The Towpath Trail History A portage, a canal and a railroad In colonial times, a portage from the St. Marys River in Fort Wayne to the Wabash River in Huntington enabled a major French and Indian trade route to exist from Quebec on the St. Lawrence River to New Orleans on the Mississippi River. Later, the British used the same portage as a military route. There are several routes for the portage and the exact traces have long ago disappeared. On February 22, 1832, ground was broken in Fort Wayne for the Wabash and Erie Canal, which eventually extended 468 miles from Toledo, Ohio, on Lake Erie to Evansville, Indiana on the Ohio River, creating a trade route from New York to New Orleans. Earth excavated from the canal channel was used to create two embankments. One had a towpath for horses and mules that pulled the boats. The canal was a minimum of 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep. Portions of the canal operated from 1835 to 1874. Maintenance and financial problems led to its replacement by faster year-round railroads. In November 1900, canal properties in Allen, Wabash and Huntington counties where purchased for $15,000 to build an interurban railroad from Fort Wayne to Huntington. Regularly scheduled service between the two cities started in December 1901. Each car was self-propelled and powered by an overhead electric line. In 1904the interurban was extended west to Logansport. At Peru, riders could transfer to the interurban for Indianapolis. At one time 15 cars per day departed from Fort Wayne. Each car carried about 60 passengers. On September 11, 1938, the last interurban car left Fort Wayne , giving way to bus and truck transportation.
