Rideau Canal
For information or to leave a comment contact Paul Couture pmcouture@yahoo.ca
Moving up the reach to Upper Nicholsons
Burritts Rapids on the Rideau River
A private residence overlooking the canal channel.
The canal runs through downtown Ottawa
The heritage character of the Rideau Canal is often a study in contrasts.
Flight Locks at Jones Falls, Rideau Canal
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Butternut Tree on the earthen dam at Davis Lock
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The second story was added in the early 20th Century. A remarkably seamless addition.
Lockmasters House at Poonamalie
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This photo shows a portion of the 1.5 km channel that was excavated to link Upper Rideau Lake with Newboro Lake. It turned out to be one of the most difficult challenges in the construction of the canal. The problem: granite. Every meter had to be hand-drilled, packed with black powder and detonated. The rumble was hauled away with wheelbarrows and carts and the hole- drilling would start again. Several civilian contractors went bankrupt in their attempts to do the work. Death and injury from blasting accidents were commonplace and the area was plagued with outbreaks of malaria every summer.
Opinicon Hotel, Chaffeys Lock on the Rideau Canal
In 2012, the main building and cottages sitting on some 115 acres of wooded landscape appeared destined to disappear and resume life as a trailer park. This represented a serious loss for the heritage of Chaffeys Lock and indeed, for the entire Rideau Canal.
(Now) Private Residence, Burritts Rapids
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Private Residence, Burritts Rapids
The heritage value of the Rideau Canal Corridor is an ensemble including canal structures, communities, commercial entrprizes, private residences and the natural setting.
Private Residence, Burritts Rapids
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Jones Falls, Rideau Canal NHS,
The Turning Basin between locks 39 & the flight locks 40-42
Davis Lock, Defensible Lockmasters House,
Built 1842
The Canal at Davis Lock looking toward Sand Lake
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Kilmarnock Lock: Has a single lock with the lowest lift of any lock on the canal at only 0.7 m (2.2 ft).
The name Poonamalie was given to this lock during construction. The name comes from Poovirundavalli, a town near Chennai (Madras) in India, which served as a garrison town for the British Army. The name was anglicized as Poonamallee and this was the originally spelling for the name of the lockstation. Speculation is that the cedar-lined banks of the Rideau River reminded one of the military men of the Indian garrison town. (Ken Watson)
The "Old Mill" at Chaffeys Lock
In the late 1960s, Chaffeys Lock became the focal point in a heated controversy about saving the heritage character of this 19th Century canal. Chaffeys was slated to undergo a modernization upgrade similar to Newboro. Local residents, many with family ties to the canal going back several generations, undertook a campaign to preserve to the canal.
A Part of the Landscape of the Opinicon Hotel
But the spirits of heritage preservation were alive and well at Chaffeys Lock. The property was purchased by a couple sensitive to the value of the Opinicon Hotel and its place in the larger heritage community. After several years of restoration and rehabilitation work, this grand resort is open again and is an integral part of the Rideau Canal community.
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Rideau River, near Upper Nicholsons
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Osprey are a common site along the canal.
Looking NW toward Lake Opinicon
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Chaffeys Lock/Mills on the Rideau Canal
In the 1960s the Department of Transport began work to "modernize" the Rideau Canal. Residents from the community at Chaffeys Mills led a campaign to stop the modernization initiative. They argued that the Rideau Canal was a national treasure and rather than destroying the historic structures in the name of modern efficiency the government should be preserving them. More individuals and heritage groups joined the campaign and in 1972, the Canadian government transferred jurisdiction of the canal to Parks Canada with the mandate to keep the canal operational and to preserve the heritage aspects of the waterway.
Leaving Chaffeys Lock and heading north toward Indian Lake
Chaffeys Lock from the Iron Bridge
Blacksmith Shop, Jones Falls, Rideau Canal
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Andrewsville Bridge over the Rideau River
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Jones Falls
Defensible Lockmasters House
The Rideau Canal enters Sand Lake
Where Lake Opinicon links to SandLake
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Old Presbyterian Cemetery at Newboro
This cemetery was first used as a burial ground for workers who died during the construction of the canal including 10 members of the Royal Sappers and Miners. Unfortunately, the names of the civilian workers are unknown because the wooden grave markers were lost over time.
The Opinicon Hotel has links to the village of Chaffeys Lock that goes back to the 19th Century. In 2012, after over a century of operation, the resort closed its doors and was put on the block.
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Upper Nicholsons Lockstation, Rideau Canal
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