Award will help preserve canal history and artifacts

A grant of $23,938 awarded to Wabash & Erie Canal Inc. will be used to provide proper storage and protection of canal history and artifacts located at the Canal Association's Conference and Interpretive Center in Delphi.

The capital projects grant is from North Central Health Services and was distributed through the Tippecanoe Arts Federation. The Canal Association is one of five NCHS grant recipients from Tippecanoe and Carroll counties. Awards were presented last Friday.

NCHS is a medical services organization headquartered in Lafayette. It supports nonprofit organizations that are committed to enhancing the quality of life for individuals, families and communities in an eight-county area.

In accepting the award, Dan McCain, president of the Canal Association, noted that "the Canal Center in Delphi is fast becoming a repository recognized statewide and beyond for preservation, research and education about the importance of the U.S. canal system, especially Indiana's Wabash & Erie Canal."

"Just last month we received several boxes of important research papers and perhaps 1000 photos from a canal book author from Indianapolis," McCain said. "Along with papers, documents and artifacts already collected, these newly-acquired items will be cataloged and readied for preservation and research."

McCain said the NCHS grant will provide proper shelving and file cabinets as well as a map case for storing large documents, drawings and photos. A part of the grant will be used to enhance the fire protection system for the Archives Room.

He said another important item covered by the grant is a microfilm reader.

"Microfilming is deemed the best means to research newspapers since they are not digitized," McCain said. "Copies of canal corridor newspapers published during the height of canal construction and commerce can be obtained for research, using the microfilm reader. Being able to research Wabash & Erie Canal's activity from Toledo to Evansville would be a researcher's dream."

Tom Castaldi, a Fort Wayne canal authority and author, chairs the Canal Association's Archives Committee, established two years ago. Volunteers on the committee are already cataloging all historic furnishings, artifacts, papers, maps and books the Association has accumulated. McCain said now with proper furnishings and files, these possessions can be prepared for protective storage and easy retrieval.

Founded in 1974, Carroll County Wabash & Erie Canal Inc. is dedicated to the preservation of a portion of the canal located in Delphi. The Canal Association has established an award-winning museum and interactive interpretive center.

"This building and associated 1850s park provides visitors with educational experiences for young and old," McCain said. "The goal is to interpret the importance of the canal in Indiana's history as well as to provide recreational hiking trails, tours and seasonal festivals throughout the year."