Talk:Whitewater Canal

Transport portal
Should the large transport portal be removed? There is a smaller transport portal located in the see also section with other useful portals. I have two-minds about it and I will open it up to discussion. Chris4682 06:15, 13 October 2008


 * I should think a smaller one in see also would be fine. Charles Edward 12:18, 13 October 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree. I like the large portal but it seems overkill for this type of article. I will remove it. Chris4682 Oct. 14, 2008, 04:18

Page start
I began this much needed page and I hope and encourage anyone who knows something about this topic to further help me create this page. I know there are experts out there that could really help make this a great page. Thanks. (Chris4682 07:31, 8 October 2006 (UTC))

Hagerstown after only a few months of service?
"In November 1847 the Whitewater Canal section in Harrison, Ohio flooded and washed out. The section was never rebuilt. This effectively ended the canal era in Hagerstown after only a few months of service.[2]"

I have two problems with this; First it is in the wrong place because it indicates that the problems at Harrison closed the whole canal from Hagerstown to Harrison 70+ miles away. The damage at Harrison would not have closed operations on the north end of the canal. There were 55 locks in the canal and only the down stream segments would have been affected by a failure. It would have only been an inconvenience to have had to wagon haul over the final segment.

The second issue is related to the first in that the canal was flood damaged and repaired many times during it's life. It did not end its use as a transportation facility "In November 1847" although that was when problems became apparent. Beyond its utility as transportation, segments were in use for water and hydro power for about a century. I know that both and Metamora and Connersville got water and/or power from the canal for the remainder of the 19th century. I'm sure there were other places as well.

Actually the first big 'disaster' for the Whitewater Canal was in Jan. 1847 when floods took out two aqueducts and took out five of seven feeder dams. That was repaired at $70,000 cost and then it flooded again in Nov. 1847 and $80,000 more was spent on repairs with some left unfinished. September of 1848 saw the canal usable again. That was the way it went until 1862 when the I & C Railroad bought the canal and turned the Ohio segment into a railroad using the canal tunnel as a train tunnel. Most of this comes from an article in Indiana Magazine of History written by James M. Miller in 1899.

I will add to the entry as I get time. Corumplex (talk) 01:47, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

Ok. Don't forget when you post in the discussion section to include your username and date. Chris4682 Sept. 19, 2010

After some more research I'm finding that the lack of dependability in the canal really did limit the use of the northern end of it. When it was open to Hagerstown the boats were not very eager to go there because if a lower segment of the canal failed they would be stranded, sometimes for months. The amount of down time severely limited the number of boats that were willing to work on the Whitewater and limited it's usefulness as transportation. This was double true at the north end.

As a source of hydraulic power it had a long career at both Connersville and Metamora. In Connersville a grain mill used 50 HP from the canal and in the 1920's two hydroelectric generators were in use and made about 250 Kilowatts for the city as well as providing pumping power for the water system. The mill in Metamora was in use for over 90 years being powered by canal water from Laural Dam. That only ended when the dam failed in 1941. After 1941 the dam was rebuilt and allows the operations in Metamora State Historical Park today.

I am currently tempted to say that the lack of substantial dams that could survive flooding was the real fatal weakness of the canal and that stemmed from a great underestimation of the cost of construction and maintenance at the start. If reliable dams had been constructed water could have been kept in the canal and a acceptable amount of traffic could have been established to support the route with hydro power as a substantial bonus. That is if it could have been done 'right'. Trying to do it on the cheap made it into a failure that should never have been built.

Corumplex (talk) 02:31, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

Back to the statement that started me commenting here. "In November 1847 the Whitewater Canal section in Harrison, Ohio flooded and washed out. The section was never rebuilt. This effectively ended the canal era in Hagerstown after only a few months of service.[2]"

The November 1847 flood ruined a great many features of the canal, The Harrison to Lawrenceburg section being one of them. The damage was repaired except for that segment because Harrison was the point where the Whitewater canal was joined to the Cincinnati & Whitewater Canal and most of the traffic went to the larger Ohio town. It was not that which spoiled the canal business to Hagerstown, it was the nine month delay in restoring operations on the canal. Farmers brought produce to shippers on the canal and it sat in warehouses even after the canal was restored because there were never enough boats to haul the products and this ruined the canal as a promoter of trade. The repairs were also costly and shipping rates soared th the point where wagons were cheaper. 208.127.220.153 (talk) 01:14, 16 October 2010 (UTC) Corumplex (talk) 01:16, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

Map
The article needs a new map. The current map is inaccurate as it shows the canal following the EAST fork of the Whitewater when it should be on the west fork. It also shows Hagerstown near where Richmond would be. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Corumplex (talk • contribs) 15:59, 19 September 2010 (UTC) Corumplex (talk) 01:48, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

Whitewater Canal Companies
There is a confusion in the identity of the company created to build and operate the whitewater canal. The entry-

White Water Valley Canal Company

The White Water Valley Canal Company was granted a charter by the Indiana General Assembly of 1825-26.[4] 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.

Has errors!

The first chartered company was the "Whitewater Canal Company" and was chartered on January 21, 1826. When the state got in financial trouble it was 1839 and in 1842 the state chartered the "White Water Valley Canal Company" (five words) to finish the canal as far as the National Road, which meant Cambridge City.

I am posting notice of this because the portion in error is cited by reference. I can't explain this except that someone has made a serious error. Any one have a better explanation?Corumplex (talk) 06:19, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

Duck Creek Aqueduct

The article describes the aqueduct as a "reconstruction". While the aqueduct was heavily restored in the late 1940's it is the same structure and should be described as restored, not reconstructed. The canal and the aqueduct was still functional as a source of hydraulic power until the 1930's.Corumplex (talk) 20:24, 27 June 2017 (UTC)