Wabash and Erie Canal

State: Indiana, Ohio

Lat/Long: 38.0333, -87.3833

For years, residents of Indiana promoted the idea of a canal to connect the Wabash River with the Maumee River (thus connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio River), but it was not until the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 that the movement gained critical momentum. After securing federal legislation including a land grant, and a cooperative agreement with the state of Ohio, Indiana began construction of the canal in 1832 and it was opened on July 4, 1843.

Charles R. Poinsatte, Fort Wayne During the Canal Era, 1828-1855 (Indiana Historical Bureau, 1969), 31-36, 38, 68.