Needing to get farm goods to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers markets, construction of the Whitewater Canal commenced with Indiana’s Mammoth Internal Improvements Act of 1836. The state of Indiana completed construction from Lawrenceburg to Brookville before defaulting in 1840, turning the canal over to private investors. The Whitewater Valley Canal Company, located in Connersville, completed the canal from Brookville to Cambridge City. The last section to Hagerstown, completed in 1847, was funded by local businesspeople.
Local citizens provided the labor to build this engineering marvel. The Whitewater Canal was only 76 miles long and the nearly 500-foot drop in elevation made it necessary to construct 56 locks, 7 feeder dams, numerous stone arch culverts, and wooden aqueducts in this short distance. A secondary, 25-mile connection from Cincinnati to the Whitewater Canal at Harrison, Ohio, was built later that included a 0.3 mile-canal tunnel through a hillside connecting Cleves and North Bend, Ohio. All along the canal, Whitewater Valley communities and residents celebrated their efforts to build the canal and connect to new markets. Persistent flooding issues along the canal led to its closing in 1861. Railroad investors seized the opportunity to purchase the canal and laid railroad tracks along the towpath of the canal, re-energizing commerce in the valley.
Even though the canal was no longer moving goods along its path, the canal continued to serve the Whitewater Valley. The canal provided hydraulic power for local factories and mills (pulp, woolen, flour, lumber), including Metamora’s existing Grist Mill. Up until the 1950s in Connersville, hydropower from the canal supported its burgeoning economy, especially automobile manufacturing. In the mid-1940s, efforts to preserve some of the canal’s remaining structures led to the establishment of the Whitewater Canal State Historic Site in Metamora.
Today, nearly half of the historic Canal’s original structures are visible, and many accessible. This includes an existing feeder dam, numerous stone locks, hydropower mechanisms, tunnel arches, canal prism, former canal warehouses, stone arch culverts, sites of ice ponds, grist mill, reconstructed canal boat, and the original Duck Creek Aqueduct, a national civil engineering landmark. Imagine wading in a stream flowing between two twelve-foot tall stone walls that once served as one of 56 locks on the historic Whitewater Canal. These are the 175- year old walls that canal boats entered and then the lock gates raised or lowered the water level and enabled the boats to travel up or down the canal. Nearby, visitors can explore an operating Grist Mill, its water wheel turning the millstones and grinding grain for meal. Then, they can take a short trip on a reconstructed horse-drawn canal boat to and through the original, and only remaining, wooden-covered Aqueduct in the country.
In the early 2000s, local leaders created the Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway to showcase and experience the historic canal’s rich heritage and leverage the Valley’s numerous outdoor recreation options and natural beauty to pursue ‘adventure tourism.’ It became a state- designated byway in 2008 and expanded in 2011 to include three “loops” through the valley adding tourism-worthy sites. Visitors can use the Byway’s Driving Guide to trace the canal, find music and arts, emerging culinary options, shopping, architecture, outdoor sports, agri- tourism farms, and additional transportation history.
In the scenic Whitewater River Valley, visitors can hike nature trails, bike the state’s longest rail trail, canoe or kayak on the River, or go trout fishing at the base of the Brookville Dam. In the winter, they can head to Perfect North Slopes for snow skiing or tubing. When summer arrives, they should visit Brookville Lake for camping, boating, swimming, and skiing. Visitors will eat amazing fried chicken in the shadows of church spires in the German town of Oldenburg, enjoy live music and food in Richmond’s historic districts, or choose from the many other great restaurants available. There are opportunities to take walking tours through charming towns filled with antiques shops, wonderful museums, beautiful homes, and historic landmarks. Overnight lodging options abound from quaint Bed & Breakfasts to modern casinos. This byway connects the National Road Scenic Byway and the Ohio River Scenic Byway, all three of which were critical to the settlement of the Northwest Territory. The Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway offers visitors an amazingly rich palette of experiences.