INDIANA CANALS: OVERCOMING (AND BEING OVERCOME BY) NATURE: SUCCESS AND FAILURE OF EARLY 19TH CENTURY TRANSPORTATION

The Whitewater and the Anderson Hydraulic Canals of eastern Indiana illustrate the success and the failure of early American transportation canals respectively. The Whitewater Canal experienced moderate success due to well-funded high quality excavation methods in host material with a low leakage factor. The Anderson Hydraulic Canal failed due to leaks caused by the presence of outwash sediments and locally-funded lower quality excavation methods.

Commercial and public transportation needs increased rapidly as the nation expanded westward in the first half of the 19th century. Smaller streams such as the Whitewater and White Rivers in Indiana were not reliable as a means of year-round conveyance. The tremendous success of canals in Europe in the late 18th century (especially in England) led transportation engineers to attempt the development of a similar canal system in the U.S.

Construction and maintenance of the canals posed many challenges. The canals were located along the banks of the rivers, either immediately adjacent to the river or at some distance, but still in the flood plain or nested into the lowest terrace. The canal channels were excavated out of glacial outwash/fluvial deposits, and, in some places, till. These host materials presented their own set of problems, including leakage and bank failure. The Whitewater Canal faced periodic flooding that damaged or destroyed feeder dams and ponds, aqua ducts, and the canal channel itself. The Anderson Hydraulic Canal exemplified the futility of some canal projects in that it was excavated but never used, due to severe leakage. Ultimately, it was the coming of the railroad that sealed the fate of the canals in the Mid-west.