The United States Congress provided a land grant on March 2, 1827, for the canal's construction.

[1] These commissioners concluded that the canal would have to extend into Ohio and petitioned that state to appoint a commission of their own.

After several legislative battles begun by proponents of the railroad, the Indiana General Assembly approved the borrowing of $200,000 to begin construction.

[3] The Panic of 1837 devastated Indiana's program of internal improvements, but did not stop construction entirely.

The last canalboat on the Wabash Canal made its last docking in 1874 in Huntington, Indiana; other sections shut down years earlier.

In 1887, Paulding County, Ohio, residents put the final nail in the canal system's coffin: unhappy with mosquitoes breeding in the stagnant waters of Six Mile Reservoir, they cut the dike and drained it in the Reservoir war.

This allowed the railway to run straight through the heart of a major midwestern city without razing a single home.

The canal right-of-way was also directly adjacent to downtown, which made the new railway quite convenient for passengers and many businesses.

Continuing down the Wabash to Terre Haute, the canal turns southeast from the Wabash, using several other riverways, including the West fork of the White and Patoka Rivers until reaching the Ohio River in Evansville, using Pigeon Creek.

Meanwhile, the Wabash & Erie Canal continued west along the Maumee River to the portage at Fort Wayne, Indiana.

After extensive preservation treatment, approximately 5 percent of total lock structure is included in an Indiana State Museum Exhibit.

"[7] After the lock was moved to the Indiana State Museum in 1992, a historical marker was placed at its location (just east of the interchange of I-469 and US-24).

In light of INDOT's plans to renovate the I-469 and US-24 interchange, the historical marker has been removed from the location, and most all of the buildings on the lock-keeper's property have been demolished.

Here, the canal crossed 5 miles to the Little Wabash River and headed downstream through Indiana.

The Canal was completed from Fort Wayne to Huntington on July 3, 1835, and from Toledo to Evansville, 459 miles (739 km), in 1854.

The first permanent hotel of Huntington was built of stone on this site by General John Tipton in 1835.

Standing on the bank of the Wabash and Erie Canal, it was a commercial, political and social center.

It was constructed to carry enough water from the river to enable navigation of boats on the proposed Crosscut Canal.

Newberry, Edwardsport, Petersburg, Francisco (Pigeon Creek section begins), Evansville, Indiana.

The most common problems identified in journals of that time were, heat, mosquitoes, and the close proximity to the other passengers.

The interpretive center includes a model canal with a miniature reservoir, aqueduct, lock, and gristmill.

The center serves as a physical focus for enjoyment of a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) segment of the canal that has been rebuilt and reopened as a waterway and parallel towpath.