I knew the feeder canal quit following the St. Joseph River north of State Street because the canal was west of
Centlivre Brewing whereas the river was east of it.
But I did not realize that it went so far west. And I did not realize that the NKP left the canal's right-of-way because the main canal bent sharply south. The feeder canal joined the
W&E Canal north of
Wayne Knitting Mills.
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Jesse Dominguez So that aluminum place was wayne knitting mills? I think that feeder canal went right over or near my house.
Bruce Flohr Lots of the feeder bed is still visible, especially behind Concordia College. Where the feeder started at the St Joe [Robison Park] was the summit - the highest point on the Wabash & Erie Canal system - and thus the Fort’s nickname! |
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Jesse Dominguez commented on Tommy's post
I found an older map and it looks like I was right saying it went pretty much over my house lol
I heard beavers were the downfall of the canals though.
Nancy Parker Railroad put an end to canals,faster.
Bruce Flohr Jesse Dominguez trains came along and replaced the canals. The canal system was only in its prime for about 25-30 years, but they changed Fort Wayne into a bustling community!
Jesse Dominguez When did the feeder canal end ? I think I was looking at a aerial photo from 1938 and I’m pretty sure I could see Remnants of it ..
I thought it was an old trail then seen this post and noticed where the feeder canal ? Oh yea was junk ditch part of the feeder canal? Because it looks like it would line up with it
It’s just crazy to me To think that there were canals everywhere around here.. and just looking at the old maps in general is crazy. |
St Joseph River supplied 80 Critical Miles of canal
The Wabash & Erie Canal from Huntington to Defiance, OH was supplied with water from the St Joseph River. Lack of water from the river or failure of the dam, guard lock or feeder would shut down the W&E across the summit and beyond. The feeder canal was 6 1/2 miles long and joined the main canal west of Fort Wayne. At that junction wasters flowed west for 27 miles to Dam #1 on the Wabash River west of Huntington, IN. After 1843 this same feeder supplied waters east for 47 miles to Defiance, OH. Any supply disruption at the St Joseph River would shut down the main canal for 74 miles. The 2,500 acre - Six Mile Creek Reservoir just east of Antwerp, OH was built to store water from that creek and excess from the W&E canal in the spring to provide more water volume in the summer months. In 1845 the Miami & Erie Canal joined the W&E at Junction, OH and increased the water supply but also brought more traffic. For more information go to the CSI website at
indcanal.org and look under statistics.
[Canal Society of Indiana
post]
There are some diagonal streets that allow one to extrapolate where the canal and its feeder ran.
But just this little diagonal alley is the only evidence of the feeder canal around here.
The part of the feeder canal along the river is easier to find. A high-school friend's dad used to work for I&M Electric Power, and he said that I&M bought the right-of-way of the feeder canal for a power line. Starting with
this tower and going north, the towers would be in the canal bed. Following the towers, I see that the Rivergreenway also follows the canal's path. I was having trouble finding the towers on a satellite image between
Parnell Ave and
Coliseum Blvd. When I did street views near Parnell Ave, I learned why they were hard to find. They have upgraded from the truss type towers to the tube type towers.
They still have the older towers up north. The bridge in this view is over the canal bed.
Some of the upgrades are recent because a truss tower shows up on the satellite image just east of Parnell Ave whereas you see tube towers in the street views.
There is a trail that goes north of Coliseum Blvd. to
St Joe Center Road. That trail is probably built on the old tow path. There is still a noticeable ditch most of this way just to the west of the trail.
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Canal Society of Indiana posted
The Wabash & Erie Canal at the summit level in Fort Wayne, IN was supplied with water from the St Joseph River. A dam was constructed on the river and a 6 1/2 mile feeder dug to the main canal line just west of the town. That feeder supplied water for 47 miles east to Defiance, OH and 27 miles to the west to Huntington, IN IN. The signage above marrks the route of that feeder near Beckett's Run |
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