I love learning about my state. This Hoosier thanks you, History Guy!

Thanks for the history lesson I remember learning about this in my 4th grade Indiana history class...all except the bankruptcy! The canal from broad ripple to downtown is a great place to ride your bike; very picturesque with lots of places to stop along the way including the Indianapolis Museum of Art and Butler University.

I was the project superintendent for the contractor that converted the final section of the Central Canal into the starting point of the Indy Canal Walk in 1999/2000. It was one of my favorite projects and won a Corps of Engineers Outstanding Achievement award. The waterfall and basin are my favorite part of the Canal. Good memories. Nice story!

My hubs is a Hoosier and I am gonna send this to him to watch (born and raised on the west side of Indy). I lived in Indy with him for a few years but I was sooo happy to move back to Arizona. The one thing I do truly miss about Indiana is the month of May. Hoosiers will know what I mean.

It is said that the canal debacle led to the ongoing fiscal conservatism in Indiana. The legislature never wanted to be in that fiscal position ever again. Indiana is one of the few states with a budget surplus.

The tow paths of the canals and especially the Wabash & Erie canal, were later used us the road beds to support the network of interurban rail lines.

Thank you for the history lesson on the Indianapolis Central Canal. It has turned from a brackish eyesore to a beautiful piece of Indianapolis infrastructure, enjoyed by residents and visitors alike. Well done, HG!!!

I live near Wabash Indiana. Parts of the canal are still there in Largo. Its pretty neat and parts are still partially full of water. You can see where the hinges were on the locks.

Thank for this report. I too lived in Broad Ripple area for 20 years as a youth and crossed over the canal innumerable times. The Whitewater and Central canal serve today as recreational and historical tourist areas. providing a benefit to generations after their construction, though not in the manner intended originally. Many thanks for this insight commentary. We see a lot by looking!

I'm local to the connecting point of this and I am happy as hell to finally get some info on it.

I lived in Indianapolis for 20 years and only new a little of the canal history. Thank you so much for this wonderful information!!

I was born and raised in Indy. I remember the canal restoration project of '85. The Baltimore Colts had just moved to Indy and the town was looking to re-invent itself as a tourist destination. Or, at least some kind of destination.

Fort Wayne native/resident love learning about my city and state

The canal entered the Ohio River in Evansville, Indiana. When the canal was abandoned, it was filled in and that thoroughfare is now known as Canal Street.

Another fantastic video. But I want to extend my own personal gratitude to you for the Cameo appearance that you did for my dad's birthday on 4/25. You genuinely exceeded my expectations, and I cannot wait to send that video to him. Today, indeed, is a day to be remembered.

Great episode, I live in Indianapolis and cross over the broad ripple Canal all most everyday, great to hear you talk about our wonderful City Indianapolis. Thanks

I had the chance to walk IN the Central (we call it Broad Ripple) Canal from Michigan Road up to the locks on White River in Broad Ripple. The canal wall had suffered a wall blow out in 1992, and was draining downhill into White River behind Butler University. This posed a threat to the downtown Indianapolis water supply, so, for the first time ever, they had to shut off the water locks at the start of the canal in Broad Ripple to effect repairs downstream, allowing it to be dry for several weeks. My brother and I walked down the canal bed, which was mostly silt and weeds, with the occasional remnants of a gigantic carp or desiccated 2 foot long catfish along the way. I'd always thought the canal to be deep, but time has filled it with silt, and in reality it averages between 3-5 feet along most of the way in that area (it was bone dry when we walked it).

Having an unfinished canal in downtown Indy is a bit odd to say the least, but it is extremely popular area today. :D

I’m so glad you covered the canals of Indiana! I live about a mile from the remnants of the Whitewater Canal and only about ten miles from a restored section in Metamora! You should definitely check it out sometime when you are out this way!!

Living here in Las Vegas. The last canal I saw 👀 was a Root Canal🤣 Waka Waka!

Thanks for teaching about a forgotten mode of transportation. I often wondered why Indianapolis had a waterway; did not know it was part of a planned canal.

I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN SYRACUSE NEW YORK! The Erie Canal is a deep part of Syracuse history.

I grew up in New Haven, IN, east of Ft. Wayne and was very familiar with the history of the canal. New Haven annually celebrates (celebrated?) "Canal Days" in June. It was always my understanding that the railroads were largely responsible for the demise of the canal system and I had no idea of the vast expense/debt incurred by their construction. Sometime after I had graduated High School in 1989, the state built an interstate bypass (I-469) around Ft. Wayne, encompassing New Haven. During it's construction one of the original canal locks was discovered and is now mostly preserved in the Indiana State History Museum in Indianapolis. I haven't lived there since 1989 when I joined the USAF, but I still have family in the area.

Wish that My Pop was still alive. We are from Indy and he would have loved this episode. The channel actually.

We grew up in Broad Ripple and knew a lot about the canal, but your video taught us a lot more! Thanks

Really cool, History Guy. Here in Fort Wayne there are still remnants of the canal in some areas. Up toward Toledo along US 24 there are some remnants containing water and examples of the canal boats. Here the railroad soon replaced the canal using the same right of way.

I live near Defiance, Ohio and as you travel along the Maumee River to Toledo you can see remnants of the Erie Canal. The stories/history that could be told if they could talk.

Hello from Detroit Michigan brother thank you for sharing your adventure through time

The Erie Canal in New York was built at the right time and in the right way. The first leg of the canal bypassed the rapids on the Mohawk river and was very popular, allowing wheat grown in the Mohawk valley to be transported to New York City. As the canal was pushed further west the same thing kept happening; more and more commerce flowed east and west with the tolls paying for the next phase of construction. The canal was later widened and some locks eliminated but the coming of the New York Central railroad soon made the canal redundant. The reconstruction in 1912 into the Barge Canal system allowed bulk transporting of oil and later gasoline but pipelines soon put an end to this also. Today the canal is clean and great for boating and fishing.

A fantastic effort. Thank you for another fabulous Video, Warm Regards, A

Metamora Indiana still operates as a "Canal Town". It has the only existing wooden aqueduct in operation in the United States. You can take a ride on a horse drawn canal boat. The town has events throughout the year. It is a nice place to visit.

The swim portion of my first Olympic distance used the Central Canal in downtown. It was like a 1500 meter long pool. Spectators could walk along and watch the entire length.

I live in Fort Wayne. I think (or at least imagine) that I can still see some of the remnants of the Erie-Wabash Canal once I get out west of the city along US 24 toward Roanoke. They’re just grown-over ditches, but wide enough and probably deep enough to have once been the canal route.

Illinois & Michigan Canal, linking Great Lakes to the Mississippi.

Incredible amount of hand shoveling

Great one. Thanks. The Illinois Michigan canal completed in 1848 connected Chicago to the Illinois River and thereby the Mississippi. Was a success and jump started thev regions prosperity. Now it's a 55ish mile corridor with great bike paths and historic lock towns. And still miles of abandoned and overgrown sections to explore. Pre rail you could potentially be in central Illinois and get your product via water, shipped or received all the way from/ to New York city.

The Wabash Erie through terrible haute has been filled and turned into a road, but there are several sections of the canal in the country that still hold water. There's also a few old locks remaining as well.

What a wonderful presentation! I grew up and still live in Logansport, IN. Our house, on East Linden Avenue, was built on the bed of the Wabash and Erie Canal, where it crossed the Eel River. Two massive canal support structures still exist on the south side of the river, and three small island, left overs from the supports that the canal rested on still can be seen. My neighbors across the street used to thrill us with stories of when their father built the house on the corner of 5th and East Linden, almost directly across the street from my childhood home. At one point, on that corner, stood a canal master shack, where workers tended to the canal and such. Her father moved that shack behind their house when he built their home, and my neighbor used to take me into it, pointing out period piece tools and other items, including early newspapers that covered the walls. Unfortunately, when they passed away, the person who bought the house destroyed the shack and its history. The canal came into Logansport via the area later named Erie Avenue. Many period buildings remain on that street. After it crossed the Eel River, it turned west and traveled along the now aptly named road, Water Street, and traveled on to the Ohio River. The towpath road used to guide the canal boats still exists near Georgetown. Logansport hasn't celebrated the Canal's legacy as much as other cities, as it had a big railroad industry, but if you ever get the chance, there's a beautiful park in Delphi, IN that contains a refurbished part of the canal, including a period era canal boat, built by volunteers and measures to scale, a wonderful museum, and several homes and log cabins that were rescued and relocated to Canal Park. And that governor, James Brown Ray, who lacked confidence in the canal systems? He was also pretty much a nut case, who used to stand on the street corners in Indianapolis and write with his cane in the sky, among other goofy things. He was also one of my ancestors. Thank you for recognizing this great part of history!

A wonderfully preserved section of the Whitewater Canal is in Metamora , IN. You'll find many postings from there on KZfaq and other online sites. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.

An important point is that the gondolas and restaurants are only open in the summer. If you go during a gorgeous October weekend, it is abandoned to all but the joggers.

You mentioned Lafayette in this, and not only is it my hometown, but I live there still. The Canal is something that's noted proudly in our history, but on the heels of that is noted the financial calamity that came from it for the state. The state Constitution now has an amendment that requires a balanced budget. There is a part of Lafayette just downriver of Wabash Avenue that is called The Towpath, and it is accessible only by a small lane between the railroad tracks and the fence line of the wastewater treatment plant. My father, mother, and stepfather all delivered mail down that lane at one time or another during the '60s-'80s. It was a wild place, and my mom worried she would be accosted by some of the less-than-savory characters who lived there, but my father assured her she was safe since she delivered their welfare checks *eye roll*. The part of the canal that passed through the downtown area is covered up, but it can still be seen on some of the maps that show the old town, especially a detailed illustration that has circulated dated 1867. There is a part of the old canal that still exists: it's called the Widewater, and it's where the old keelboats were said to be able to turn around, it was so wide. A bridge for North 9th Street Rd passes over it, and there is a recycling center (read "junkyard") next to it.

Great video about my home state. Haven’t visited the canal area yet. There’s a USS Indianapolis memorial on the canal too. Did you visit the Indiana War memorial museum, it’s really nice.

From a longtime Indianapolis resident, thank you for the informative story. I had heard a lot of this before but it was very good.

If any of you get a chance, visit the portion of the canal in Indy, there are a number of museums right on the canal. The memorial for the USS Indianapolis is located there as well. And the Indiana Historical Society Building, the NCAA headquarters and I believe the hall of fame. And my favorite, the Indiana State Museum.

Thank you for the lesson.

A section of the Whitewater Canal around Metamora is being excevated and they have a canal boat there that they sail up and down a short section of. Its very quaint

I know this is a comment on an old video…but hell…thanks for mentioning Indiana…I had lived there my whole live until me and my girlfriend moved to New Hampshire last month…before, my home was a mile away from a section of the Erie Canal…and in a corn field nearby was the grave of someone (I no longer remember the name) who had died in its creation…so thank you 🙂

Fantastic content as always. I live in Broadripple and it’s fascinating to learn about the canal that still exists and is a popular walking and jogging path!

Lived here all my life & not once heard this mentioned. Thanks for the history.

I grew up next to the remnants of the Wabash and Erie Canal. When some highway construction was being done on I-469 near the intersection with US24, some of the timbers from a lock were unburied. It was fun to hear about some more details of what I grew up around.

Forest "between Broad Ripple and Indianapolis." That sounds so strange today as Broad Ripple is completely engulfed by the city of Indianapolis.

There was also the Whitewater canal, severely damaged by floods shortly after it was built, it was never repaired, but a part of it is now a tourist attraction in Metamora.

That brought back a memory ! Once in a quiz the question was posed , which city is the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by a navigable waterway ? The answer so we were told was Indianapolis ! I don't know if its still true or if it ever was for that matter 😂

Great information. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.

I used to take my girlfriend out there and we'd smoke a joint before seeing a Imax show at the museum. I was under the assumption that the canal wasn't that old and was just for looks... kinda mind blowing to learn it has such a profound history dating back to early 1800s.

One very important attraction on the canal in Indianapolis is the Medal of Honor memorial....very beautiful, especially at night!!!

The central canal in broadripple is also the favorite swimming hole for a certain football player!

Thank you. I have always been fascinated with these old canals. I love looking at pictures of the Erie, Morris etc.

It is amazing today to see the canals that have been abandoned and filled in. It was hard, miserable work that cost many lives in and of itself, never mind when mobs murdered people like at Duffy's cut in Malvern Pennsylvania where almost three score Irish immigrants met gruesome ends like a scene out of Gangs of New York. I hope it piques someone's interest, the information is out there, easily found on the internet. It's fascinating, and most certainly history that deserves to be remembered!

Thank you for keeping Indiana history alive!

If you're a thinking man at all it stands to reason That the Clydesdale and the cart have had their day Though they've served the country well for many's the season Oh the narrow boats did take their trade away. But to float a barge's keel you need the muscle sweat and steel Of a thousand navvies working on the line: With our picks all on our shoulders and our shovels by our side We're the boys that broke the ground to join the Forth and Clyde! We had Geordies at the sides of Donegal men We had bothy lads from Breekin and Montrose We had highlanders from Bleevin and Bredalbean Who'd start the morn with whiskey in their brews But from Dublin or Dundee, every mother's son agreed That the work would make you old before your time: With our picks all on our shoulders and our shovels by our side We're the boys that broke the ground to join the Forth and Clyde! Oh we dug the cut from Grangemouth up to Boland From the German Sea to the Carren Foundry door Oh the faster they could bring the ore and coal in And the better they could make their cannon roar But to watch the waters run when the digging was all done Was a sight I'd walk a thousand miles to see: With our picks all on our shoulders and our shovels by our side We're the boys that broke the ground to join the Forth and Clyde So come all you thinking men whate'er your station If you marvel at the works of engineers Drink a health unto the navvies of the nation And the way they've changed your fortune o'er the years Jamaica rum and Baltic herring The bonnie shawl your lady's wearing All came travelling down our broad canal… With our picks all on our shoulders and our shovels by our side We're the boys that broke the ground to join the Forth and Clyde! (Tidewater Virginia folk and traditional group Dram Treeo off their 1987 album waterside)

I haven't read all the posts... but Delphi, IN has a functional section of the canal, complete with buildlings that reflect the era in which it was built. PLUS, there's a very intriguing instructional talk while you ride up and down the canal section there.

Thank you. I was born and raised in Central Indiana and knew little of the history of the canals.

Not mentioned (at least not halfway through) were some of the major REASONS that canal building became viable around that time: Steam power, improvements in earth-moving equipment, cheap labor (mostly immigrants), and of course, the advent of rail lines in the 1830s that made river trade all the more profitable. Also the things that went WRONG along the way: Seasonal disease, which routinely devastated laborers, possibly in the 10,000+'s in the case of Irishmen digging the New Basin Canal for New Orleans; sedimentation (giving some of these once-navigable waterways a much shorter lifespan than originally planned); and ultimately, the advent of internal combustion vehicles in the 1880s-1920s. Never mind that cutting through natural berms and embankments for the sake of new canals also subjected low-lying areas like New Orleans to potential flooding (read: Hurricane Katrina's famous inundation due to failed levees AFTER the storm had passed) which otherwise would not have been nearly as far-reaching nor as impactful.

Morning folks! Keep up the great work T.H.G. family!

I lived for a short time in Dearborn County next to Lawrenceburg in Aurora. The Whitewater Canal was finished, but within a year a flood hit and washed out many parts of the canal. The part in Ohio between Lawrenceburg, Indiana and nearby Harrison, Ohio was never rebuilt although the canal did reopen north of Harrison for a short time. You can still see remnants of the canal in Brookville and Metamora today.

I live and raised here just east of Terre Haute In.I found this interesting and learned something new about my area is kinda cool.

Great as always. I watch your videos as soon as they come out. But I took a break to go look at colleges with my daughter. Of course, I waited until today to watch this one. And we were in Indianapolis!! Didn’t have much time so we just went to dinner. But would have gone to the canal had I but watched this video when it came out. 🤷🏻‍♂️ History Guy and tour guide.

I have traveled and hiked along the Wabash & Erie Canal, the Central Canal and the Whitewater Canal. This video is good in that it highlights the boom as well as its eventual bust. But there was a lot more behind the scenes that drove Indiana to extend its canals. In simple terms the financing was coming via London and New York and those financiers wanted the goods the canal brought to pass through the established ports of New York and on to London. This would establish more toll revenue for the existing canals they had financed. The problem for Indiana was that commerce south of Indianapolis and Terre Haute (the onetime endpoint of the W&E) didn't go by way of a canal, it went by way of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the port of New Orleans. Not only was it easier to send commerce that way, but it was immensely cheaper! Before the State of Indiana approved the extension of the W &E by absorbing the Cross Cut Canal, they had applied to the Federal Government to establish a Port of Entry at Terre Haute which included a dam and lock at Grand Rapids (now Mt. Carmel Illinois). Since the USG revenue was primarily based on duties and taxes on trade, this made sense to manage the trade coming and going via New Orleans. President Andrew Jackson vetoed the spend because Terre Haute wasn't near any seaports, so he didn't think it would collect enough taxes to pay for it. It is unknown if he was "lobbied" by canal interests to keep that traffic on New York based canals. So Indiana gave up and licensed the rights on the Wabash to a private company called the Wabash Navigation Company and struck up the process to finish the canal to Evansville. The locks at Riley, Indiana which raised boats up the 35 feet out of Honey Creek was the most expensive lock ever built in Indiana. (and still stands today, they are trying to make it a park) The rest were made of wood to save money. Also the demise of the canal were based on the fact that the flatboat makers in New Baltimore, Indiana had come up with a steam powered flatboat that could reach Petersburg on the White River year round and reach Indianapolis in the spring during the snow melt season and spring rains. So even before the railroads came along the Cross Cut and southern half of the Wabash & Erie were becoming superfluous. The Cross Cut was doomed because the standing water in the Splunge Creek reservoir was thought to be causing typhoid. The Clay City "Regulators" kept bombing the feeder canal dam on the Eel River with TNT to force the lake to drain. This caused boats to get stranded between Riley and Worthington Indiana. Stories of packet boats coming up from Evansville getting stranded at Worthington were common. The turning pond off the White River was found to be full many times. They had to wait until a canal caretaker came down on his horse from Terre Haute thinking someone left a lock door open when instead he found the reservoir completely empty! It usually took a month for him to issue a new contract to get the feeder dam fixed and get the reservoir filled enough to re-water the canal! Fast forward to today.....The recent construction of I-69 in Martin County destroyed what small part of the Central Canal that was dug north of Martinsville. Several historians went out and documented it before the contractors regraded it and destroyed it. There are several online websites that review the destruction of the final stone lock on the Central Canal at Washington Street after the Civil War. Since the lock wasn't being maintained it leaked most of the water out and left the canal dry in the downtown and this made it very smelly, especially in the summertime when it would be full of dead rotting fish and all of the trash the citizens were throwing into it. When the water company took over they capped it off and the remainder of the dug out portion and its towpath south of town was sold to a narrow gauge railroad, which is now the Indiana Railroad. The water the dug out portion collected then is now part of the storm water collection system and diverts the water into the White River at Raymond Street. It has been published that the Central Canal was dug but not watered down to Waverly/Port Royal, but I have yet to find any remnants of that digging activity and is no doubt lost to the effects of nature and the periodic flooding of the White River. The closest I have found is a ditch that runs from Troy Ave to the IPL Harding power station, but I can't confirm it. The Wabash did finally get their locks built in 1890 at Grand Rapids by the US Corps of Engineers, but steamer traffic coming up the Wabash by that time was declining. The navigation rights were turned over to the TVA after WW2 and they formally removed the dam at Mt Carmel. The TVA finally renounced their rights in the late 1950's. This is why all the railroad bridges south of Terre Haute had a swing span or had to be extra high. All because a canal was preferred in the 1840's.

I kind of expected to see a basketball floating in the canal.

OK, Im a canal junkie, cant wait til a map of all old canals is available. The Princeton NJ library has a great canal history section. Skullkyll Forever!

I've said this before on this channel, but I wish history classes in the US were as interesting as THG's videos. Never understood how rote memorization of names & dates benefited anyone

Hope HG does Whitewater Canal too. The Whitewater Canal was used for hydraulic power until the 1950's in Connersville. The first Industrial park was built next to it for the available hydraulic power. The canal ruins are much larger and more technically advanced in that section; the blowed up dam has a fish ladder. Electricity was generated early and until the end. Laurel dam downstream is functioning and feeds a section of canal that's state owned and supposed to function, but is not maintained. The Richmond to Brookville Canal sections along east fork of WW river was never completed and caused flooding on the completed west fork river / canal sections; from lack of river control on the east fork of WW river. A 15 mile long reservoir controls the east fork today. The flooding hampered canal transport in broken remote sections, but not the hydraulic power usage in the towns.

Thanks for improving my knowledge. The old maps improved my Indiana history comprehension and it’s good to know more of some area landmarks reported by the last generation to be a part of the canal.

Grew up near Lockport NY so the Erie canal figured in much of our local history. Even after rail replaced the canal, Buffalo was an important trans-shipment point between the Great Lakes west and the rail to the east. Once the Welland canal opened, freighters could bypass Buffalo.

Last October I did a running race in downtown Indianapolis right by the canal, it was really nice.

i spent many days here as a teen. loved the city and Indiana in general. the state at least to me feels like a great place to live . when i was in young marines we went to the Medal of honor park there.

I'm from the Illinois side of the Wabash, near Vincennes, between Evansville and Terre Haute. Great to watch a video about something historical so close to home. The history of that region of the country may not be as significant as the history of other regions of the country. But there are still many significant events, people and locations of that region. If you are looking for a topic for southern Illinois, check out the Goshen Road. Native Americans tracked the buffalo from areas north of present day St Louis to the salt licks in southeastern Illinois near the Ohio River just outside Shawneetown. When settlers arrived they used the trails created by the Native Americans and called it the Goshen Road because it connected Shawneetown to a settlement named Goshen near present day Glen Carbon, IL. Great content as always. Always look forward to your new videos.

My great grandparents settled next to the Miami Erie canal on the west side of dow town. My mentally ill great aunt actually drowned herself in that canal. Now it is all paved over and is called Central Parkway. The Germans settled north of that canal. That area is now called Over the Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati .

Typically interesting topic crisply presented. Thanks much!

Canals are so interesting. I grew up in Milan, Ohio and it was a city founded on the boom caused by the Milan Canal. There were little canals scattered all throughout Ohio until the railroads deemed them obsolete.

Thank you for the lesson from my home town. Nice to learn about history right beneath your nose!

Delphi. Indiana north-east of Lafayette has a restored section of the Wabash and Erie canal with canal boats as a museum. The canal used to go from Lake Erie To Lafayette, Indiana which was the farthest north large riverboats could go on the Wabash river.

This one made me laugh as I recalled reading a history of rail transportation many years ago, specifically a banker's assessment when it was a new technology. "It is indeed interesting but it will never be able to compete with a canal!" 😂 🤣

I frequently explore the Miami and Erie Canal in wester Ohio, which connected the Maumee Rive at Defiance, Ohio, with the Ohio River near Cincinnati. I am amazed at the amount of life that was loss during the construction of the canal - mostly to disease - for the amount of time in which the canal was economical viable, victim to the success of railroads.

From just north of Indy I appreciate this

An approximate 1 mile section of the Wabash and Erie Canal still exists at the southwestern edge of my tiny hometown of Francisco, in Gibson County Indiana. It's private property and pretty derelict, with lots of trash and debris visible from the road, as well as thick blanket of algae at the parts that are exposed to full sun all day. It's also habitat for the local wildlife, on warm spring and summer days, many turtles can be seen sunning themselves on deadfall trees, as well as ducks and geese and the occasional blue heron, which are absolutely majestic to see. Eagles and hawks are often sighted also.

The Indianapolis Water Company made use of the Central Canal and still does for water. Up until the 1960's they also sold water for hydraulic power for some industries. So it wasn't a complete failure. The southern most section with the canal walk is no longer connected to the rest of the canal. It was cut off from the northern part when the interstate highway was built in the 1970's and is now filled by run off from the parking structure at the State Government Center. Several sections of the Whitewater Canal were in use into the late 1930's for hydraulic power and Connersville used the canal water to generate electricity.

I loved going to the Salt City museum and the canal exhibit when I was a kid.. The Liverpool parkway still has a salt house and the beds they used to dry the salt. And there's a double pond I loved remote boating we called salt and pepper pond where there's still a salt spring feeding it..

Interesting to hear this bit of history of IN. I married a Ft. Wayne man and being from Philadelphia area I used to tease him by telling him I never even heard of Ft. Wayne until I watched the original Planet of the Apes. It was the hometown of George Taylor (aka Charlton Heston).

I would love to see a history of the Schuylkill Canal [Schuylkill Navigation Company project] started in the early 1800's shortly after the discovery of coal in Pottsville, Pa. It linked the coal region to Philadelphia for trade in coal & other goods. Along it's path the first tunnel was dug in North America. Avery rich history awaits you!

Having lived in Indianapolis for 17 years... I appreciate the section of the canal through downtown Indy. When visiting, I suggest one visits the USS Indianapolis memorial, then go down to the Medal of Honor memorial at night. The lighting brings a life to the memorial that is unseen during the day.

Great work Sir thank you

Interestingly, I was committed to a hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana called, "Central State Mental Hospital." Though I will never be like normal people, thanks to Central State Mental hospital, I can hold a job, drive an automobile, and funtion in society to an extent. Every once in awhile, I have to return to the asylum, usually once of twice a year. However, I live very far from Indiana, United States of America, today.

Man. Totally forgotten history. Never heard of these canals

Gives new insight to that old song “ 15 years on the Erie Canal.”

Nice that people can still use canals, rail, roads, as someday that won't be possible.

There are remnants of a canal in Clinton Township, MI. It was supposed to connect the Clinton River With the Kalamazoo River on the other side of the state. It would have created a waterway from Chicago to Detroit. It also ran out of funding long before completion.

It's a little know fact that the ghosts of the workmen who died digging the first canal haunted it. Which is why it's called 'The Eerie Canal'

I grew up in Central Indiana and went to Ball State University for Architecture and remember when the canal was developed. My second year of college in 1987 we had a project to design a fire station along the canal for the ICMA competition for second-year students sponsored by the Indiana Concrete Masonry Association. There is an incentive for restoring this part of the canal you didn't mention: The American United Life insurance company (called something else now I don't know what) built a new building at the Northwest corner of the immediate downtown starting in 1982 facing the diagonal Indiana Avenue. The architect was Skidmore Owings and Merrill SOM well known for many skyscrapers such as the Sears Tower and John Hancock in Chicago and many in China. There was protest by the local historians that building would visually cut off Indiana Avenue from the view of Monument Circle, but it proceeded anyway. Of the four diagonals that come to the city center, Virginia Avenue is the only one that still extends to its original point and from where one can see the monument. The AUL Building used a geothermal system, those systems at the time created a lot of wastewater and the canal was a perfect place to dispose of this clean water.