USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Richmond > Memoirs of Wayne County and the city of Richmond, Indiana; from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Wayne County, Volume I Pt. 1 > Part 12
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On Dec. 4, 1828, Oliver H. Smith, of Indiana, introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives, instructing the com- mittee on roads to inquire into the expendiency of reporting a bill to authorize the opening of the Cumberland road, eighty feet wide, on its present location, through the State of Indiana. Mr. Smith supported his resolution in a long and able speech. Mr. McLean, of Ohio, moved to amend the resolution by adding the words: "From Zanesville, by way of Columbus, in the State of Ohio." This amendment prevailed over Mr. Smith's objection, whereupon the latter moved to raise the proposed appropriation from $50,000 to $100,000, which was agreed to. The bill based on this resolution only asked for $100,000 to open the road from Zanesville, Ohio, west through Indiana, but it also contained a provision for toll gates on the finished portion of the road and the collection of tolls to keep the road in repair. There was no ob- jection made to the appropriation, but the suggestion of toll gates and tolls acted like a red flag to a mad bull, to the party organized by Jackson and about to assume charge of the Government.
Mr. Buchanan, regarded as a rather conservative member of
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the new party, was thrown into paroxysms of terror at the sugges- tion of a toll gate. He said: "It is not a question whether we shall keep the road in repair by annual appropriations, nor whether we shall spend other millions in constructing other Cumberland roads ; these would be comparatively unimportant ; but it is a ques- tion upon the determination of which, in my humble judgment, depends the continued existence of the Federal Constitution. in anything like its native purity. Let it once be established that the Federal Government can enter the domain of the States, interfere with the domestic concerns; erect toll gates over all the military, commercial and post roads within their territories, and define and punish, by laws of Congress, in the courts of the United States, offences committed upon these roads; and the barriers which were erected by our ancestors with so much care, between Federal and State powers, are entirely prostrated. This single act would, in itself. be a longer stride towards consolidation than the Federal Government has ever made; and it would be a precedent for estab- lishing a construction of the Federal Constitution so vague and so indefinite that it might be made to mean anything." Thus Jack- son Democracy struck a higher note on the subject of State sover- eignty than Jefferson Republicanism ever attempted.
This debate on State sovereignty was joined in by all the lead- ing members of Congress and was the first important discussion of that subject in that body. During the debate Mr. Buchanan moved an amendment to the bill which proposed surrendering the road to the States through which it passed, after the road was first put in good repair, and on condition that the States should never collect more toll on the road than will be needed to keep it in good condition. This amendment was rejected and the original bill, which made an appropriation of $100,000 to continue the road through the State of Indiana, passed. This act provided that the work of construction in Indiana should be commenced at Indian- apolis and prosecuted at the same time, both east and west, from that city.
There was no further difficulty in procuring all appropriations necessary to complete the construction of this road. During the administration of President Jackson the appropriation for building the National Road aggregated $3.735.530, being more than one-half of the whole cost of the roads; the entire amount was $6,824,919. The last appropriation was made June 14, 1844, and was for $1,359, to meet arrearages on account of survey to Jefferson, Mo. While no constitutional objection was raised against appropriations to
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make the road, after the year 1825, when it was agreed to build the road west, through Ohio and Indiana, to the Mississippi river at St. Louis, yet the toll gate question was still discussed and the erection of toll gates bitterly denounced. The perpetuity of the Union, the utter failure of self-government by men, were declared to be dependent upon the erection or non-erection of a toll gate by the government on the National Road.
At length the road was becoming so dilapidated it was feared it would go to ruin if not repaired. As the conflict of authority between the General Government and the States would permit neither to keep the road in proper condition, the proposition to surrender it to the States, through which it ran, was determined on by Congress. Ohio was the first to accept its portion and ac- cepted without condition. Maryland and Pennsylvania each re- fused to accept unless Congress would first repair the road in those States. Pennsylvania's demand was that the road in that State "shall be first put in a good state of repair, and an appropriation be made by Congress for erecting toll houses and toll gates thereon, to be expended by the commissioners" of the State.
The singular thing about this condition is that Congress ac- cepted and complied with it. Maryland's demand was the same as that of Pennsylvania, and was also complied with. In time all the other States interested, including Indiana, accepted without condition the grant from the General Government and then the National Road no longer existed.
CHAPTER IX.
WHITE WATER CANAL.
TOWPATII AT PRESENT A RAILROAD BED-EARLY DIFFICULTIES IN TRANS- PORTATION -- QUESTIONS OF INTERNAL. IMPROVEMENTS-ROUTE SUR- VEYED FOR CANAL-ENTHUSIASM OF THE PEOPLE-DIFFICULTIES OVERCOME-NAMES OF CONTRACTORS-COMPLETION OF THE CANAL -BRANCHI CANALS-BENEFITS DERIVED-CANAL SUCCEEDED BY RAILROADS.
As one travels south from Hagerstown. Ind., to Cincinnati, over the White Water division of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chi- cago & St. Louis railroad, and through the beautiful anl pictur- esque valley of the White Water, his eyes are gladdened by the sight of thriving villages and cities, by the well kept, prosperous-looking farms and comfortable country homesteads, by the expansive view of waving fields in the northern portion and the rugged, mountain- like grandeur of Franklin county, until he emerges into the wider valleys of the Miami and Ohio.
The stranger marvels at the turns and twists of the railroad, wonders at the cause thereof, and compares the journey, on that account and also on account of the scenery on either hand, to one through the mountains of Pennsylvania or the Swiss Alps.
Here and there one catches a glimpse of the murmuring waters of the White Water, glittering in the morning sun, while on the other hand he sees the monotonous waters of the old canal, telling of things gone by. The old locks, now majestic in their decay, add a peculiar charm to the scene, here and there, and form a fitting monument to the energy of a past generation. Now and then an old mill, dilapidated and weather-beaten, yet picturesque in its ruin, adds another monument to the industry of the past.
When one is told that the railroad occupies the towpath and in places even the bed of the old canal, the mystery of the crooked- ness of the way is cleared and pictures of the past flit rapidly before his imagination. He hears the shouts of the mule drivers as they
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plod along with their adverse charges. He sees the flat-bottomed, ark-like boats, some laden with grain, pork, and other agricul- tural products, and others with salt, iron, sugar, and products of the factory, each with its quota of passengers and oft-times a jolly old fiddler reeling off a merry air to the time of a constantly moving foot. lle thinks of the bustle and confusion occasioned by the arrival of a boat at one of the thriving villages. lle sees the boat crew busy in loading or unloading the cargoes of freight, and the long lines of farm wagons, coming from miles around with their loads of the products of the soil. The rumbling of the mill and the buzz of the saw fill the air and everything betokens industry and life.
But the scene is changed now. A new era has been ushered in. A new life has begun. However, "the roots of the present lie deeply buried in the past," and the era of the canal boat was cer- tainly a great step toward our present condition. The history of that era and its influences must be very important to us and is filled with much interest. With these thoughts in view, an attempt is here made to give a brief sketch of the events leading up to the inception and construction, and something of the period of opera- tion, of the old White Water canal.
In the year 1800, Indiana Territory could boast of but one county, that of Knox, and its population was given in the census report as 2,517. In 1810, there were four counties, with a total population of 24,520, while in 1815, the year before Indiana was admitted as a State, there were thirteen counties with a popula- tion of 63,897, which increased to 147,178 in 1820, and to 195,853 in 1830.
The natural resources of Indiana constantly attracted immi- gration, and with the the increase of population came the clearing of the forests, the raising of agricultural products and the introduc- tion of manufacturing. Even in 1810, there were in Indiana thirty- . three grist mills, fourteen saw mills, eighteen tanneries, twenty- eight distilleries, three powder mills, 1,256 looms, and 1,350 spin- ning wheels, with a total output valued at nearly $200,000. How- ever, the early settlers could not supply all their wants, and they were raising surplus products for which they would fain have a market. It is not to be wondered at then that the settlers early turned their attention to transportation as the only means of their salvation.
Supplies were brought to the first colonists of the Territory by means of canoes, by way of Lake Erie, the Maumee, Little and
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Wabash rivers. Later, they were brought up from New Orleans in pirogues, which were hollowed out logs or two boats fastened together. Then they were brought down the Ohio on flatboats and taken across to Vincennes, from the Falls, on pack horses. The early settlements were all along the rivers and the only way for them to get their produce to market was by means of flat- boats during a freshet. Keel boats soon made their appearance, but they required a hundred days to get up from New Orleans. The first sailboat on the Ohio was the "St. Clair," in 1801, and the first steamboat appeared in IS11.
However, it was necessary to open up the country away from the streams, and road building received attention early. In fact, when Indiana was admitted into the Union as a State, the only semblance of a road was the Indian trail from the Falls of the Ohio to Vincennes, and one of the first things the legislature did, after the site for the new capital was decided on, was to appropriate money for the construction of roads to make Indianapolis accessi- ble to the rest of the State.
From this time on the question of internal improvements re- ceived a great deal of attention, since the people realized that their prosperity and the development of the State depended upon the means of transportation and communications with the outside world. On April 18, 1816, Congress passed an enabling act by which "five per cent. of the net proceeds of the land lying within said territory shall be reserved for making public roads and canals, of which three-fifths shall be applied to those objects within the said State, under the direction of the legislature there- of, etc." In 1818 Governor Jennings, in his message to the legis- lature, said : "The internal improvement of the State forms a sub- ject of the greatest importance and deserves the most serious at- tention. Roads and canals are calculated to afford facilities to the commercial transactions connected with the exports and imports of the country, * enhance the value of the soil, * * and invite to a more general intercourse between the citizens." Governor Hendricks also recommended internal improvements and Governor Ray thought it would be the safest way to relieve the financial depression of the time. During the administration of the latter, a road from the Ohio river to Lake Michigan was begun. In 1827, the Federal Government gave a grant of land to Indiana for the purpose of constructing the Wabash and Eric canal. This grant was accepted and work was begun. Under Governor Noble's administration the agitation for internal improvements reached its
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climax and undertakings of a gigantic character were begun by the State. Governor Noble was untiring in his efforts for securing the legislation authorizing the various works. In 1836, the State received a part of the division of the surplus revenue, and in Jan- uary of that year the legislature passed the Internal Improvement Bill appropriating $10,000,000 for the construction of the following works: 1. The White Water Canal; 2. The Central Canal ; 3. An extension of the Wabash and Erie Canal; 4. A macad- amized turnpike from New Albany to Vincennes; 5. A railroad from Madison to Lafayette; 6. A railroad or turnpike from New Albany to Crawfordsville; 7. Improvement of the Wabash river from Vincennes to its mouth; 8. Canal or railroad from Fort Wayne to Lake Michigan. The passage of this act was celebrated throughout the State, the people going almost wild for joy. At Indianapolis the houses were illuminated and bonfires were lighted in the streets.
But let us return to the White Water canal more particularly. The fertility of the White Water valley early marked it as the garden spot of Indiana. Residents of the valley saw its possibili- ties and were not slow in starting agitation in favor of the im- provement of the section.
According to a "History of Fayette County," published in 1885, Alvin Joselyn, of Brookville, who was publisher of the "Western Agriculturist" and a minister of the Gospel, advocated the construction of a canal through the valley as early as 1822 or 1823. As a result of his agitation a convention of delegates from Franklin, Wayne, Randolph, Union, Fayette and Dearborn coun- ties was held at Harrison, Ohio, to discuss such an enterprise as he proposed. A survey was afterward begun by Colonel Shriver's brigade of United States Engineers. Colonel Shriver died soon after and the work was taken up by Colonel Stansbury. He be- gan at the mouth of Garrison's creek, but on account of the ap- proach of cold weather the work was discontinued.
In 1834, an issue of "The Connersville Watchman" said that "a corps of engineers are surveying the route of the contemplated canal down the valley of the White Water." This corps was ap- pointed by the Canal Commissioners, according to instructions of the legislature, and was under the direction of William Gooding and J. L. Williams, engineers-in-chief. Other engineers who as- sisted in this survey and also some who helped in the final location were: Henry C. Moore, Stephen D. Wright, Simpson Talbot, John Minesinger. John Shank, Martin Crowell, and John H. Farquhar.
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In a report made by J. L. Williams and William Gooding. Dec. 23, 1834, it was stated that the White Water valley was favorable for the construction of a canal and that the principal item of cost would be the construction of locks. The survey was begun at the month of Nettle creek, and the west side of the river was recom- mended since most of the tributaries were received from the east side. It was proposed to cross the river at Connell's mill and re- cross either at Brookville or at Mrs. Carr's, four miles below Har- rison. According to this survey the length of the canal would be seventy-six miles and forty-nine chains, and would necessitate the construction of fifty-five locks and seven dams, at a total cost of $1, 142,125.15. This report is very complete and thorough. It estimates the area of country that would use the canal for means of trade at 3.156 square miles (which estimate was more than real- ized), names the exports and imports of the region, and by a com- parison with the region around Dayton, Ohio, on the Miami canal, estimates that 34,000 tons of imports and exports would pass through the White Water canal annually. It states that the cost of transportation under conditions then existing, to and from the Ohio river, averaged Șio per ton, while canal transportation was estimated at $3.50 per ton, thus making a saving to the valley of $221,000, annually. Besides it was estimated that water power would be created which would furnish power for 318 pairs of mill stones or other machinery of equal amount. On the whole it was thought that the construction of the canal would be a great impetus to immigration and settlement, and to agriculture, manu- factures and commerce.
From the time this report was made until 1836, the members of the legislature from the White Water valley and other influential citizens worked faithfully for the enactment of the project into law. However, they were not without opposition, even in the valley itself. The leader of the opposing forces appears to have been Charles Hutchens, who edited a newspaper at Brookville. Branch canals were proposed in order to divert capital and make the undertaking appear ridiculous. However, this amounted to nothing, as do all similar movements against the march of prog- ress.
It is difficult for us to realize the conditions of that day and the serious need for improvements in the means of transportation and communication. Cincinnati was the market for the White Water valley and produce was carried to and from that place in wagons. Live stock had to be driven and passengers and mail
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were transported by stage or carriage. Dr. Joel Pennington, one of the early residents of Milton, Wayne county, Indiana, gave the following interesting account of early transportation in an address delivered at Milton, Jan. 19, 1877 :
"During the first fifteen years or more of our residences in Milton, the surplus productions of the country were conveyed to market in wagons with five or six able horses attached. John Loder, Esq., and John Gilliland, both of whom are deceased, did the principal hauling to and from Cincinnati, as that was our usual place of trade. They took down flour, wheat, or bacon, and what- ever else the country afforded, and brought back goods for our merchants. It was not an uncommon occurrence for the trains to be gone ten days or two weeks in making a trip, when the roads were one continuous mudhole from here to the city. Our mer- chants complained stoutly of the delay of these trains. But give them time and they never failed to put in an appearance. I cannot butt call to mind the looks of old Esquire Loder and his team as he turned the corner of our present tavern, hat in hand, while he huzzaed for General Jackson, as he often did. He felt like rejoicing after reaching his destination and had succeeded in overcoming mud and mire of seventy-five miles distance. Until the mammoth improvement bill was passed and until the White Water valley canal was finished, we had no other mode of conveying our products to market."
The tri-weekly stage which ran between Cincinnati and Cam- bridge City was the principal means of travel and communication for the people of the valley. With a growing population and constantly increasing production, little wonder is it then that the people would readily grasp at anything which promised to relieve their condition, and it is to be wondered at that they did not com- mit greater follies in the way of appropriation and investments than they did.
With such a public sentiment behind them, Enoch McCarty, in the Senate, Caleb Smith, Mary Crum, and R. J. Hubbard, in the House, and others, succeeded in getting the provision for the White Water canal at the head of the Internal Improvement Bill, which was passed by the Indiana legislature Jan. 6. 1836. The passage of this bill caused a frenzy of rejoicing throughout the White Water valley. The "Indiana American" of Jan. 22, 1836, gives the following account of the demonstration at Brookville :
"The arrival of every mail from Indianapolis for the last month has been looked for with the most intense anxiety, and
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on Tuesday evening last, when the news arrived of the passage of the bill, the rejoicings of our citizens broke out in the most un- bounded enthusiasm. In one-half hour after the arrival of the news, the public buildings and every dwelling, shop, or office were splendidly illuminated. The wind being very still, long rows of lights decorated the sides of the streets and fences in front of build- ings; and loud and boisterous rejoicing could be heard in every direction-cannons roaring, bells ringing, drums beating, balloons ascending, burning tar barrels, bonfires, etc. A procession of citi- zens was formed, under the command of Colonel Noble and Cap- tain Dodd. marshals of the night, and promenaded the streets with lights in their hands and with a band of music, in as good order as could be expected under the circumstanaces."
The procession was participated in by the people of Brook- ville generally and crowds from the surrounding towns and coun- try.
The news of the passage of the bill reached Connersville on Jan. 18, and on the evening of that day "the village" was bril- liantly illuminated. The court house was lighted up from top to bottom and the "cannon of the village" was taken out to the line of the canal and six guns fired-one in honor of the Governor, one to the Senator, one to each of the Representatives of the county in the general assembly, and one to the White Water Valley canal. At the court house a great crowd of people was addressed by O. H. Smith and Samuel W. Parker, after which the assembly repaired to the river bank, east of town, to continue the celebra- tion. However, the joy of the occasion was marred by the pre- mature explosion of a cannon, by which four young men were ter- ribly injured, one of them dying the next morning.
At Milton, according to Dr. Pennington, the houses were il- luminated and a procession was formed which marched through the streets with music, the paraders carrying miniature canal boats. E. B. Newman, of Milton, states that a boat, lighted up with tallow candles, on a wagon, was drawn through the streets by men, and that a speech was made by Richard Hubbard.
Steps were soon taken for the commencement of work, and on Sept. 13, 1836, contracts were let at Brookville for the construc- tion of the various sections, which event was celebrated in an appropriate manner. Hon. David Wallace was the speaker of the day and ex-Gov. Noah Noble, ex-Gov. James B. Ray, Dr. Daniel Drake, of Cincinnati, and George H. Dunn, Esq., of Lawrenceburg, were chosen to perform the ceremony of "breaking ground." It is
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learned from a paper on the White Water canal, written by Prof. Lee Ault, of Cambridge City, that Governor Noble spoke of the canal as "one of the grandest undertakings of modern times," and that Judge Finley, of Richmond, editor of the "Palladium," in a toast gave vent to the following lines :
"There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet, As that vale where the branches of Whitewater meet: Oh! The last picayune shall depart from my fob, Ere the east and the west forks relinquish the job."
In a report made by J. L. Williams, principal engineer of In- diana canals, Dec. 13, 1836, it is stated that William J. Ball made a survey of the east side of the river below Brookville. He recom- mended this side, as it was less exposed to the current of the stream and would occasion a saving of $25,000, which in conse- quence of improvements was increased to $40,000. Major Torbert, of Mauch-Chunk, Pa., the resident engineer, was left in charge of the final location. Thomas Noel was his assistant. Torbert was shortly after succeeded by Stephen Wright, assisted by Captain Farquhar.
It was finally decided to cross East Fork at Brookville by means of a dam and towpath bridge and to recross one-half mile below Harrison by means of a dam. The old towpath bridge is still doing good service at Brookville, although somewhat remod- eled, and it is a splendid example of the old-fashioned covered bridge. It is 392 feet long and cost originally $14.000. No traces of the old dam remain.
Many difficult problems arose for the engineers to solve. Probably the most difficult one was at McCarty's Bluff, three miles below Brookville, where the river washes the hills for nearly a mile. It was finally decided to build a dam below the gorge to form a slack water and construct a towpath along the side of the cliff. This dam was 340 feet long and fourteen feet high from low water. At Franklin Factory Ridge, two miles above Brookville, a tunnel and also a cut was proposed, but the latter was finally de- cided upon, as it was thought better and would occasion a saving of $8,000. At Milton two plans were considered : one, to dig out the canal on the plain on which the town is situated, and the other to use the river by means of the basin formed by a dam built be- low the cliff. The former plan was adopted, however. At Somer- set it was decided to cross the river by an aqueduct instead of a pool.
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