The Whitewater Canal, which was built between and , spanned a distance of and stretched from Lawrenceburg, Indiana on the Ohio River to Hagerstown, Indiana near the West Fork of the White River. History Birth of a canal As with most transportation improvements during the early nineteenth century, industry paved the way within individual states. After successful canal development projects further east in the United States, it was not long until canals were dug across the Midwest. The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 paved the way for improvement projects across the United States and changed the course of American transportation history. The Erie Canal was an immediate financial success. This set the precedent for future canals and proved canals could provide a viable contribution to local economies. There was the need for a high-speed transportation system that could link the Whitewater Valley to the Ohio River. Before the canal, farmers had to transport their goods and livestock to Cincinnati, Ohio on badly rutted and often impassable roads. The journey to Cincinnati could take several days. In 1836 the Indiana State Legislature approved the Mammoth Internal Improvement Act, which allowed for the development of the Whitewater Canal and a host of other improvements throughout Indiana. Construction The Whitewater Canal was built based on an 1834 survey conducted by Charles Hutchens. The design called for a canal seventy six miles long starting at Nettle Creek near Hagerstown and following the river valley through Connersville, Brookville and into Harrison, Ohio, then back into Indiana to finish at Lawrenceburg. In the the canal dropped . This a very ambitious route as it was quite steep and required the crossing of the Whitewater over an aqueduct at Laurel as well as several other streams of lesser size. The drop compares to the Erie Canal that dropped but did so in . The Wabash & Erie Canal dropped in while the Chesapeake & Ohio dropped in . That meant that the Whitewater descended 6.4 feet per mile compared to the Chesapeake & Ohio at 2.9 feet per mile, the Erie at 1.7 feet per mile and the Wabash & Erie at 1 foot per mile. The steepness became a problem whenever heavy rains came. Because of the steep grade, the canal required 56 locks and seven dams. The canal was started as a state project and ground was broken on September 13, 1836. The