Sault Ste. Marie in Algoma District, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

The Dam in Action!
⎯⎯⎯
Le barrage à l'œuvre!

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 11, 2024

1. The Dam in Action! / Le barrage à l'œuvre! Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

[English] The Emergency Swing Dam rests and pivots on a large turntable. Historically, four men turned a T-shaped handle to swing it across the canal. Once across the canal, each of the dam's 23 wickets (metal frames) is lowered and a steel shutter automatically slides down within it. When lowered, the wickets and shutters form a barrier (or a dam) reducing the rush of water.

On the day of the 1909 accident, the T-shaped handle broke and workers hitched a team of horses to the dam to complete the swinging.

View a working model of the Emergency Swing Dam in our visitor center!

[Français] Le barrage tournant de secours repose et pivote sur une large plaque tournante. Autrefois, quatre hommes devaient tourner une poignée en T pour le faire pivoter. Une fois le barrage en travers du canal, ils abaissaient les 23 hausses (structures en métal) ce qui permettait aux vannelles de glisser dans les hausses. Lorsqu'elles sont en place, ces hausses et vannelles forment une barrière (et donc un barrage) qui réduit le débit d'eau.

En 1909, le jour de l'accident, la poignée en T s'est brisée et les ouvriers ont dû attacher un

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attelage de chevaux au barrage pour compléter la manœuvre.

Voyez un modèle animé du barrage tournant de secours dans notre centre d'accueil!

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Bridges & Viaducts • Disasters • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical date for this entry is June 9, 1909.

Location. 46° 30.797′ N, 84° 21.397′ W. Marker is in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in Algoma District. It is on Canal Drive 1.1 kilometers west of Huron Street, on the left when traveling west. The marker is located near the Emergency Swing Bridge Dam at the Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Canal Drive, Sault Ste Marie ON P6A 6W4, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma Area

and in Northern Ontario.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

in the Great North Woods,

on the Great Lakes,

on Lake Superior’s North Shore,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British

Marker detail: Damaged Lower Lock Gate image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 11, 2024

2. Marker detail: Damaged Lower Lock Gate

(historic photo on the left side of the marker)Damaged lower lock gate during the 1909 accident! • • • Dommages causés à la porte aval de l'écluse pendant l'accident de 1909 !

colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: What a Rush! / Urgence! (here, next to this marker); Why Preserve This Big Hunk of Steel? / Pourquoi préserver cette énorme structure d'acier? (here, next to this marker); The Last Emergency Swing Dam in the World! / Le dernier barrage tournant de secours au monde! (a few steps from this marker); Emergency Swing Bridge Dam / Barrage tournant de secours (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); The "Chicora" Incident (about 150 meters away); Canadian Veterans Memorial (about 150 meters away); CPR Passenger Ships in the Lock / Paquebots de la CFCP dans l'écluse (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); 1622 (approx. 0.4 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sault Ste. Marie.

Also see . . . Disaster at the Canadian Soo, June 9, 1909.

Excerpt: June 9, 1909 dawned uneventful enough but a mid-afternoon accident in the Canadian Lock caused by an American ship disregarding lockage instructions brought traffic to a
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 11, 2024

3. The Dam in Action! / Le barrage à l'œuvre! Marker
Looking north; Canal Drive crosses in the background.
standstill and closed the entire area to maritime traffic for twelve days. That it was only closed twelve days and that no lives had been lost in the day’s chain of events was judged to be nothing short of a miracle…

(Submitted on May 19, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Emergency Swing Bridge Dam (<i>east elevation</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 11, 2024

4. Emergency Swing Bridge Dam (east elevation)

Looking west along Canal Drive from near the marker. The swing bridge is resting in standby position, parallel to the canal. The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge (high in the background) carries vehicle traffic over the canal. There is also a railroad bridge crossing the canal in the distant background.

Emergency Swing Bridge Dam Wickets image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 11, 2024

5. Emergency Swing Bridge Dam Wickets

These massive steel “wickets” are dragged along with the emergency bridge when it swings across the canal, dropping into the water to slow the flow.

Emergency Swing Bridge Dam (<i>north elevation</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 11, 2024

6. Emergency Swing Bridge Dam (north elevation)

The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge is overhead on the right.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 19, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 16, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 109 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on May 18, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 6. submitted on May 19, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The Dam in Action!⎯⎯⎯Le barrage à l'œuvre!

The Dam in Action!
⎯⎯⎯
Le barrage à l'œuvre!