Indiana Division of State Parks canal boat correspondence and drawings
Collection — Folder: S2405
Identifier: S2405
Scope and Contents
This collection includes a photocopy of an April 2, 1963 letter sent by Librarian John L. Lochhead of the Mariners Museum (Newport News, Virginia) to Robert D. Starrett, Supervisor of State Memorials, Indiana Division of State Parks. The letter was in response to Starrett's interest in a design for a canal boat and mentions that the museum could reproduce for him the plans for a canal boat believed to have been used on an Ohio canal that were printed in George W. Rogers's The Shipwright's Own Book and published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1845. The collection includes the reproduced copy of the drawings for the canal boat with "Photoprint Service No. 4835" and "Engineering Societies Library" printed at the bottom of the page, as well as an additional photocopy of the drawings.
Dates
- 1845, 1963
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Historical Note
In the 1790s, canal building began in America to connect the first 16 states to lands west for both commerce and passenger travel. States that were later admitted to the union, including Indiana, also began builting canals to improve transportation of goods and people. The canal boats, originally called packet boats, were usually 14 feet wide to fit the narrow width of the canals and could be up to 90 feet long. Though canals were an important step in the process of connecting areas of the United States, the development of the railroad and its expansion across the country resulted in the phasing out of canals as transportation by the 1870s.
Sources:
Indiana Historical Bureau. "Indiana's Canals." For Educators: Downloud Issues of the Indiana Historian. Accessed August 18, 2022. https://www.in.gov/history/for-educators/download-issues-of-the-indiana-historian/canal-mania-in-indiana/indianas-canals.
Longfellow, Rickie. "Back in Time: The Packet Boat-Transportation by Canal." Federal Highway Administration. Accessed August 18, 2022. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/back1009.cfm.
Sources:
Indiana Historical Bureau. "Indiana's Canals." For Educators: Downloud Issues of the Indiana Historian. Accessed August 18, 2022. https://www.in.gov/history/for-educators/download-issues-of-the-indiana-historian/canal-mania-in-indiana/indianas-canals.
Longfellow, Rickie. "Back in Time: The Packet Boat-Transportation by Canal." Federal Highway Administration. Accessed August 18, 2022. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/back1009.cfm.
Extent
0.01 Cubic Feet (1 folder)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection is arranged by subject.
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 2022/08/18 by Laura Eliason. EAD finding aid created 2022/08/18 by Laura Eliason.
- Title
- Indiana Division of State Parks canal boat correspondence and drawings
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
