Whitewater Canal State Historic Site
The Whitewater Canal was one of several projects begun by the Indiana Improvement Act of 1836, which was designed to improve transportation and develop commerce state-wide. Constructed to link southeastern and central Indiana, the canal was completed in 1847. The canal extended 68 miles from Lawrenceburg to Cambridge City, with an eight-mile extension north to Hagerstown and a 25-mile extension to Cincinnati. Although canal traffic flourished for several years, the project proved to be a financial disaster for the state of Indiana. The costs incurred in the construction of the 56 locks and seven feeder dams required to maintain the canal totaled over one million dollars. The advent and development of the railroad during the early 1860s marked the demise of the Whitewater Canal and the canal era in Indiana. In 1946, the State of Indiana began the process of reclaiming and restoring a 14-mile section of the original canal.
Marker is at the intersection of Pennington Road and Columbia Street, on the left when traveling east on Pennington Road.
Courtesy hmdb.org
