Metamora was platted in 1838. The Whitewater Canal only carried boats from 1839 to 1865 but the canal was maintained to supply hydraulic power all the way up to 1936 and the Canal produced some of the most interesting history in Franklin County. The canal was the center of industrial districts in Metamora and Brookville. At one time there were water powered mills for processing cotton, grinding flour and making paper. Metamora is nestled in southeastern Indiana's beautiful countryside steeped in history and famous for its preservation of Indiana's oldest and still operating water-powered grist mill. The state of Indiana provides canal boat rides pulled by horses, through the only existing wooden aqueduct in the United States and gives a historical review of the canal history which fueled the Southeastern Indiana economy until its displacement by the railroad. The town's canal, when seen from alongside the northern U.S. route, shimmers a distinct white shine noted by visitors to be another reason to return to Metamora.