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Evansville in Vanderburgh County, Indiana — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
 

The Short Lived Canal

 
 
The Short Lived Canal Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 29, 2023
1. The Short Lived Canal Marker
Inscription.
On March 2, 1827, Congress provided a land grant to encourage Indiana to build the Wabash & Erie Canal. The original plan was to link the navigable water of the Maumee with the Wabash through the seven mile portage at Fort Wayne. Work began five years later and proceeded west, reaching Huntington by 1835, Logansport in 1838 and Lafayette in 1841. Work was also performed east toward the Ohio line, but the canal did not reach Toledo until 1843. A second federal land grant enabled the completion of the canal to Terre Haute by 1849. At Evansville, 20 miles of the Central Canal had been completed north by 1839. The two canal projects were united in 1847 and bore the name Wabash and Erie.

The W&E was extended south in the late 1840's through the abandoned cross-cut canal works to Worthington and then south following the old proposed Central Canal route. The Wabash and Erie Canal was completed to Lamasco, a separate settlement to the west of Evansville, in 1853. Though fully operational for only a short seven-year period, the 468-mile-long canal drew national attention to the Evansville area and spurred a rapid increase in population and wealth in the 1850's.

The canal in Evansville included a basin used for turning boats for return trips and docking facilities for loading and unloading passengers and cargo.

The
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canal was more than a mere transportation means. Canal water, channeled through races, turned water wheels powering factories and mills along the canal’s route; communities and businesses paid rents to the state for the water’s use. Local people used the canal to bathe and to wash clothes.

Recognized as the longest canal in the United States, this gigantic enterprise was doomed to failure by the growing presence of railroads. The canal’s official demise was in 1873. Basins and other sections of the canal profile were filled.

In the 1880's the leaders of Vanderburgh County recognized the need for a new courthouse. The site chosen was the Union Block in Evansville, the location of the drained Wabash and Erie Canal Basin.

The Courthouse, designed by Henry Wolters of Louisville, Kentucky, and completed in 1891, is a massive edifice, proudly displaying the finest Indiana limestone. The main rectangular building is symmetrically balanced, with a broad pavilion projecting from each of the long sides. A soaring dome crowns the building at the crossing point of the pavilions and the axis of the main building. The ornate decorations of the exterior are reflective of the equally ornate and rich treatment of the interior.

Vanderburgh County was one of ten Indiana counties with large Irish populations. Next to German-Americans in Evansville, they
Full View - - The Short Lived Canal Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf, October 1, 2011
2. Full View - - The Short Lived Canal Marker
constituted the largest group of foreign-born residents in the community. Some arrived in Evansville by virtue of laboring on the canal, and others arrived through normal immigration patterns - - that is by answering the summons of friends or relatives who preceded them. The peak period of Irish immigration in the Evansville area was between 1850 and 1880. Irish immigrants and oxen provided mot of the labor committed to digging the Wabash and Erie Canal.

By the way:
The passenger packet Pennsylvania was the first boat to reach Evansville from Lake Erie, via the canal, September 23, 1853.

 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & CommerceSettlements & SettlersWaterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Wabash & Erie Canal series list. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1852.
 
Location. 37° 58.406′ N, 87° 34.342′ W. Marker is in Evansville, Indiana, in Vanderburgh County. Marker is at the intersection of NW 4th Street and Vine Street, on the right when traveling north on NW 4th Street. Located on the South/West (side-walk) corner of the Vanderburgh County "Old Courthouse" (a.k.a.: The Olde' Courthouse - - Catacombs) in Evansville, Indiana. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Evansville IN 47708, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance
Left Text - - The Short Lived Canal Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf, October 1, 2011
3. Left Text - - The Short Lived Canal Marker
of this marker. Vanderburgh County World War I Honor Roll (here, next to this marker); Colonel Hugh McGary, Jr. / McGary's Burial Ground (a few steps from this marker); Sheriff's Residence and Jail (within shouting distance of this marker); Vanderburgh County World War II Honor Roll (within shouting distance of this marker); Wabash and Erie Canal (within shouting distance of this marker); McCurdy - Sears Building (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Holy Trinity Parish Sesquicentennial (about 400 feet away); Albion Fellows Bacon (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Evansville.
 
Also see . . .
1. Wabash and Erie Canal. Wikipedia entry (Submitted on January 5, 2021, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.) 

2. "The men who dug the Canal" ::. A light and lively song with many old photos of canal builders in the process of digging a canal. (Submitted on October 13, 2011, by Al Wolf of Veedersburg, Indiana.) 

3. "Angel of the Canal" ::. Many fell ill digging canals. In frontier days there were few doctors and medicine was scarce. In the Brecksville, Ohio area Mrs. Johnson became known as the "Angel of the Canal" for her care of the ill. (Submitted on October 13, 2011, by Al Wolf of Veedersburg, Indiana.) 

4. Evansville Indiana. Wikipedia
Left - Marker Photo image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf, October 1, 2011
4. Left - Marker Photo
entry (Submitted on January 5, 2021, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.) 
 
Right Text - - A Rocky Beginning Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf, October 1, 2011
5. Right Text - - A Rocky Beginning Marker
Wide View - - The Short Lived Canal Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf, October 1, 2011
6. Wide View - - The Short Lived Canal Marker
North Side - - "Old" Vanderburgh County Courthouse image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Courtesy:: Marilyn S. Wolf, October 1, 2011
7. North Side - - "Old" Vanderburgh County Courthouse
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on July 3, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 13, 2011, by Al Wolf of Veedersburg, Indiana. This page has been viewed 746 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos:   1. submitted on June 27, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.   2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on October 13, 2011, by Al Wolf of Veedersburg, Indiana. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 29, 2024