The early history of Indiana has many stories of canals, which, to a developing nation, were the first “highways” before railroads. They started in many sections in the 1830’s but were a financial failure and bankrupted the state in 1839, resulting in a constitutional amendment passed in 1851 that forbade the government from going into debt and is still part of the state’s constitution over 170 years later.

Many of the canal routes are gone today and a few still remain but are hard to recognize. Trees have grown up in the prism and on the tow paths. One small piece near our decoy shop was drained a few years ago and some of the trees that were cut we used to make our decorative duck decoys.

For more history about the canal, check out the following:

• Hidden History of Hamilton County by David Heighway
• Outdoor Indiana - January/February 2022 - From Mania to Memorialized by Scott Roberts