The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1856-04-24
THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF
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landing upon the Chic for the Wabash coun-
try. Within four years afterwards 1t con
tanned population of four or five hundred
which afterwards rather diminished than IN
creased, until 1885
In the winter of 1856, amongst other in
ternal Improvement acts. the Indiana Legs
Iature passed law, authorisng the construe-
ton of a canal, to connect the waters OF Lake
Erie. with those of the Ohio River at this
place. At this time there were twenty places
on the lower Ohio, of equal commercial i'm
portance with Evansville. Her whole property,
real, personal and mixed, il sold under the
hammer, would not have brought hundred
thousand dollars, clear of membranes
Upon the passage Of "the canal BILL" public
attention was attracted to this point; and 1t
was discovered that Evansville occupied the
same relative position to Indiana which Gin
cinnati did to Ohio, and, that in point Of natu-
raj position especially in proximity to impor-
tant tributary rivers, she had the advantage of
that city. 1t was then confidently expected,
that the canal to terminate at Evansville and
connect her with the Lakes, would be COM
pieted in the course of three or four years.
With the rising prospects Of the place, there
sprung up all at once great demand for her
town lots and adjacent lands and during the
year, 1867, town lots which had been con-
sidered not worth the taxes, rose in market
value till many of them were sold as high, or
nearly as high as the pricenow asked for the
same lots and this, with but a few hundred
resident population. The place grew in popu-
lation, which was much increased by great
numbers Of laborers working on the canal in
The vicinity, till 1889, when it contained
twenty eight hundred people. Then, in the
general commercial revulsion of that period,
the State of Indiana as well as most of her
commercial men, became bankrupt. All her
works of internal improvements came to a
full stop, not one of them finished or yielding
the State any return, save the NJ, & ]. R, R.,
which produced net revenue of eleven. hum
dred dollars !! -al q yUs19 ad1 taa5 sHat
The canal stopped, the hopes Of the town
deferred, and most Of her citizens bankrupt,
Evansville, without any wealth worth the
naming decreased in population and in the
value of her real estate, till 1912, when a new
census showed population Of only eighteen
hundred. Thus, it appeared, that in three
years, from 1889 to 1912, through the com,
mercai crisis of that period, Evansville had
declined in population from twenty eight hun
dred to eighteen hundred or little over one
third. She then, under the influence Of re-
turning credit and general prosperity, began to
rally. An attempt at that period originated
in Evansville, which was shortly successful, of
getting grant Of lands from the general gov
eminent to complete the Wabash and Erie
Canal to this point, and the prospect which
that project afforded and which has since been
realized, of the early completion of the Canal,
gave Evansville fresh start. Her improve
ment at this time was not wild and spasmodic
as before, but gradual and steady, and has
been uniformly maintained ever since And
that improvement, stimulated by firm con-
fidence in the strength of her position, and
that she was destined to be one Of the great
centres of commerce of the Great West, has
year after year, from 1912 to the present year.
1856, all the while quickened its pace and
added strength to its movements ea..a J.
Her early expectations Of the completion OF
the w. & E. Canal have just been realized
and in addition to that she has by the help of
her sister towns in Western Indiana, con-
structed Railroad, which runs up the Wa
bash valley, still further developing its mar
Yelous resources, and rendering them tributary
to Evansville, to even greater extent than
ever had been anticipated, and now, the daily
journals of our town, can record day after day
receipts by canal, by railroad, and by river,
all from the broad valley of the Wabash, and
the continent has no valley OF equal extent
and fertility.
But our Clnal AMI Railroad are only just in
operation. The former, indeed, is not yet in
full use, for she is not yet used through her
length, as part of great north and south
avenue of trade, for the reason, that the navi-
CATION Of the newly completed parts, has
never yet been considered sufficiently reliable
to justify the commercial arrangements for SO
using it. When this canal shall be recog-
nized throughout the country as having be-
come reliable in its navigation then will spring
up through carrying trade upon it. which
will make it, to Evansville, all that has ever
keen predicted Of it, notwithstanding that
some men, ignorant of the history of canals.
think they are behind the age This is the
one, water communication between the
al orJ fba Inrra.