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- Part 2: Origin As A "Canal Town"
- Chapter 1: A Canal is Forged Through the Wilderness
Chapter 1: A Canal is Forged Through the Wilderness
In 1820, John Van Gundy was the first explorer to venture into what would become Adams Township. Jesse Adams arrived in 1823 and effected the first settlement; he, along with other pioneers, established the rudiments of a civilized life in the dense forest south of the Maumee River.
In 1827, Indiana received a federal land grant that enabled construction of a canal connecting the Maumee and Wabash Rivers through the territory. Beginning at Lake Erie near Toledo, the Wabash and Erie Canal would allow for continuous transport from the Great Lakes to the Ohio River. It would follow the Maumee River to Fort Wayne and align with the Wabash River in Huntington on a course to the Ohio River at Evansville. When completed, the 468 mile Wabash and Erie Canal would be the longest canal ever built in North America.
While the state was formulating its plan, Van Gundy claimed 160 acres of land and “deadened” trees to clear the forest. This event, known as “Gundy’s deadening,” is considered the beginning of New Haven. When Van Gundy learned the canal would pass through his property, he sold his land to Canal Commissioner Samuel Hanna of Fort Wayne and he settled elsewhere. Van Gundy’s 160 acres were the footprint of what became New Haven.
As word spread of the canal’s construction, in 1835 the Burgess family came to the territory from its home state of Connecticut. Eben Burgess, head of the family, purchased the 160-acre Gundy property from Hanna. He then sold eight acres directly along the planned canal path to his son Henry. Henry Burgess laid out the original town plat in 1839 and named the village “New Haven” after the “City of Elms” in his home state.
Twenty years after Jesse Adams established the first settlement in the wilderness, the Canal opened to traffic in 1843. It quickly came into full use as the least expensive, simplest and safest mode of communication and transportation devised to that point. At one time hundreds of both passenger (packet) and freight boats plied the Wabash and Erie Canal. [Local artist: Sandi Ruse]
The Canal would open distant markets to locally produced commercial and agricultural products and bring to townspeople an array of manufactured goods not previously accessible. Typical of freight boats was the Col. Humphry which hailed from Fort Wayne. (Photo)
OF NOTE: GRONAUER LOCK
The Wabash and Erie Canal had 73 locks along its 468-mile course. Locks raised and lowered boats between different levels of water. [Illustration: a canal lock]
Lock #2, called the “Gronauer Lock” after its lock keeper, was located along the Canal east of New Haven. Mules and horses were used to pull freight and passenger boats on a path alongside the Canal, and in New Haven they were housed and fed by Mr. Gronauer. [Local artist: Ralph Lehrman]
Today the Gronauer Lock is the most heralded vestige of the Canal’s presence in New Haven. It regained prominence in 1991 when massive timbers were unearthed during the construction of the U.S. 24/I469 interchange just east of town. Over 700 timbers, originally harvested from local trees, were excavated from the only wooden canal lock to be uncovered intact in the United States. [Photo: Gronauer Lock excavation]
A portion of the recovered timbers, recreated as a canal bed, is now on permanent display at the Indiana State Museum. In addition, 10 timbers, cut in cross-sections, are mounted on a wall in the Park Foundation Pavilion in Promenade Park, Fort Wayne. [Photo: Portion of Gronauer Lock exhibit at Indiana State Museum]
The remaining timbers unearthed in 1991 are buried in Havenhurst Park for preservation from the elements while awaiting another use. On display there is a history board that describes the Gronauer Lock in the broader context of the Canal.