Lock One of the Second Welland Canal

Lock One of the Second Welland Canal. , This stone lock served as Lock One of the Second Welland Canal, the canal's northern terminus and the key to the development and growth of the village of Port Dalhousie from 1848 to 1882. A grand and handsome achievement of skilled stonemasons, it is an enduring connection to a lively time when tall-masted schooners from all over the Great Lakes filled the harbour, and when sailors and travellers from all parts gathered in Port Dalhousie's canalside shops, taverns, and hotels., When the government of the new Province of Canada took control of the financially troubled Welland Canal in 1841, a priority was improvement and enlargement of the locks to accommodate the increasingly larger vessels on the Great Lakes. The new northern entry lock was relocated here, at what was known as Pawling's Point. Work began in 1842. To prepare the site, labourers undertook a huge amount of clearing, digging, and excavating. Much of this backbreaking work was carried out by recently arrived Irish immigrants who laboured under brutal conditions, with picks and shovels, for long hours and low wages. Violence, conflict, and turmoil plagued this period, marked by recurring clashes between groups of canal workers competing for work, and between canal workers and authorities. The excavation work progressed slowly, further delayed by accidents and flooding. When the excavation was completed, stonemasons (many of them newly arrived from Scotland) dressed, shaped, and put in place the limestone blocks brought from the quarry at Queenston., Despite its difficult and turbulent beginnings, the new Lock One was completed in 1848, along with extensive alterations and improvements to the harbour, piers, and towpath. The new lock was 200' long, 45' wide, and 9' deep. In 1853 the lock was deepened to 10', and further improvements carried out on the harbour and piers., The new lock and its related facilities brought in a period of growth and prosperity for Port Dalhousie. Improvements to the whole system of the Welland and St. Lawrence canals ushered in a period of tremendous activity, expansion, and growth throughout the Great Lakes region, with increased canal traffic, a shipbuilding boom, and prosperity for canal communities. In Port Dalhousie these developments were reflected in the growth of the commercial area along Front Street facing the canal and up Lock Street, with the establishment of many businesses to service the canal boats and crews as well as several successful shipyards. By 1870, over 7000 vessels passed through the canal annually., In 1882 the lock was replaced by the new and relocated Lock One of the Third Welland Canal, but remained open and in use for smaller boats and barges until about 1915. With later changes to the roadway into the village, use of the lock ended, most of it was filled in, and much of its fine stonework buried.