The Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal is an abandoned canal in Michigan that was only partially completed. The canal was to connect Lake St. Clair with Lake Michigan. The inspiration came from the success of the Erie Canal in New York, which was completed in 1825. Michigan had just achieved statehood in 1837 and its first governor, Stevens Thomson Mason, initiated an ambitious program of internal improvements which included three railroads and two canals.

The Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal was to begin in Mount Clemens on the banks of the Clinton River and continue through Utica, Rochester, Pontiac, Howell, Hastings, and finally to the mouth of the Kalamazoo River. In all, the canal was to span 216 miles.

Construction began in 1838 with much fanfare. Financial troubles related to the Panic of 1837 caused funding for the canal to disappear and all construction stopped in 1843 after only 12 miles had been completed. Engineering miscalculations also contributed to the canal's failure as the canal was dug too shallow and too narrow for heavy freight ships.

After construction ended, the canal quickly fell into disrepair. Portions were used as a millrace to power watermills that operated well into the 1900s. Remnants of the canal are still visible in Rochester Hills in Oakland County, Michigan and in Shelby Charter Township and Clinton Charter Township in Macomb County, Michigan.

External links

• Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal from Shelby Township Historical Committee
• The Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal from the State of Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries
• Michigan Historical Sites Online from Michigan Historical Society
• New Signs for the Old Canal from Rochester Hills Museum Press Releases
• Clinton and Kalamazoo Canal & Dexter Branch from 1880 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY MICHIGAN
• An Economic Lesson From Michigan's Early History from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy by Burton Folsom, Jr.
• Should Government Build the Railroads? by Burton Folsom, Jr.