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.
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The Rideau Canal enters Sand Lake
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Kilmarnock Lock: This lockstation has a single lock with the lowest lift of any lockstation on the Rideau at only 0.7 m (2.2 ft).
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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.
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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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Defensible Lockmasters House
Butternut Tree on the earthen dam at Davis Lock
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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.
Chaffeys Lock on the Rideau Canal
Local residents initiated an amazing campaign contacting the press and local politicians arguing 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 including heritage professionals from Parks Canada. In 1972, the Canadian government transferred jurisdiction of the canal to Parks Canada with the mandate to keep the canal operatioal and to preserve the heritage aspects of the waterway.
Leaving Chaffeys Lock and heading north toward Indian Lake
Chaffeys Lock from the Iron Bridge
Rideau River, near Upper Nicholsons
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Osprey are a common site along the canal.
Jones Falls
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The Canal at Davis Lock looking toward Sand Lake
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Newboro Lock was one a few lockstations along the canal that was modernized in the name of efficiency. Before Parks Canada assumed the management of the canal the Rideau was under the authority of the Department of Transportation and this department had little interest or experience in heritage preservation.
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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Andrewsville Bridge over the Rideau River
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Flight Locks at Jones Falls, Rideau Canal
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Davis Lock, Defensible Lockmasters House,
Built 1842
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Lockmasters House at Poonamalie
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The Department of Transport intended to modernize all Rideau l lockstations over time. This meant replacing the original masonry (stone) walls with poured concrete structures and eliminating the hand-operated gates and sluice valves with electric motors and hydraulic systems.
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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The canal runs through downtown Ottawa
The heritage character of the Rideau Canal is often a study in contrasts.
Jones Falls, Rideau Canal NHS,
The Turning Basin between locks 39 & the flight locks 40-42
Looking NW toward Lake Opinicon
Where Lake Opinicon links to SandLake
The second story was added in the early 20th Century. A remarkably seamless addition.
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)
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.
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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