The First Welland Canal 1824-1833

and

The Old Welland Canal

There are two plaques about this early canal in The Region of Niagara.
Both can be seen on this page.

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted August, 2004

Photo by contributor Wayne Adam - Posted October, 2010

Plaque Location

The Region of Niagara
The City of St. Catharines
In a park not far from the foot of the stairs south off Gale Crescent
east of Geneva Street just north of Highway 406

Coordinates: N 43 09.677 W 79 14.124

Plaque Text

Lock number 6 of the original Welland Canal lies in the adjacent watercourse about 213 metres southwest of here. This first or "wooden" canal, constructed 1824-33 by the Welland Canal Company, ran from Port Dalhousie on Lake Ontario to Port Colborne on Lake Erie. William Hamilton Merritt was its chief promoter. With the opening of the canal as far as Port Robinson in 1829, lake boats reached Lake Erie via the Welland and Niagara Rivers. When completed in 1833, the 45 km canal enabled vessels to pass directly from lake to lake through 40 small timbered locks. In 1841 the Province of Canada took full control of the canal from its private owners.

Photo by contributor Wayne Adam - Posted December, 2009

Photo by contributor Wayne Adam - Posted June, 2012

Photo Source - Wikipedia

Plaque Location

The Region of Niagara
The City of Thorold
On a stone cairn at the west end of the bridge
carrying Road 20 over the Welland Canal

Coordinates: N 43 04.589 W 79 12.678

Plaque Text

Originally conceived in 1818 by its promoter, William Hamilton Merritt, to divert trade from the Erie Canal and New York and built under private auspices, the canal was opened to traffic in 1829. After additional work in 1833, the canal with its 40 wooden locks linked Port Colborne on Lake Erie and Port Dalhousie on Lake Ontario and brought prosperity to its environs by permitting the export of Upper Canadian staples through New York. In 1841 reconstruction was begun by the Canadian government to improve the canal's military and commercial value.

More
Information

More
Canals

Here are the visitors' comments for this page.

Posted February 11, 2012
It may be interesting to note that Sidney Hough of Merritton (d 2011) had a large collection of photos and information about early canals particularly that which ran through Merritton. Some of the collection would be of museum quality and all valuable in this regard. Contact with his brother George Hough in Thorold may reveal its whereabouts. R. Ernest Jukes

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