first boat arrived in Brookville from Lawrenceburg on June 8, 1839. Because of budget problems construction was suspended in August 1839 not to be resumed until 1842. In 1842, the state of Indiana transferred its ownership in the canal to the White Water Valley Canal Company which was required to complete the canal to Cambridge City in five years. By 1843 boats were arriving in Laurel. 1845 saw the canal operating into Connersville. The canal company was running out of money and borrowed from Henry Valette of Cincinnati to finish the canal into Cambridge City from Connersville. From Cambridge City to Hagerstown the Canal was built by the Hagerstown Canal Company and was finished in 1847. Canal decline The Whitewater Canal was a short venture, but it left a lasting mark on the communities it traveled through. The canal development project was funded under the Act of 1836 and was allotted $1,400,000 to build the canal through the Whitewater Valley. This was a huge sum at the time and investors did not take out many loans due to the prediction that they stood to make considerable profit. It was the Mammoth Internal Improvement Act of 1836 that ended up straining the coffers of the State of Indiana. Indiana went bankrupt during the summer of 1839, and canal construction was halted until 1842. In November 1847 the Whitewater Valley flooded and many sections of the canal were washed out. The section between Harrison and Lawrenceburg was never rebuilt. This effectively ended the canal era in Lawrenceburg after only eight years of service, and only a few months after the canal was finished to Hagerstown. It was ten months before the canal was again operational north of Harrison. Debt incurred to finance repairs in 1847 were a serious problem for the rest of the canals active history. White Water Valley Canal Company The White Water Valley Canal Company was granted a charter by the Indiana General Assembly of 1825–26. The company was set up after the State of Indiana could no longer afford to finish the Whitewater Canal system. The White Water Valley Canal Company finished the canal through Cambridge City, Indiana. It constructed the Canal House at Connersville in 1842. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Hagerstown Canal Company Hagerstown was supposed to be the northernmost terminus of the Whitewater Canal, but after the