First Welland Canal
Main article:
First Welland Canal
The
Welland Canal Company was incorporated in 1824 by
William Hamilton Merritt , in part to provide a regular flow of water for his
mills. Construction began at
Allanburg on
November 30, at a point now marked as such on the west end of Bridge #11 (formerly
Highway 20). It opened for a trial run on November 30, 1829 (exactly 5 years, to the day, after the 1824 sod turning). After a short ceremony at Lock One, in Port Dalhousie, the schooner
Anne & Jane (also called "Annie & Jane" in some texts[
citation needed]) made the first transit, upbound to
Buffalo, N.Y.; with Merritt a passenger on her decks. The first canal ran from
Port Dalhousie on Lake Ontario south along Twelve Mile Creek to
St. Catharines. From there it took a winding route up the
Niagara Escarpment through
Merritton to
Thorold, where it continued south via Allanburg to
Port Robinson on the
Welland River. Ships went east (downstream) on the Welland River to Chippawa, at the south (upper) end of the old portage road, where they would make a sharp right turn into the Niagara river, upbound towards lake Erie. Originally, the section between Allanburg and Port Robinson was to have been carried under a tunnel, however, sandy soil conditions made that unfeasible and a deep open cut was used instead.
A southern extension from Port Robinson opened in 1833. This extension followed the Welland River south to
Welland (known then as the settlement of Aqueduct, for the wooden
aqueduct that carried the canal over the Welland River at that point), and then split to run south to
Port Colborne on Lake Erie. A feeder canal ran southwest from Welland to another point on Lake Erie, just west of
Rock Point. With the opening of the extension, the canal stretched 44 km (27 mi) between the two lakes, with 40 wooden locks. The minimum lock size was 33.5 m by 6.7 m (110 feet by 22 feet), with a minimum canal depth of 2.4 m (8 ft).
Abandoned locks of the third canal
Aerial photo of Port Dalhousie from the third canal era. 3rd canal lock at left, 2nd canal lock at right. Note 3rd canal towpath at upper left and Muir brother's ship yard centre right.