HORSE-DRAWN CANAL BOAT
-The Ben Franklin III, launched in 1989,
was designed and constructed in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Designed as
a freighter, the vessel is 75 feet long and has a beam (width)of 12
feet. Constructed of wood and fiberglass, it holds approximately 75
passengers and crew.
As settlers moved into the Northwest Territory after 1800, transportation routes became a priority for the government. Roads didn’t exist, for all practical purposes the only roads were Indian and animal trails that had been haphazardly blazed through the primitive land.
In 1836, Indiana legislators passed the Internal Improvements Act, which began Indiana’s brief experience with canal building. Whitewater Canal was one of several projects started as a result of this act. Due to unforeseen circumstances, many weather related, the canals never were anything close to a financial success..
The Whitewater Canal began in Lawrenceburg and originally ended at Cambridge City. When the state went bankrupt in the 1840s, the canal was completed by private enterprise. Extensions and spurs on the canal were added by the merchants of Hagerstown, Ind. and by the state of Ohio to link Cincinnati to the canal. All of these factors combined to make the canal 101 miles long. Along the route, 56 locks were built to accommodate a fall of nearly 500 feet in elevation.
Two of these locks are preserved and can be viewed at the Whitewater Canal State Historic Site. One contains the massive
doors similar to the ones that were used to regulate the flow of water that would raise or lower boats to the proper elevation.
The state of Indiana assumed management of a 14-mile section of the canal in 1946 and today operates a horse-drawn canal
boat and the Whitewater Canal State Historic Site. Visitors can step back in time while taking a leisurely 25-minute cruise on the Ben Franklin III. During the voyage, the vessel passes through the Duck Creek Aqueduct, a covered bridge that carries the canal 16 feet over Duck Creek. It is believed to be the only structure of its kind still in existence.
Video of Historic Metamora
Gary has been a writer/ photographer for over 20 years, specializing in nature,landscapes and studying native cultures.Besides visiting most of the United States, he has traveled to such places as Egypt,the Canary Islands,much of the Caribbean, and studied Mayan Cultures in Central America, and the Australian Aboriginal way of life.Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in many different cultures!
He has published several books about the various cultures he has studied and applied what he has learned to solving the many issues facing not only the United States, but the world as well.
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