On July 20, 1838 the first shovel full of dirt was turned in an effort to link Lake St. Clair and Lake Michigan via the Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal.

The plan was part of a five million dollar loan for internal improvements to the infrastructure of the state.

The canal was to start at the mouth of the Clinton River near Mt. Clemens and run west through Howell and Hastings and connect with the Kalamazoo River to Lake Michigan. Construction was halted in the early 1840s due to financial troubles after only 16 of the planned 216 miles had been completed. The photograph (c 1965) shows that ruins of the ill-fated canal still exist.

Map of the Profiles of the Independent Routes from Utica to Rochester of the Clinton and Kalamazoo Canal

-Mark Harvey, State Archivist
E-mail:harveym@michigan.gov

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Archives of Michigan
Michigan Library and Historical Center
702 W. Kalamazoo Street
Lansing, MI 48913
Phone: (517) 373-1408
E-mail: garrettr1@michigan.gov

Updated 05/18/2006.

Michigan Historical Center, Department of History, Arts and Libraries
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