall or the floodgates wth force enough to throw down those who were not on ther guard. Then the volent ru sh of the waters from above, whle the boat was rsng wth them, rather made us magne that we were n Noah's ark.'. we arrved, n the evenng, at La Fayette, where we were to move nto another canal boat... Here procured a fresh supply of whskey, to mx wth our canal water, whch we were afrad of drnkng alone.. The bell soon summoned us to the boat whch was to take us onwards; and whch was so nconvenently drawn up that females could only enter t by passng through the wndows, from the saloon of the one nto that of the other.. 'The berths were n ters, [wrtes Lucy, Beste's daughter] three rows hgh; and, that we mght not be ntermngled wth other people, we grls took ours one above the other. was put n the top one; for Catherne was too modest to clmb so hgh; Ellen and Agnes were too short; and Loue stll suffered from her pan n her sde.. But the shelves or trays on whch we lay, were so short, that found my pllow constantly slppng down from under my head; and, f put t lower down, my feet hung out at the other end; so that, although was not very tall, was oblged, at last, to curl myself up agan and le qute stll, whle the mosqutoes devoured, and the heat melted me. At last went to sleep. THURSDAY. '... mama soon announced that papa had left hs room, so that we mght pass nto t, and to the basn and two towels. Every thrd person had to dp the jug nto the canal for fresh water 'Then came th e. breakfast. the bread was hot and very heavy, and the beef steaks were dry, small and much underdone Captan [G.] Davs looked very black f any one asked to be helped a second tme.' We passed through a great deal of beautful country never saw more magnfcent tmber than shaded the valleys through whch we passed. At ths lttle town [Fort Wayne], went on shore agan to replensh my brandy and whsky flasks; for there had been a large expendture of the former on my thrd boy, who had been ll n the mornng, and had, we feared, caught the ague and fever of the dstrct. But some of the.passengers advsed me to gve hm frequent spoonsful of burnt brandy; and t was curous to see how speedly and how completely ths cut short what threatened to be a serous attack As we proceeded onwards, we had taken n a great number of passengers; many of whom only used the boat for short stages, from town to town: but many others now sought t as the only conveyance to the Lakes and the more busy dstrcts we were here approachng FRDAY. We had passed from the valley of the Wabash, runnng to the south-west, to that of the Meaumee rver, whch had a north-easterly current, and we had now cut off a lttle angle on the rght and were at the place where our Wabash canal joned that from the Oho at Cncnnat. Here we were to part wth Frank and hs next youngest brother, whom had resolved to leave awhle n Amerca At Juncton, we had found the Cncnnat boat; and there was an nterchange of many passengers as they drew up sde by sde n the wde basn of the two canals. commended my two poor boys to the care and kndness of the captan of the southern vessel, who seemed to be a cvl, good-tempered man.. Ths photograph of mule drvers, or hogges, s beleved to have been taken on the Whtewater Canal. The Canal Socety dates the photograph after 1856 because of the telegraph lnes. Note that there are passengers on the roof of the boat..!: Q; E =., ' :;; ' ndana becomes nneteenth state..!: (Carruth. 92) 1816 c::: B :c ' Enterprse s frst.!: steamboat to go to Frst steamboat on!! c New Orleans and Great Lakes, on > return uprver to ts Lake Ontaro. w home port north of (Tayloe 61).c Pttsburgh. (Taylor, 63) lllf N1'1CR. 'f 11 f. pablc an: h«rb7.nfona«d Stage lne begns from t hat :tock. :n 1.bc Vncennes to Lousvlle. (Esarey, 1 296) \ JrfferJOurll OHO CASAL CO'.'tPA\'. m J now be 1ubKrbcd ro u the Re uycr'1 o6tu b Vncmnc., wbnf ' the book.1 are. for thal putpmtr.. PAR l.e.,.q-,, New York begns constructon of. N. EWlNO, Drttarj llnos becomes Ere Canal. twenty-frst state. J. t>ott, Jr' (Carruth, 94) VDcamn, June U JO-d Vncennes Wclcm Sun, Marb 8, 182. (Carruth, 95) JJ:ll: ndana General Assembly ncorporates Whtewater Canal Company. (Laws, pp ) Canal constructon begns on Kentucky sde at Falls of the Oho, kllng canal project on ndana sde; completed 1831; New York's Ere Canal opens; Stockton and Darlngton, world's frst ralroad for general transportaton, begns n Eng land. (Fatout, 2-21; Carruth. 13; Taylor, 75-76) Engravng of a lght packet on the Ere Canal. U.S. Congress grants ndana lands for buldng Wabash and Ere Canal; route of Natonal Road n ndana surveyed. (Fatout, 39; Esarey, 1:291) ndana General Assembly accepts land from Congress and elects canal commssoners. (Fatout, 41) Baltmore and Oho Ralroad chartered. (Taylor. 77) Welland Canal, New York, connectng Lake Ere wth Lake Ontaro, opens. (Taylor, 61) :; c. ;;;» ::t 3!!. :; 5'!l: m < $ 5' c;; (! 8 The ndana H storan, June 1997 Copyrght nd a na Hstorcal Bureau Copyrght ndana Hstorcal Bureau 1997 The ndana Hstoran, June

6 The promse of prosperty The mportant economc mpact of the Wabash and Ere Canal has been studed extensvely. The 1912 work by Elbert Jay Benton s stll cted by modern scholars. Benton noted the many towns that were founded because of the canal. He also noted that some ded wth the canal whle Other ctes, more fortunate, grew up wth t and wth the comng of the ralroads have contnued to control the traffc of ther respectve localtes. Ft. Wayne, Huntngton, Wabash, Peru, Logansport, Delph, Lafayette, Covngton, and Attca are conspcuous. Benton, Benton ctes two examples of trade at these canal centers where wagons wated for ther turns to unload the products of ther farms, bound to the eastern markets. Four hundred wagons unloadng n Lafayette durng a sngle day of 1844 were counted by one of the poneers. Another, speakng of the busness at Wabash, says t was a common occurrence to see as many as four or fve hundred teams n that place n a sngle day unloadng gran to the canal. Benton, 11. The Whtewater Canal has receved less scholarly attenton than the Wabash and Ere Canal. Shaw, a modern author, ndcates that the Whtewater Canal, whch had welded such poltcal leverage, proved to be almost noperable (Shaw, 95). c ' Constructon E begns on the = Wabash and Ere c Canal. :;; (Taylor, 47).E The supporters of the Whtewater Canal, however, remaned fathful to keepng the canal operable aganst the hghest odds, especally floodng. The extenson of the canal nto downtown Cncnnat n 1843 brought the Whtewater Valley nto the natonal trade network. Varous llustratons throughout ths ssue provde samples of the economc enterprses related to the Whtewater Canal. The canal lnes, the bulders of boats, the ware- B houses, the mlls, the hotels, new and expanded towns, the varous companes formed to buld parts of the canal, and the workers who kept the canals runnng found at least short-term success as part of ndana's canal era n the Whtewater Valley. The remnants of the Whtewater Canal are remnders of the many people who succeeded and faled wth the canal. Here, too, wth the comng of the ralroad, some towns and busnesses NATONAL HOTEL.: t ENJAMfN MAYHEW re,petfully an- '.,;, nounct-s to hs frt-nds and the travellng c; publc. That he has taken the above wpll kown. stand-formerly occuped by. Hens1s- on, Short strf'f't, a few doors above the wharf. 1 g Lawrenceburgh lnd. ; Th' House hav1t1g undergonf' Sf'ven1l m- 1 ; provement<>. and bpng _ftted Lp wth t>ntrery ' ' ne'w f'ur11f11re, he s : prepared tj entertan 1] ndana General Assembly orders survey for Whtewater Canal; engneers report December 23, 1834 calls for canal from Nettle Creek lo Lawrenceburg. (Esarey, 1:41) travrller! and euess ry as good st>'l e as any :1j! Hotel 1n the Statt',,! : ' t - The l ocaton of ths ouse wll be found the : most convpntnt of any n the. ('ly beng but a. few steps from the- Can;al & Steamboat landng. \ The Table wll always be furnshed.th the; best whch a luxurant.country and an abundant market affords,! a n1 wated 11 by attent vc ' sevants.! The stable larfe and commodous:. Good ' and experenced Ostles wll always be n at- tend a nee. [ Lawrenceburgh, Aug :?-3m Ths hotel was close to both canal and steamboat landngs and clearly was expectng the patronage of a better class of travelers. What early accommodatons exsted for travelers n your area? were able to adapt. As George S. Cottman put t, Ths was a promse of commercal prosperty and a new lease of lfe to the Whtewater regon.. Towns sprang up along the proposed route and lay n wat, and as the canal, crawlng northward, reached them successvely, makng one and then another the head of navgaton, each flourshed and had ts day. ndana Magazne of Hstory, 1 :4 (195), 27. ndana General Assembly requests Oho to construct part of Whtewater Canal n Oho; Oho gves permsson n 1836 law. (Laws, pp ) ndana's ambtous nternal mprovement Act approved by Governor Noah Noble; constructon on Whlewater Canal begns. (Laws, , pp. 6-21; Esarey, 1:418) 11. hte AT Al -. f... 71' t1 f Oroolt.'11115!J,le'!''' Afom. 1 l)cmb r2t _to Juury fht 1. B25,bbl! r Lnrd/. 1 f 217. :ke -- of L rd... ' 827 b. :,rfloy;.,. : : 1 : g.l 1 ush:t.s oft_vbe.. 1ra o uf (>drk. t. 57. head.or lvr hoc : ' 1,!,1, 12 't;ush'rs or D!trle.y. :: ;.. ll :, C8 1 bm1tcl or Ryr.. ' 34' lh. f Cu(ton \ urn,. Ll57 bble ur Ot!c(.!.: 5 lard Jalcrs ', D.! :37 cuo1 1rchcken11 1 Gt4 l pork bls.,. 1! l>l>h.\ ur Talh)\Y' /ou11 Skm! hlll:t.' dred apple!', Terrcl cr 11;& m, '. l l:bls ; or reen r>rt,-, fo t ;.rjunbtr, ;..,1 ' : :.'l1,, 1 : : r. bus\le r e '- 1eed. 11 d.uz. ;broom,. ; 52! uf'hrlt'!', : : 1s tm:;!',r. f -ee, lh!. :.mclrlf's.. :. 1 1 the W.t«: Yat>r a 1 1 s ' op1:u -o Cn. ttnat 1mJ tltt:a ur now nl.mth 15 J:11s on r:, lhp. CMn:tl, whh:b 'are kept ert,ploycd.,.... : Ths artcle lsts the amount of goods shpped from Brookvlle n approxmately one month n Newspapers of the day regularly lsted the amounts of goods shpped n and out of varous ctes. Newpapers coped the fgures from each other, thereby montorng busness n other areas. Note that bbls. refers to barrels, a common way to shp certan products. Examne the many tems lsted here. f there are any wth whch you are not famlar, research to fnd out what they are. Are there any tems no longer used today? What does ths lst tell you about agrculture n the Whtewater Valley? ' ' Canal completed between Brookvlle and Lawrenceburg; state orders work stopped on most nlernal mprove ment projects. (Esarey, 1:418 19; Falout, 98) Whte Water Valley Canal Company resumes work on canal. (Fatoul. 18 9) By jonng together, these ' FARMER'S&. MERCHANT'S four canal boat owners.,j>aly LNE 1., couldoffercontnuous From Cncnnat to Laul'el. servce between Laurel and : 'fhe rropretors or the new and s11bstan Cncnnat. The canal to r! lal Canol Boal$ Natve, Swallow, Dtllt of WtJt and Cmbrdce Cty, Have unted Cncnnat was completed n :;; for the pur po e of runn ng a Daly Lne 1843, offerng opportuntes ror freght and passengers, from C1Hc1N: for faster and more NATtA t LAJP.L One or tbt Boals wll economcal travel and leave C1nclnnat1a every day (Sundays ex f 1' cepted) at 7 o'clod, r. M.,.and arrve at trans porta 1o n o.s Laurel. next day al 6 o'clock, r. M. - ' merchandse to and from L'eave Laurel every day (!?undays e11:e11t ' the Whtewater Valley. _ ed) at 7 o'clock, 'A; M :, and arrve at Clh» g cnnat at 5 o'clock' next. mornng. The propretors bvtlg ncurred a hnvy exp'ense lo rendert <aeltu ror rclgh. t and!ravel as expedtous as possble, hope from thtr experence and Utentlon to b11- sness, lo mert a :share 'of publc approbdon - :..,:,., N. B. We ha:re a. Ware house at Brook: olel. and tt Laurel. wbere,all frekht<or the lne wll be receved,and forwarded: wth care and C!espatch;..Our:.chnge.r wll be moderate. S..OFf. N, f>r.opr1tor of./'fatut,, r. H. BARWSE, /'N.of Swllou> : G-. G. SMTH, Pro. of Btll of West, 1 1 G. COLLNS, Pro: of Cambrd&'t Cty L -Pl 18h, j. 3 W' t The Harkawaywas a freght barge whch hauled lumber. t was owned by Rufus Webb and traveled between Laurel and Cncnnat. Baudendstel, 28.!, ATlR POWE Sf,. T_he canal provded a water -: THE.Whte B}r v.1eyjcta.?obpanj: hghway to transport goods,. 11re now prep3red to renl tl l'tlable and people. That water W,oter powe?:a Lawr:e1!e.e2h-sh,. ad ln'.arl' could also be used to ou; other J!lare on tb hne 1of 1 Can --;- supply power for mlls, u Pr<>posalt wll e rccc1ted a11l1e ccre&ap whch n turn suppled offcl! r <;qnncno l!e.ndana, and llld. be- good; to the town and. fore the Board Of Drectors, ol ther mee\&n&.! rr.lm'tme 1' trle, wlle:!l lhe:r w)ll. \awarded beyond. How does ths use E: 1n!1h h glfe1 ond beat bldderj -un\11 a11 1 tll of a resource compare to «:,. prl ecf of, :. :.: -. r.. our modern utltes today? g he nexhnee'lnjt of the Jfoard wl.be oo the.sl 1311 ofoc:tobet )8'2...,., ]. -:. <' L; B. T PPER, 3!..se.: 1y, W.'\\, V.C n1 C. 1 Cnnne $ lle, Oct. 12th 1842, 43.w. (:1nr.n Al G11e11 andl.:n,.rcnc,elj (eh De11- con, wll plrnse r.opy n d dlorje 1 e: W. w. Y.C.o... ; Whtewater Canal completed to Laurel. 5 Q. ; ::1 3!!. s 1832 'f Mam and Ere.!: Canal completed!l c from Cncnnat > to Dayton. w (Taylor. 46) = Oho and Ere Canal completed from Cleveland to Oho Rver. (Taylor, 46) Mchgan becomes twenty-sxth state. (C anu1h. 1 18) Brookvnte lndlana Amercan, Marct 11, Mam and Ere Canal from Cncnnat to Toledo completed. (Taylor, 46) 1 The ndana Hstoran, June 1997 Cl Copyrght ndana Hstorcal Bureau 1997 C> Copyrght ndana Hstorcal Bureau 1997 The ndana Hstoran, June

7 A canal boat captan on the Whtewater Canal Captan Joseph M'Cafferty was a canal b oat captan on the Whtewater Canal durng th e 184s. Accordng to Refel, Some years before hs death he [M'Cafferty] talked remnscently concernng hs canal days. Th s excerpt s from August J. Refel, Hstory of Frankln County, ndana. (n d anapols: B.F. Bowen & Company, nc., 1915) Ca ptans and ther canal boats were an mportant part of th e economy. They generally were ndependent and pad tolls to u se th e canals for passenger and,,,.,.:::::'=:' Cf.Utl: DRDG CT Y, -:- 12 '!. N AN.. :. lnterecton of he J tc1dtzter ck. nal a_nd tl.e f!'at 1al Road. T lle Ul\Dl': R GN ED, Comnltoe L!. p r t, oftbe p r opr-e to r11, w sell - () tl1c P,ren fr. 11._ C A M lll lj DG, l nd1 a, a )rge number fj o(buoldmg :ot on Le tlo ol S lembt r, n.t. c' Cam6r1dge C;ty e u \Vay cou nty, l 11d n1 8 a bo1.n 53 :mles 'eut 9r J nrl 1 pol1. ;1 6:l 'A'tlt or - Day lvn, and O notlh 't\'f' l of ncnnat. h 1, 11 E t'he \\ 'c. st l ork of the \\'h'.tewa' r r v. and a. t le <:: p rec.se nle rtt eot nn (!1he.\\'l11 w al e C:uu11 1wtL g tte Nu oo1d Road: jlt 1 cu 111cd 4 Lo be lll ur : d pan!:, n na lural :or tt.r1.cal. dw::nt1.ge'1 by ny to n. tl.o w.holly 111tet1or 1n t \\'C t rn counuy. v h ' 1.l1e bl!arl or Eutern ndana. nd n the rcl1t-1t rn.j. mo1t. pot ulou. c, nf)' o ll1e tte, :,or ; ;.,. 11,'; ;1'. :;:;:.. ll\ rj:'tj a mou11 uf po r for t t t.: 1 n c rn at markr.t. a: o fw luth Jut aeuon, a/ Fngle J vju.al 1nJJ lo t ho velu f! of f44.cu. 1 L 1 po. 'm1.1 11t 11err :H 1l v bec:l1 m11 tl1 e depot for. t le p r llcc oc an c :<te- n j \ 'd11t r ct o( v r y rc'h'cottntr,v; l 1 r.(' C' tn he l.-tr:b l u ted by Lle c,nn 1, ft1 l Ho:. a nll T 11 1q 11 k ce lo \'&.ruua pl11 cp.1 on th(? O l1o.! 1'1.c. fa c ltu forn1d1e 1t fur Uonl!' ll1 11 unj er t 'lntnl)lll lmrovc' n11nt S y1tern. o' J nd 111a, re cnrccly c 1 11dl d t l any pont wha.le\' C'r.. Cambrdge Cty wth ths advertsement (excerpted here) mmedately jumped on the bandwagon of ndana's 1836 nternal mprovements system. What s the purpose of the advertsement? What can you learn from t about the cty and the area?.!: o; E ;:: on-8u rj1y,ltef ll11 &lay ne11, s,al-.,.j Propo al.wl h re,c:cu1 by1 111 c und.eraglled, al l 11!ana1>11l ; fo r G rulb1n :;; g-1 Clcarn11. Gn4nr and llrj n: thrly.e. m\ c1 o r.ho J, mm :d ngb ur 11h to lnd. pn ppol11 n_ 1oq1un1, loj out b7 lloe lfo- 11neor, TLc work. mual be c11mr lete1l.y 1hn fr.t Of 1\orembtr, Tho.Com pany wll m ke 1 rmen1 wth tloe utual e RAL; to1lo rettsg.. r 1:' Jeducllllll u tl1e wurk prorrcuco, n c.,h, B ex llcr CC'\ llondt o(t11 (;ornj>l llj. nter x cat 1cm ar11uolly :\hd ooo llro11clo, anj.!: prncpol n t an year ; or one tlor d Cl\l h, J!l and t he bal ncu n 1 bondo, u 1. h ll b<1 g c r cd 1 on; a.nd cacl1 11.ropo11o 11 1 expected to tale w t h> t>rcc o ( lc.ork n the JlfOlCllt l1nj1 o(!> Y mcnt. prupo d 5 Brookvlle ndana Amercan, May merchandse transportaton. Note that som e of the people and ncdents M'Cafferty m entons are also referred to n llustratons on pages 'The frst boat was the 'Ben Frankln.' She had been runnng on the Mam canal for a number of years, and t was decded to brng her over here. She was dropped down from the Mam canal to the Oho rver and floated to Lawrenceburg and put nto the Whte Water canal. bought her and changed the name to 'Henry Clay' bult a number of boats to sell, and always got good prces for them. The frst boat bult at Cedar Grove was called the 'Natve,' and when she started on her frst trp there was a good deal of exctement all along the canal. The 'Natve' was a passenger and freght boat and was ftted up n a manner that was gorgeous for those days. There were two cabns and large state rooms ranged on the sde; the same as s now seen on passenger steamers. Stephen Coffn was the bulder and captan.. 'Fnally bult a boat called the 'Belle of ndana,' and there was nothng on the canal that touched her anywhere. The. ; Ol 1. swan lne of packets was put on about that tme. They dd not carry anythng but lght freght and passengers, and t was expected then they would make a fortune for ther owners. But they dd not pay, and after a season or two they were wthdrawn. carred passengers on the 'Belle of ndana' '. There was an ntense rvalry between the boats, and the way they used to race was a cauton, and when one boat tred to pass another t was about sure to end n a fght. The crew of a boat was the captan, two steersmen, cook and drver, and sometmes they all got nto t. '... the greatest tme was when they opened the canal to Cambrdge Cty. We knew for a long tme that the canal was to be opened up to that place, but we dd not know just when t would be, so we all lad away as much as possble and wated for the word.. At last the word came that the water was n the canal at Cambrdge Cty, and we started. 'There were twenty boats, and every one tred to get by the other, and when we had to make the locks tel l you there was some tall swearng and not a lttle fghtng, 1 llll mllllllllmlll ' ;;llllllrlllllll, The Belle of the West was a lne boat whch transported both passengers and freght. t was nvolved n the openng of the canal to Cambrdge Cty n October 1845 wth John Lemon as captan. See M'Cafferty's remnscence and the artcle Postscrpt from the Brookvlle ndana Amercan, October 1, 1845 on page 13. The cost of passage on a lne-boat. provded nether sleepng accommodatons nor food for ts patrons, and the boat generally moved more slowly than a packet (Dunbar, 861, 851 ). Floods cause $1, damage to Whtewater Canal Whtewater Canal and repars from flood completed to n 1848 are $8,; Hagerstown Canal Connersvlle n June Company completes Whtewater Canal and to Cambrdge Cty from Cambrdge Cty to Hagerstown; ndana's new n October. Madson and ndanapols Ralroad Consttuton adopte-. (Falout. 11 7) (Esarey, 1 o52 21) completed. _bn (Esarey, 1 :426; Gruman, 133; Taylor, 91) _flm_ _rrj U.S. declares war Wsconsn becomes nternatonal cholera on Mexco; war thrteth state. epdemc reaches Mdwest. ends n (Carru1h, 135) (Carrulh, 14) (Carrulh ) but no one was hurt. My boat and all the other packets were crowded wth passengers. had the 'Belle of ndana' then, and there was such a crowd on the deck that had to separate them so the steersman could see the bow of the boat. When we got n sght of Mton t seemed as f the whole Unted States was there. There were two or three cannons fred and the people were shoutng and yellng lke ndans. John Lemon was the captan of the 'Belle of the West,' and was pushng hm mghty hard, for he was n the lead. But the water was not deep enough for a good race and he beat me nto Cambrdge Cty; but was rght behnd hm. '. There were cannons, more bands, the state offcers were there and every one had a great jublee.. there s a bg dfference now and then. Why, we went through the stretches of woods four and fve mles long then to get to Cambrdge, and t would be hard to f nd a stretch now half a mle long. Those were great days, though, and everybody made money, but mghty few kept t. t was come easy and go easy. 'Of course, was around the canal about all my lfe, but ran a boat about seven years, and good years they were, too. But saw that the busness on the canal was fallng off and so sold all my boats, closed out my busness, bought a farm and have been a farmer ever snce.. guess that am about the only one of the boys who used to run on the canal that s left, and t won't be very long untl te up forever.' Cambrdge Cty started usng ts canal potental for busness n 1836 accordng to the advertsement on page 12. The canal dd not reach there untl October The oral hstory by Captan M'Cafferty on ths page gves hs verson of the race to be the frst boat to arrve at Cambrdge Cty. s ths artcle correct when compared to M'Cafferty's verson. Wabash and Ere Canal completed to Evansvlle. (Taylor, 48) Central Canal sold for $2,425. (Esarey. 1 :426) 1861 U.S. Cvl War begns; war ends n (Carruth, 157, 166) Ths artcle ndcates that the Whte Water Canal s n runs. The Whtewater Canal suffered much damage from floods. ts supporters over and over spent great sums of money to repar t. Another dsastrous flood n 1852 fnally brought transportaton uses of the canal to a close (Fatout, 154). c AlllBR 1 lg CTYo1clGbt'r -8th, Arrjval 1f,1JoaU ::;.fve. baye 1he.ploa51ure e>{ announcr,g to out:fr!ends, he 'arr! ator boats al \hs o ace,.rrom -p1nclnnatl..,the Bell.or: n:. c= a'.n a, J'. arre on Mor ay evenng last; apt. LE M MO N her rra\er, deserves great ::: sre!::=xt %,:\;;g h obslacles whch have so long'prevetj- ed :navgaton lo ts pont..., '. 1. 'r he Sj1rlngfeld, ( to be n a.rned 1he Star ] brambrldge Cty,) r rlved ycste'day 2 evenng, freghted wlh sslt for 1h s pjace. o: Doth these boats are 1or lne proporton lnj l nrg dmcrlons, and wll hue,ther full 11h3rc ol bualneu from th! pon ; ;1.-. Cambrdge Cty Jk:clle.. : Whte Water Valley Canal Company property sold to pre sdent of ndanapols and Cncnnat Ralroad; towpath later becomes roadbed for Whte Water Ralroad Company. (Fa1out, ) ndana State Lbrary, ndana Dvson Manuscrpts. The Whte Water Valley Canal Company was ncorporated n 1842 by the ndana General Assembly to complete the canal to the Natonal Road, at Cambrdge Cty. The Canal House headquarters n Connersvlle remans as a remnder of the grand days of the canal era n ndana. The Canal House was placed n the Natonal Regster of Hstorc Places n DUD1ranu FLoOD. Jaa. l 18'7. ll k.d y lodf,._ oo mbe1ed 11 lm Wh&e,Water Valley.- A d mu7,.,. wll el pm before cbe t''ll&ed of lm V&lle7 wll a proe l c' peroa. creamttaace. H tt1 ere 11 lb&l g monnr. t 1 oar lhl to record tbe 1D1»l dm lreo1 Sood, tlretba rnr a'll'ep\ alonr tln Wbl Wa11n. h bad raff, for l o tl 1 pn1 oa1 to New-7u1 day, and the WllU 11 ta rff Hr rhre M aor11111r el tb& clay w' tnrfal,.pdlf, 111d ' mll11cll' t.,._,. ahal'll eterj t bdf 1L read1 or &JM rnr. ll. llrber bj loor 11 feet tllan t bu been fortbrlj U1rH Je&l'lo aod alloat thee b,r:bu \b1n t wu et UMt memorabl Clooct of )A l3. h 1 a l anlue to enamttat nclyldoel loeee1. Erery farm oa tbe rur dyee H of r.nee., u n m17 cee tle 'eol, Mlla aad mll dam an e :b4 runff nr serou1l1 (H. RMtl are lord Vp, flled ap wtb arf\, Dr tlp an4 111p111 bl1 pjw of ter. A od 'be Whr.a WMff Cuul 1 NH. Tbe &utbe191rt or Bhll1, bet the fo 11 of the rur, eujl ered lll«ht Hrouaf Yellowstone Natonal Park Reserve establshed. (Carrull1. 179) Wabash and Ere Canal sold for $96,26 to repay bondholders. (Esarey, 1 :445} g «:.!l.,,,, ' 2 Ol 12 Th e ndana H s toran J u n e Copyrght nd ana Hst or cal Bureau 1997 Copyrght ndana Hstorcal Bureau 1997 The ndana H storan, June t

8 Behnd the Scenes Behnd the Scenes presents some aspect of how lhe Bureau staff produces each ssue of the magazne. The focus may be, for example, the research process, an nterpretaton problem, etc. t also enables us to thank our partners and demonstrate that research s a collaboraton wth often unexpected twsts and turns. A Note Regardng Resources: tems are lsted on ths page that enhance work wth the topc dscussed. Some older tems, especally, may nclude dated practces and deas that are no longer generally accepted. Resources reflectng current practces are noted whenever possble. Selected Resources respect our own back yard Paul Baudendstel lves n Metamora. After talkng a few mnutes wth hm, hs passon for the Whtewater Canal s obvous. For the past thrty years he has mmersed hmself n ts rch hstory: researchng, wrtng, and preservng the hertage of s adopted town. He has worked wth the Canal Socety of ndana and has publshed varous tems related to the Whtewater Canal. Hs sketches of Whtewater Canal boats have been rendered on computer for use throughout ths ssue. Baudendstel lves on the upper floor of a buldng bult n 1848 as a dry goods store. Walkng through hs front door s lke walkng nto a small museum. Books, old photographs, and maps, blend wth the eclectc artfacts that fll the lvng room. From the front wndows, one can look drectly down on the restored canal. What brought hm to Metamora? What strred such passon and dedcaton to an era long gone? Baudendstel shared hs belefs n ths short wrtten ntervew. Mary, my frst wfe, ded of l[e]ukema cancer n the summer of She was 21. The 'mportance of the ndvdual' was suddenly panfully clear. Wth pencls and sketch pad went on a quest soul searchng. n the Erc Sloane tradton. - Don't push the rver - came to Metamora to sketch old buldngs and got caught up n the canal. was 25 and thought knew so much about lfe. The canal waters were so powerful at the mll falls.. so peaceful as they flowed down Man St. of ths lttle vllage.. so tmeless. There was somethng mssng n my sketches people. a My knowledge of ndana Hstory was text book. Ths was real. thought that was the frst person to dscover lvng hstory. At the Mll Falls really got nto the canal. n the fall of 1967 bought an old dry goods store on the canal n Metamora, nd. Opened an antque shop for men dealng n prmtve tools moved upstares above my store and here am.. My antque shop may have been a fnancal falure not unlke canals n ndana but got a wealth of nformaton. Mantanng what you've got worthwhle. ndana at that tme seemed embarrassed about her canal era lke t was a mstake that should be covered up. Not much was sad about canals n my school years. went out to explore and map canal runs. What a wealth of monuments we had. and to ths day we stll do not respect them as 'H storc Landmarks.' We go to Europe to see a 3 year old pub.. to Chna to try to grasp a 3 year old temple. t's tme to serously respect our own back yard. Ths land s sacred too. want to share that wth people. Those n the future who want to be open to t.. We should gve them more space to feel canal water. am very grateful to 'the few people' who. struggled so long to save a pece of the Whtewater Canal. owe for ths space. want to do what can. 'm stll explorng my county, huntng ts treasures, seeng my world as a vstor. Paul Baudendstel on the deck of Natve Son. The Metamora Whtewater Canal ste n the 194s, the Whtewater Canal Assocaton of ndana, a group of people dedcated to savng the canal around Metamora, worked together to assure ts restoraton and preservaton. The Assocaton's actvtes are ncluded n ssues of the ndana Hstory Bulletn durng that tme. n 1945, the ndana General Assembly created a state memoral from the Whtewater Canal System property donated by the Whtewater CanalAssocaton.Laws, 1944,pp Today, the Whtewater Canal State Hstorc Ste s n the ndana State Museum and Hstorc Stes dvson of the Department of Natural Resources. Contact: :llS;; Paul Baudendstel's Natve Son a twelve 't s foot by ffty foot full scale reproducton canal boat he bult and uses as a museum n Metamora, ndana. Bblography Barnhart, John D., and Dorothy L. Rker. ndana to 1816: The Colonal Perod. ndanapols: ndana Hstorcal Bureau and ndana Hstorcal Socety, A standard reference for ths perod. Baudendstel, R. Paul. The Whtewater Canal Boat Log: Notebook No. 1. Metamora, N: R. Paul Baudendstel, Booklet contans excerpts from many sources about canal boats on the canal, as well as drawngs by the author. Benton, Elbert Jay. The Wabash Trade Route n the Development of the Old Northwest. Baltmore: The Johns Hopkns Press, 193; reprnt [ 1958]. Standard source for the hstory of the Wabash and Ere Canal, reprnted by the Publc Lbrary of Fort Wayne and Allen County. Buley, R. Carlyle. The Old Northwest: Poneer Perod, vols. ndanapols: ndana Hstorcal Socety, 195; reprnt, Pultzer Prze wnnng book s excellent source for overvew of ndana's canal hstory n context of Old Northwest; reprnted by the Socety and ndana Unversty Press. Carruth, Gorton. Wh(Lt Happened When: A Chronology of Lfe and Events n Amerca. New York: Harper & Row, Publshers, A handy, abrdged edton of The Encyclopeda of Amercan Facts & Dates. Dunbar, Seymour. A Hstory of Travel n Amerca. 4 vols. ndanapols: The Bobbs-Merrll Company, Canals are dscussed n Volume 3; nformatve and readable. Esarey, Logan. A Hstory of ndana: From ts Exploraton to vols. Fort Wayne: The Hooser Press, 1924 (thrd edton). A standard resource orgnally publshed n 1918; page numbers dffer n the varous edtons. Fatout, Paul. ndana Canals. West Lafayette: Purdue Unversty Studes, Valuable source; easy-to-read hstory of canals n ndana. Garman, Harry. Whtewater Canal, Cambrdge Cty to the Oho Rver. ndana Hstory Bulletn, 39:9 (September 1962), A useful artcle for an overvew. Gray, Ralph D. The Canal Era n ndana. Transportaton and the Early Naton. ndanapols: ndana Hstorcal Socety, 1982, pp A paper presented at an ndana Amercan Revoluton Bcentennal Symposum n 1981, t provdes a more postve approach to the hstory of ndana's canal era. Madson, James H. The ndana Way: A State Hstory. Bloomngton and ndanapols: ndana Unversty Press and ndana Hstorcal Socety, Good general work from prehstory to late twenteth century. Shaw, Ronald E. The Canal Era n the Old Northwest. Transportaton and the Early Naton. ndanapols: ndana Hstorcal Socety, 1982, pp Provdes useful context for studyng ndana's canals. See Gray precedng. Taylor, George Rogers. The Transportaton Revoluton, Whte Plans, NY: M. E. Sharpe, nc., Detaled, well-researched hstory of the many forms of transporta - ton and ther socal and economc mpact upon Amercan socety. Addtonal resources Barnhart, John D., and Donald F. Carmony. ndana: From Fronter to ndustral Commonwealth. 4 vols. New York: Lews Hstorcal Publshng Company, 1954, reprnt Volume 1 s a valuable source for nformaton on ndana's nternal mprovements from 1816 to McCord, Shrley S., compler. Travel Accounts of ndana, ndanapols: ndana Hstorcal Bureau, 197. Frst-hand observatons, comments, and adventures of early ndana travelers. Suggested student resources Boyer, Edward. Rver and Canal. New York: Holday House, Desgn, constructon, and operaton of magnary canal presented n text and lne drawngs; for any age group. McNeese, Tm. Amerca's Early Canals. New York: Crestwood House, Readable hstory of the development of canals; for ntermedate and advanced readers; ncludes glossary, resources, and ndex. Nrgots, Ncholas. Ere Canal: Gateway to the West. New York: Frankln Watts, Begnnng hstory of buldng the Ere Canal and ts mpact on Amerca; for elementary and mddle school readers; ncludes references, glossary, and ndex. Ox.lade, Chrs. Canals and Waterways. New York: Frankln Watts, Craft and scence demonstratons wth bref text; for example, how a lock system works; for elementary and mddle school readers. Sten, R. Conrad. The Story of the Ere Canal. Chcago: Chldrens Press, Readable account wth several llustratons useful to student understandng; for elementary and mddle school readers. 14 The ndana Hstoran, June Copyrght ndana H stor cal Bureau 1997 Co pyrght ndana Hstorcal Bureau 1997 The ndana H storan, June