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As settlers moved into the Northwest Territory after
1800, transportation routes became a priority for the government. In 1836,
Indiana legislators passed the Internal Improvements Act, which began
Indiana’s brief experience with canal building. Whitewater Canal was one of
several projects started as a result of this act.
The canal began in Lawrenceburg and
originally ended at Cambridge City. When the state went bankrupt in the
1840s, the canal was completed by private enterprise. Extensions and spurs o
the canal were added by the merchants of Hagerstown, Ind. and by the state
of Ohio to link Cincinnati to the canal. All of these factors combined to
make the canal 101 miles long. Along the route, 56 locks were built to
accommodate a fall of nearly 500 feet.
Two of these locks are preserved and can be viewed at
the Whitewater Canal State Historic Site. Once contains the massive doors
similar to the ones that were used to regulate the flow of water that would
raise or lower boats to the proper elevation.
The state of Indiana assumed management of a 14-mile
section of the canal in 1946 and today operates a horse-drawn canal boat and
the Whitewater Canal State Historic Site. Visitors can step back in time
while taking a leisurely 25-minute cruise on the Ben Franklin III. During
the voyage, the vessel passes through the Duck Creek Aqueduct, a covered
bridge that carries the canal 16 feet over Duck Creek. It is believed to be
the only structure of its kind still in existence.
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