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simply following the
Welland River until it emptied into the Niagara River. This was suboptimal for a number of reasons, the main one being the strong current of Niagara and the proximity of the towering Niagara Falls that made the journey hard and uncomfortable. Due to this, a second route was planned to diverge from the canal at Port Robinson. It would follow the Welland River southwest, then branch off, following Forks Creek and a 20 kilometre channel cut through present-day
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470:) was chosen as the new Lake Erie terminus for the canal. It was one of the closest points on the Lake Erie shore, and also offered a natural harbour for the ships waiting to enter the canal. The new part of the canal was to run in a fairly straight line, except for a stretch where it followed a local ravine and a creek to minimise required excavation of hard rock in the area.
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to provide for construction of a canal between the Twelve Mile Creek and
Welland River. Unlike Merritt's original water-canal plan, the petition included plans for allowing boats to cross the Niagara Escarpment. In 1823, Hiram Tibbetts, an engineer, was employed to make a formal survey for the route.
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As the Deep Cut progressed, plans were being made for an alternate route to Lake Erie. The original motivation behind the canal was to bring water to mills, and this was met by constructing a canal to the
Welland River. However, as the plans evolved to include a ship route, they were accommodated by
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On
November 30, 1824, approximately 200 people gathered near Allanburg to witness the sod-turning for the construction. Soon, contracts for the work were let out, but the actual construction didn't start until July 1825. Wherever possible, natural waterways were used, but this was not possible for
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As mentioned before, the route to Lake Erie afforded by the canal, following the
Welland and Niagara Rivers, was difficult and slow. The Feeder connected directly to Lake Erie, but it was long, and, not intended as a ship canal, of insufficient capacity. Over the course of the canal's first full
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However, the rains continued. On
November 9, 1828, just two weeks' worth of work before completion of the Deep Cut, the banks of the cut near Port Robinson collapsed into the excavated channel, killing an unknown number of workers below. More landslides followed, and it soon became evident that
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and a store. The Twelve flowed from its source south of the
Escarpment to Lake Ontario, but its water levels varied considerably, creating difficulties for Merritt and his mills. In 1818, when the flow was especially low, Merritt pursued the idea of bringing water to his mills from the
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Since the construction of a channel towards Grand River was already underway at the time of the Deep Cut failure, a dam across the mouth of the Grand was proposed soon after, in
December 1828. From there, a channel could be dug to feed this level to the Welland Canal proper. An
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Prior to the construction of the
Welland Canal, the main settlements in the area were located along Lake Ontario and Niagara River, as the interior of the Niagara Peninsula remained hard to reach and rural areas, if that. As the construction progressed, however,
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Once again, many of the Deep Cut labourers were transferred to the Feeder cut. The digging was finished in the span of 177 days, which was a large achievement at the time. Lake Erie water was let into the Feeder and
Welland Canals in November 1829.
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Overall, the combined Welland and Feeder Canals stretched 44 kilometres (27 mi) between the two lakes, with 40 wooden locks. The minimum lock size was 33.5 m by 6.7 m (110 ft by 22 ft), with a minimum canal depth of 2.4 m (8 ft).
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the construction of the canal between Port Robinson and Allanburg. In what was called the Deep Cut, a channel over three kilometres long was cut, sometimes as deep as 20 metres. No less than 750,000 cubic metres of earth was removed.
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In September 1827, work on the Deep Cut was paused due to heavy rains. Many workers were transferred to construction of the canal in Wainfleet, and had made significant progress before Deep Cut work was resumed the following April.
181:, was a natural match to the idea of bypassing the Falls. Indeed, the idea of a canal across the Peninsula was examined as early as 1799, when a group headed by Robert Hamilton, a Queenston merchant, unsuccessfully petitioned the
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On January 19, 1824, an act of the Legislature formed the Welland Canal Company, with a capitalization of $ 150,000 and Merritt as the financial agent. As part of his fundraising duties, he travelled extensively, including the
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Later in 1824, a revised route was put forward for the canal. It travelled from Port Robinson to Allanburg like the previous one, but from there went north and descended the escarpment by a series of
252:. Along with George Keefer, John DeCew, and a couple of other neighbours he set out to survey a potential route for a water canal. From the headwaters of the Twelve Mile Creek near present-day
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The Welland Canal Company obtained a loan of 50,000 pounds from the Province of Upper Canada. Construction started soon after, but it was delayed by rain, difficulty in clearing land, and a
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and Allanburg, and then follow the Twelve Mile Creek northwest to DeCew's Falls (where John DeCew owned a mill). There, it was suggested to descend the escarpment by an
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making a cut deep enough as to use the Welland River as the source of canal water would not be possible. An alternate, sufficiently high source of water was necessary.
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The complete First Welland Canal including the Feeder Canal and the extension to Port Colborne. The present-day canal is marked in pale grey
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As with other locations in the peninsula, shantytowns sprung up along the Feeder Canal. These later developed into places like Dunnville,
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The Welland Canal was officially opened on November 30, 1829, exactly five years after the first turning of the sod. Two schooners,
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has gone through many incarnations in its history. Today, five distinct canal-construction efforts are recognized. The retronym
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nor the rock south of it were easy to dig in, but work was accelerated during mild weather of late 1832 and early 1833.
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to house the labourers and their families were established along the way, giving birth to communities that later became
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The dam was relocated eight kilometres inland by naval authorities, mindful of its safety in times not long after the
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He suggested to dig a channel 1.2 metres (4 ft) below the surface level of Welland River between present-day
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Today, very little of the First Canal is evident. Much of the Feeder Canal, however is still present today in
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without encountering major difficulties. Upstream, the lakes are navigable all the way to the western end of
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The elevations of the Great Lakes, demonstrating the massive elevation difference across the Niagara River.
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was used, but the solution was far from optimal. The cargo had to be unloaded, carried 18 km up the
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On July 4, 1818, Merritt organized a meeting in St. Catharines. The outcome was a petition sent to
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The Welland Canal including the Feeder Canal. The present-day canal is marked in pale grey
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Aqueduct Merrittsville and Welland: a history of the city of Welland: the beginning years
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navigation season in 1830, it became evident that a more direct route was necessary.
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The Welland Canal as originally planned. The present-day canal is marked in pale grey
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is applied to the original canal, constructed from 1824 to 1829 and 1831 to 1833.
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First phase of construction of the Welland Canal, Upper Canada (1824-29, 1831-33)
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In 1818, William Hamilton Merritt borrowed an instrument called a
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returned to Lake Ontario along the same route four days later.
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The Niagara Falls stood as a mighty barrier. To bypass it, a
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form an excellent navigation route into the interior of
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77:Learn how and when to remove this message
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192:In 1816, a young man called
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261:Upper Canada Legislature
194:William Hamilton Merritt
32:This article includes a
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216:On a bigger scale, the
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34:list of references
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358:Grand River
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246:water level
121:Great Lakes
59:introducing
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500:Completion
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206:grist mill
67:March 2010
675:Crossings
661:Dain City
646:Allanburg
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575:History
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