(Metamora, IN) – There’s a new development in the Whitewater Canal State Historic Site saga.
Officials in charge of the site in Metamora, which is slated to close at the end of this season, and the Southeastern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (SIRPC) have received notice of a possible $7 million grant from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation to help fund the $14.4 million preservation project at the site.
Upgrades would include restoring locks, the aqueduct and bringing back canal boat rides.
The matching funds were included in the two-year state budget passed in 2023 but required a local match in order for the work to proceed.
Those who have been working on the collaborative effort to improve and save the site include SIRPC, the Metamora community, Franklin County, the State of Indiana, local lawmakers including State Representative Lindsay Patterson (R-Brookville), Senator Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg), and the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites.
The latter announced plans two weeks ago to close the Whitewater Canal State Historic Site at Metamora at the end of the current summer season.
Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites officials said at the time that after they exhausted all avenues to raise funds to make essential repairs, it was considered no longer economically or environmentally feasible to continue to operate and manage the site.
