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THE ST. LAWRENCE WATERWAY
By Thomas Conlon, St. Catharines
A Partial Account
[The Welland Tribune and Telegraph, 17 March 1921]
About 1842, Montreal, then in its infancy as a schooners, began dredging their harbor and ship channel to deep water about 100 miles below, but the job was too heavy for the city and the government took over the work and they are still dredging that ship channel that is now 400 feet wide and 30 feet deep, and improved with numerous light houses, buoys and other aids to navigation, and it is now considered safe for ocean ships and with miles of docks and the best of facilities for handling cargoes. Montreal is now considered one of the leading shipping ports on this continent, and now sending out ships carrying twelve to fifteen thousand tons.
The five lower canals were, at first only 9 feet deep but enlarged to same size as the present Welland and now the whole system of the six canals, with locks 262 feet long, 45 feet wide, and 14 feet deep and permits a vessel carrying 2500 tons and all finally completed in 1881.
The first Welland Canal was begun in 1825 and completed in 1829 and lasted until 1849. The capacity was a vessel carrying seventy tons. Its enlargement opened in 1850, permitted a vessel car carrying six hundred tons and that canal was further enlarged and completed in 1881 for a vessel carrying twenty-five hundred tons, and now our government has expended 20 million to the new Deep Waterway Canal for a ship carrying form 12 to 15 thousand tons, being the fourth Welland in my seventy years, starting at 70 tons and ending with fourteen thousand tons, when the fourth is completed.
Erie Canal
Erie Canal was opened in 1825 for a vessel carrying 40 tons, but enlarged for a boat carrying 240 tons and now they are opening their barge canal with capacity of about the same as our present Welland Canal (2500 tons). The Erie is owned by New York State and has paid for itself long ago, and will always be a strong competitor with our St. Lawrence Route, especially as they are so selfish that they won’t allow a Canadian boat to navigate it outside of the Buffalo Harbor limits, although they have enjoyed the free use of our Canadian Canals.
Darn (hit post before CAPTCHA)
Looking help in history of Welland Swim League 1920′s) and also the development in early to mid-40′s of the Welland Cross Street Pool (converted lock)
John ‘Jack’ Davis was involved in both. He was a British teenage swimming champion out of Liverpool and was going to represent England in the world championships of the day when WWI broke out. In WWII he was considered too old for Active Service but he proved his swimming capabilities and was made Active Duty as CPO Swimming Instructor in Fort William for the duration.
Looking to nominate him to the Sports Wall of Fame as builder/developer and swim champion. In Canada, a Mr Fox was one of his coaches and later he taught hundred’s of kids/adults in the Canal till the Pool was built and he was part of that development.
Need help!! Thanks
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