The aqueduct carries the Whitewater Canal over Duck Creek — and without it, residents say, the canal itself would eventually dry up. No canal means no canal boats, no historic tourism, no reason for the shops and ice cream parlors that line Metamora's main street to stay open.
That is not a hypothetical fear. It is the math that has kept locals up at night for years, watching the structure deteriorate storm by storm while funding stayed out of reach.
Without that, we have nothing. That's why we worked so hard to save it.Candy Yurcak, Scarlett's grandmother
Cassie Garrett, regional director for Whitewater Publications and a Metamora resident, was among those who pushed hardest to bring outside attention to the aqueduct's decline. She reached out to WCPO because she feared the story was going untold — and that without funding, the canal and the community around it could quietly disappear.
State officials visited to discuss the renovation plans, and the relief was immediate and visible. Garrett put it simply: this place was like Kings Island for the people who grew up here. You don't just walk away from that.
It's an emotional thing, as silly as that sounds. This was like our Kings Island.Cassie Garrett, regional director for Whitewater Publications
How Well Do You Know Metamora?
Four questions about the town, the aqueduct, and what's at stake.
What makes the Metamora aqueduct genuinely unusual in the United States?
- It's the oldest canal structure in Indiana — Age isn't the key claim here. Residents say it's the last working aqueduct of its kind in the entire country — not simply the oldest one in the state.
- It's the last working one of its kind in the country — Correct. Residents describe it as the last working aqueduct of its kind in the entire United States — which is exactly why its survival matters far beyond Metamora's town limits.
- It carries a modern water main alongside the historic canal — Not the claim made in the reporting. What sets it apart is that it still functions as a historic working aqueduct — something residents say no other U.S. town can claim.
- It was built by the same engineers as the Erie Canal — The source reporting doesn't make that connection. The aqueduct's significance is its current rarity — the last working one of its kind — not its construction lineage.
What happens to the canal if the aqueduct is allowed to fail?
- It would be rerouted underground — No such plan was described. According to Cassie Garrett, the aqueduct failure would leave a waterfall where the bridge stands — and without the aqueduct carrying water over Duck Creek, the canal would eventually dry up entirely.
- The canal would eventually dry up — Exactly right. Cassie Garrett explained that without the aqueduct, there would be a waterfall where the bridge now stands — and the canal would eventually dry up, taking Metamora's tourism economy with it.
- The town would be converted to a state park — That outcome wasn't discussed. The more immediate consequence Garrett described: the canal drying up, which would strip the town of its core identity and economic foundation.
- Canal boat tours would simply move to a nearby river — The reporting doesn't suggest any nearby alternative. Residents framed the canal as irreplaceable — 'without that, we have nothing,' in the words of Candy Yurcak.
What world record is held by a business in Metamora?
- Largest collection of antique canal memorabilia — Close in spirit, but the actual record is more delightful: the ice cream parlor holds the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of cookie jars — 2,653 of them.
- Longest continuously operating canal boat tour — Not the record cited. The Guinness distinction belongs to the town's ice cream parlor, which has amassed 2,653 cookie jars — the world's largest collection.
- Largest collection of cookie jars — Correct — 2,653 cookie jars and counting, according to Guinness World Records. It's the kind of quirky detail that makes Metamora exactly the sort of place Cincinnati day-trippers remember long after the drive home.
- Most visitors per capita for an unincorporated town — No such record was mentioned in the reporting. The real Guinness distinction is the ice cream parlor's 2,653-cookie-jar collection — a record as unique as the town itself.
Beverly Cox moved to Metamora from which city?
- Indianapolis — Not Indianapolis. Cox moved from Cincinnati — which gives her story a direct connection to WCPO readers and frames Metamora as a place that has long pulled people away from the city in search of something quieter.
- Cincinnati — Correct. Beverly Cox moved from Cincinnati and bought the building that now serves as both her home and her home decor business. Her wish — 'I hope they fix all this before I die' — carries the weight of someone who chose this town and refuses to watch it disappear.
- Dayton — Not Dayton. Cox came from Cincinnati — a detail that grounds this Indiana story directly in the Greater Cincinnati audience, and shows how Metamora has long been a destination, not just a dot on a map.
- Columbus — Not Columbus. The reporting says Cox moved from Cincinnati — a reminder that places like Metamora exist partly because people from cities like ours have always found something worth staying for.
Beverly Cox put into words what many residents felt but struggled to say. She moved from Cincinnati, fell in love with the quiet of this unincorporated town, and built a life there. But quiet can tip into forgotten — and for a long stretch of years, Metamora felt like it was sliding in that direction.
The $14.4 million renovation announcement didn't just mean new stonework and structural repairs. For Cox, for Candy Yurcak watching her granddaughter skip rocks over Duck Creek, and for Scarlett Garrett herself — still shoeless, still eating cookies-and-cream — it meant the town they love gets to keep being itself.
I hope they fix all this before I die. It's just kind of gotten forgotten.Beverly Cox, home decor business owner
Plan Your Visit to Metamora
- Where It Is: Metamora, Indiana — approximately one hour northwest of Cincinnati. Unincorporated town along the Whitewater Canal.
- What to See: The historic aqueduct over Duck Creek, canal boat rides, and the ice cream parlor holding the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of cookie jars (2,653).
- What's Coming: $14.4 million in planned renovations to the aqueduct and surrounding historic site, announced by state officials.