The
Indiana Central Canal was a canal intended to connect the
Wabash and Erie Canal to the
Ohio River. It was funded by the
Mammoth Internal Improvement Act,
Indiana's attempt to take part in the canal-building craze, started by the
Erie Canal. $3.5 million was allocated for the project, the largest piece of the entire $10 million Act. However, due to the
Panic of 1837, Indiana suffered financial difficulties and had to turn over the canal to the state's creditors, and building of the canal was stopped in 1839. The canal was supposed to extend , from
Peru, Indiana, to
Evansville, Indiana, where it would reach the Ohio River. It was originally divided into two sections, North and South. Later, a third section was designated, called the Indianapolis section. Only eight miles were completed, with eighty additional miles between
Anderson, Indiana, and
Martinsville, Indiana, having been partially built.