History
The Whitewater Canal Trail is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In December of 1968 the 15-mile section of the Whitewater Canal between Laurel Feeder Dam to Brookville adjacent to the West Fork of the Whitewater River was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Download a PDF copy from the National Register.
A few highlights along the way...
1992 Dedication
Ball State Team Studies Whitewater Canal
Associated Press, June 17, 2004
Group Looking At Uses For Old Mill in Brookville
WRBI Radio, December 13, 2005
How did it all begin?
The history of the Whitewater Canal began early in the 1800’s when the pioneers of Indiana needed a way to transport their surplus goods from this rich and fertile valley. The canal was completed between Brookville and Lawrenceburg in 1839, to Laurel in 1843, to Connersville in 1845 and to Cambridge City in 1846.
The final canal went to Cincinnati through a tunnel in Cleves and extended to Hagerstown in Indiana, for a total of 101 miles. The first canal boat arrived in Brookville in 1839. Canal boats transported people, lumber, livestock and grain until the early 1860’s.
After several floods, boat traffic stopped. The towpath was laid with rails for a new age of transportation when the White Water Valley Railroad purchased the canal in 1863. This opened a new era in the history of the Whitewater valley and our country. In its day, the WWVR owned 62 miles of the canal from Hagerstown, Indiana to Harrison, Ohio. Over the next 100 years, these rails were operated by several companies, the most well-known being The Big Four Railroad.
In 1973, the 15-mile section of the canal between Laurel and Brookville was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Today, the tracks between Metamora and Connersville are operated by a nonprofit group known as the Whitewater Valley Railroad. To the south of Brookville the tracks are operated by the Indiana & Ohio Railroad, transporting goods to and from the Owens Corning factory. The tracks between Brookville and Metamora were removed in the 1980’s. This 8-mile section of unspoiled landscape is becoming one of the most scenic biking and hiking trails in the region.
