William Hamilton Merritt

, William Hamilton Merritt's dream of a channel to carry shipping around Niagara Falls was realized on November 29, 1829, when the "Anne and Jane" of Upper Canada navigated the first canal from Port Dalhousie on Lake Ontario to Port Robinson, then followed Chippawa Creek and the Niagara River to Lake Erie. , In 1833, the canal was extended from Port Robinson to Port Colborne (then Gravelly Bay) on Lake Erie to by-pass the treacherous current of the upper Niagara River. , The province of Canada purchased the financially burdened Welland Canal Company in 1841, and immediately began construction of the second canal. In 1867, with Confederation, the canal became a federal responsibility. Since then, the Welland canal has been re-built three times - the third canal in 1881, the fourth in 1932, and the Welland by-pass in 1973. , William Hamilton Merritt, a St. Catharines merchant, foresaw the great benefits to be gained for North America by improving water transportation between Lakes Ontario and Erie. , For more than 150 years, the Welland canal has been a key link in the economic and social development of this continent. , In 1974, management of the Canal Lands in Welland and Port Dalhousie became a responsibility of Public Works Canada, a role it first assumed between 1841 - 1879, when, as the Board of Works for the Province of Canada, and then following Confederation in 1867, as Public Works, it constructed and managed the second and third canals. , __________ ,