Clinton–Kalamazoo Canal
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Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal
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| Location | Clinton Township to Rochester |
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| Coordinates | 42°39′17″N 83°3′10″W / 42.65472°N 83.05278°WCoordinates: 42°39′17″N 83°3′10″W / 42.65472°N 83.05278°W |
| Area | 51 acres (21 ha) |
| Built | 1838 |
| NRHP Reference # | 72000638 |
| Added to NRHP | March 24, 1972 |
The Clinton–Kalamazoo Canal is a canal in Michigan that was abandoned after being only partially completed. The canal was to connect Lake St. Clair with Lake Michigan. Project backers were inspired by the success of the Erie Canal in New York, which was completed in 1825. After gaining statehood in 1837, Michigan elected its first governor, Stevens Thomson Mason, who initiated an ambitious program of internal improvements, including 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. From Pontiac westward, the canal would carry new settlers and supplies to the interior of the state and eventually connect with the "thriving" Lake Michigan port of Singapore (now a ghost town). Singapore was to ship passengers and freight to Chicago across Lake Michigan.
The valley of the Clinton river was thought to present a feasible water-route to Lake St. Clair, and the matter of improving the navigation of the river was pushed so persistently that the legislative council of the Territory passed an act (approved by the governor April 12, 1827) incorporating the 'Clinton River Navigation Company" for the purpose of removing obstructions from the Clinton river, and making such river navigable for boats from the village of Mount Clemens to Mack's lower mills (so called), in the county of Oakland."
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