Wabash and Erie Canal

Wabash and Erie Canal. . , This marker denotes the site of one of the canal’s dry dock areas as depicted on 1854 City of Terra Haute map., Dry dock areas along the canal were used to construct and/or repair canal barges and boats., Constructed mostly of wood requiring constant care, canal costs for maintenance were staggering as fluctuations in Indiana weather (spring floods, drought in the summer, and ice in the winter) hampered traffic and reduced revenue, while at the same time increased competition from railroads doomed the canal’s existence., Although only operational until 1860, the canal was constructed allowing farmers, loggers, wagon makers, and others to export grain, lime, pork, logs, and whiskey, importing coffee, salt, manufactured goods and settlers to the region., Begun on February 22, 1832, in FortWayne, Indiana, the canal was a monumental project which included excavating the canal bed, building reservoirs, and erecting locks, aqueducts and a towpath., Completed in July 1853, it stretched 468 miles from Toledo, Ohio on Lake Erie, to Evansville, Indiana, on the Ohio River. Amid great celebration, the first boats (the E.A. Hannegan and the G.R. Walker) arrived in Terra Haute on October 25, 1849. Terra Haute was the headquarters for the canal from 1847 to 1876., Thomas Holdsworth Blake - resident trustee from 1847 to 1879. , Thomas Dowling - resident trustee from 1849 to 1876., The official end of the Wabash and Erie Canal occurred when Dowling conducted an auction of all canal boats lands by the Trustees at the Vigo County Courthouse, on February 24-25, 1876.