Sault Ste. Marie Canal
| Sault Ste. Marie Canal | |
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The Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site, with the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge in the background.
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| Location | Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada |
| Coordinates | 46°30′46″N 84°21′05″W / 46.51278°N 84.35139°WCoordinates: 46°30′46″N 84°21′05″W / 46.51278°N 84.35139°W |
| Built | 1895 |
| Governing body | Parks Canada |
| Website | Sault Ste. Marie Canal |
The Sault Ste. Marie Canal is a National Historic Site of Canada in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Until 1987, the canal was part of the shipping route from the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Superior. It includes a lock to bypass the rapids on the St. Marys River.
The first lock was built in 1798 by the Northwest Trading Company. On July 20, 1814 an American force destroyed the North West Company depot on the north shore of the St. Marys River. Since the Americans were unable to capture Fort Michilimackinac, the British forces retained control of the Sault. The lock was destroyed in 1814 in an attack by U.S. forces during the War of 1812.
In 1870, the United States refused the steamer Chicora, carrying Colonel Garnet Wolseley permission to pass through the locks at Sault Ste Marie. The Wolseley Expedition incident led to the construction of a Canadian Sault Ste. Marie Canal, which was completed in 1895.
The construction of the canal and lock was completed in 1895. At that time it was the largest lock and first electrically operated lock in the world. The canal is about 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) long and originally the lock portion was 274 metres (899 ft) long and 18 metres (59 ft) wide.
On June 9, 1909 the locks were seriously damaged when the Perry G. Walker, owned by the Gilchrist Transportation Co. of Cleveland, Ohio, crashed into the south main gate, forcing it back and allowing the force of water to push the north main gate over. The rush of water threw the Perry G. Walker back and carried two other ships downstream, one of which struck the south main gate, breaking it diagonally in two. The rush of water through the destroyed locks was stopped by activation of the Emergency Swing Dam, allowing repairs to commence. Amazingly, there was no loss of life or injury associated with this disaster, and repairs required only 12 days, with the bridge reopening on June 21, 1909.
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