Where Eagles Soar

Where Eagles Soar. Ohio River Scenic Byway. , The overlook at Cannelton offers a spectacular view of the Ohio River, including the Cannelton locks and dam. The Perry County Parks and Recreation Department has developed a facility on this bluff, called the Eagles Bluff Welcome Center. Eagles are often sighted in this area. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources, among other agencies is working to restore Bald Eagle populations in the state. Since 1988, the number of active nests and young fledged has continued to increase. , The Ohio River serves as a transportation highway for many goods and services, thanks to many navigation aids, like the Cannelton facility. The Cannelton Locks and Dam is located at mile 720.7 below Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is three miles upstream from Cannelton, Indiana. It was approved as a replacement of old Locks and Dam 43, 44, and 45 in 1960 and placed in operation in December of 1966. The dam is a concrete fixed weir type. One of the most active commodities traveling through the locks and along the Ohio River is coal, an important product today as in the past. , In the 1820s settlers came to the Cannelton area, attracted by the abundance of cannel coal. The name is derived from the Old English "candle coal," which could be kindled to produce a steady, bright flame. General Seth Hunt of Walpole, New Hampshire visited this area in 1835 and was attracted by the high grade of semi-cannel coal. James C. Hobart of Boston later entered into partnership with him to form the American Cannel Coal Company, incorporated on December 23, 1837. The place came to be known as Coal Haven. The firm built homes, factories, mills and mines to market coal through river steamboats and ports. Although a fire destroyed most of the hamlet in 1839, in 1840 mining was resumed by Francis Carlile, an émigré from Memphis, Tennesse, and the revived settlement was named Cannelburg. Resurveyed in 1844, the name was officially changed to Cannelton., By the way: The oldest Indiana elementary school still in operation is Myers grade school on Taylor Street in Cannelton, which began in 1868 as a Free School. It was renamed for a principal and teacher known as "Daddy Myers."