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| Your location: Rideau Region > Rideau Waterway > History > Locks > Smiths Falls Locks 28-31 |
| Introduction | Acknowledgments | Prolog | Cast of Characters | Definition of Terms | Malaria | Lock Basics | Bibliography |
 | location map | Smiths Falls Combined lock info | Smiths Falls Detached lock info | N.H. Baird, 1828. The Setting At Smyth's Falls, the river fell 36 feet (11 m) in less than a quarter mile (0.4 km). It was noted that there were a number of islands formed by snies (dry flood channels) winding around the falls. The bedrock was very hard. MacTaggart, in considering an early plan to excavate a three mile (5 km) channel around the falls stated that the, "rock ... defies the strength of gunpowder or crow-bars to remove it, and would weary the British treasury with expenses." Originally known as Smyth's Falls, it was named after Thomas Smyth, a United Empire Loyalist who received a 400 acre land grant in the area in 1786. Smyth did nothing with the land and in 1810 he mortgaged it to a man in Boston. In 1823, Smyth built a saw mill at Smyth's Falls, but he never lived there, choosing to stay in Elizabethtown Township on the St. Lawrence River and also at Burritts Rapids. Apparently the mortgage, which Smyth thought had been paid, had not, and in 1824 his ownership of the land was contested. Smyth lost the court case and the land was sold in 1825 to Charles Jones (of Jones Falls fame) who immediately sold it at a profit to Abel Russell Ward. It was Ward who in 1826 was the first to move into the area and actively start to build a settlement, originally known as Wardsville. When the canal was about to be constructed in 1827, an early map showed Ward's mill and four other buildings on the north shore of the river. The Plan  Samuel Clowes' original 1824 plan called for a canal cut to leave the Rideau River at a point just below Edmunds Rapids and follow a route north of the river, bypassing Sly's Rapids and Smith's Falls, and returning to the channel of the Rideau just above First Rapids (Poonamalie). A series of seven locks near the Edmunds end of this route would take the canal almost to the level of Rideau Lake (one more lock was planned at First Rapids to take the canal up to the level of Rideau Lake).MacTaggart in his 1827 survey, refuted Clowes' plan by saying, "Behind Smith's Falls, about three miles on the west side of the river, there is a large swampy tract of country, a chain of extensive beaver meadows winding-in, and terminating somewhere nigh to Merrick's Mills, fifteen miles below. These swamps, from the river levels, must form something like an inclined plane, having an elevation of nearly 100 feet. Now to cut through these swamps for fifteen miles, and miss six miles of natural river navigation, and to construct ten locks in a swamp, and all apart from each other, the whole, too, remote from reservoirs which such works require, seems to me a preposterous idea." The plan proposed in 1827 was to place a dam between the west (north) bank of the river and Jason Island. The location of this dam was near a store owned by a Mr. Rykert. The dam was to be 96 feet (29 m) long at the bottom and 200 feet (61 m) long at the top, with a height of 23 feet (7 m). This dam was intended to drown the falls and deepen the still water above the falls by 2 feet 7 inches (0.8 m). In a snie (dry flood channel) that went through the island, named Hornet's snie, three locks in flight, each with a lift of 11 feet 2 inches (3.4 m) were proposed. It was noted that the dam would form an overflow weir for the locks. An embankment was required on the south side in order to keep from flooding Abel Ward's Farm. As construction progressed, the plan had to be modified. Building the Locks The contract was awarded to Rykert, Simpson and Company (also known as Rykert, Simpson and Adams). Most of the work was done by Rykert and Simpson. The first work in 1827 was to clear and grub out Hornet's Snie and prepare the site at the west end of Jason's Island for the dam. A quarry was opened on the northwest side of the river, near Ward's mill. It was also noted that there was a good and sufficient supply of clay at Mr. Olmstead's farm near the head of the locks. By January 1828, the dam was about two thirds built and side retaining walls were also in progress.  As the dam neared completion in 1828, problems cropped up. It was realized that if the water was raised to the planned height, it could not be contained without much more extensive retaining wall and embankment work. If taken to its planned level it would have flooded a lot of land at great expense (in compensation payments) to the government. It was also noted that the rocks were very fissured and leaked a lot of water. It was feared that putting the full head of water on these rocks would create further leaks and perhaps even cause the dam and locks to fail. In considering alternatives, one of the engineers, N.H. Baird was quoted as saying that the problem "seems rather a puzzler".In early 1829, a new plan was adopted. The three locks planned for the Hornet's Snie would be moved to the south bank of the river. The lift for each of these locks would be lowered to 8 feet, 5 inches (2.6 m), from the original 11 feet, 2 inches (3.4 m). A waste weir would be placed in the Hornet's Snie to control spring flooding and relieve pressure on the dam. A fourth, detached lock, would be placed upstream at the foot of the upper rapids. The channel between the new fourth lock and the head of the flight of three locks would be deepened to achieve navigation depth. Building the dam and other works by contract wasn't easy. Colonel By noted that, "the Dam at the Hog's Back and that at Smith's Falls were the first commenced; at which time there was not a man in the country that had ever done any key [stone] work, and I had repeatedly to pull down their work until they understood it, but as there are now plenty of men who understand this work I hope all my other Dams will stand the test of ages."
The locks, built later than the dam, were of better quality. Sandstone blocks, brought in from a quarry seven miles (11.5 km) away (near Merrickville), were used in construction. Flat tables of bedrock were taken advantage of to form the floors of the locks. Even so, the fissured nature of the rock led to a great deal of leakage. Attempts were made to grout the fissures. These met with limited success. In January 1831 Rykert and Simpson abandoned their contract. This was primarily because of James Simpson who wanted to devote his full time to his milling business. Bell and Richardson, the contractors at Old Slys, took over the contract. The completed works had three locks in flight with a combined lift of 25 feet (7.6 m). Above the locks was a basin, with 5 feet 6 inches (1.7 m) of water depth. The basin had been formed by building an embankment for 850 feet (259 m), from the top of the south side wing wall of the upper lock, to the canal cut below the detached lock. From the north side of the upper combined locks wing wall, an embankment extended 180 feet (55 m) to the stone abutment of the waste weir. The weir itself, located at the top of Hornet's Snie, was built of timber with four sluices. From the north stone abutment of the waste weir, another embankment extended 200 feet (61 m) to the 23 foot high (7 m) stone dam. This dam was six feet (1.8 m) higher than the water in the basin. The dam extended to the north shore of the Rideau River.
The detached lock was built upon a solid rock foundation and had an 8 foot (2.4 m) lift. The height of water above the lock was maintained by a waste weir, built opposite the lock, on the north side of Lock Island. It was a low wooden structure about 4 feet (1.2 m) in height. An embankment extended from the south upper wing wall of the detached lock to the natural height of land. It was built by constructing two rough stone walls and putting clay puddle in between them to make it watertight. This was then covered by earth. The channel for the canal was excavated for about 300 yards (274 m) above and below the detached lock.
Through the Years Smiths Falls has perhaps seen the greatest changes of any lockstation on the Rideau. In the early years the major problem was maintaining water in the basin above the combined locks due to the cracks and fissures in the bedrock. Various schemes were tried including dumping wood shavings into the basin, in the hope that they would plug up the fissures. Finally, in the later part of the 1800s, the entire basin was sheeted with wood planks. As the canal management tried to seal up the basin by filling in the fissures, some local mills protested the loss of water; they were using the leaking water to run their mills. In 1909 many of the large fissures were sealed by stuffing sacks filled with cement into them. By 1921, the whole of the south side of the basin was walled in, and this finally fixed the leaks. In 1923, the timber facing on the north side of the basin was replaced with a concrete wall. In 1969 the south side wall was removed and replaced with a new wall. The original dam on the north side of Jason Island is all but obscured today. Starting in 1946, the Smiths Falls Town Council asked the Department of Transport (who ran the canal at this time) to construct a wall in front of the main dam and fill in the area behind. They wanted to use this land for a new school. This idea was turned down, partly on the basis of the Department of Transport paying for a project that would solely benefit the municipality and take away funds for canal maintenance. Finally, in 1959 a retaining wall was built in front of the dam, and the area between this wall and dam filled in. Over the years, the channel behind the dam was also filled in. The water tower now sits just in front of the dam. The stones of the top of the dam now form a barrier wall for a parking lot. The timber waste weir was replaced in 1859 by a new timber dam and bulkhead. In 1862, the timber cribwork was filled in with stone. In 1887, an 85 foot (26 m) long stone dam was built to the west of the bulkhead to prevent leakage. In 1909 these structures received major repairs. In 1928, the wooden weir was removed and replaced with steel framing. The dam was redone in concrete at this time. In 1957, new decking was constructed for the waste weirs. Defensible stone lockmaster's houses were built at both the combined and detached locks in the period 1838-1841. The house at the detached lock deteriorated and was torn down in 1895-96 and was replaced by two storey brick house. This building was torn down in 1973. A framed addition was made to the stone lockhouse at the combined locks late in the 19th century. A summer kitchen was added to the building in 1907. In 1927 a second framed storey was added to the building, and the framed addition to the west of the original stone building was removed. In 1889, a new bridge was built over the upper lock of the combined locks, in line with Beckwith Street, replacing the original bridge with passed over the centre lock. In 1923 this bridge was replaced with a "bob-tailed plate girder swing bridge." This bridge became a constant source of complaint with the town. In 1962 the Mayor complained that the bridge was too old, too narrow and too slow (to swing). By 1970 the bridge was in such poor shape that it was posted with a speed limit of 15 mph and a 5 ton weight limit. It was the problems with this bridge that would lead to the biggest change at Smiths Falls, the creation of the new combined lift lock. As early as 1960, the Department of Transport put forward a proposal to put in a new single lock, upstream of the combined locks. A low level bridge would replace the swing bridge. In 1968 the Town Council agreed that there was no reason to retain the old locks. Once this information become public, opposition formed. The Rideau Action Association, formed from a steering committee of the Rideau Historical Society, gathered public support to preserve the existing locks. This caused the Department of Transport to postpone its plans to develop a new lock. In 1970, an editorial in the local press summed up the issue by stating, "It is unfortunate that the Rideau Canal appears doomed to be altered in character for the sake of "efficiency" and "progress." The argument that there is a need to speed up the passing of boats through the Rideau Canal locks may appeal to some boaters, but they are in the minority. Anybody who is in a hurry should not be going up or down the Rideau."(quote taken from DeLottinville, Peter, A History of the Smiths Falls Lock Stations, 1827-1978, Manuscript Report 373, Parks Canada, 1979). By March 1972, the Department of Transport was ready to go ahead with the plan to replace the combined locks. A total of 2.7 million dollars was allocated to the project. However, a month later the responsibility for the Rideau Canal was transferred from the Department of Transport to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND). Concern among staff and historians within DIAND put a stop to the project in order to consider alternatives that might save the original locks. This postponement of the project was not taken kindly by the local press. The Record News wrote, "Since the Rideau Canal has been moved from the responsibility of the Department of Transport to Indian Affairs, it would seem that a handful of historians and staff within the Department now have the loudest voice and have successfully obtained the ear of the Minister who should know better. The Rideau it would now appear, had become another plaything of a few traditionalists, with costs thrown out the window and community development ignored." A compromise of sorts was finally reached. It was decided not to destroy the original locks, but instead, to build a new lock a little ways north of the old locks. A new bridge would be built in conjunction with the new lock. The building of the new lock and bridge took place from 1973 to 1974. The lockstation building at the new high lift lock was also built at this time. The new lock, numbered 29a (since it replaced locks 28, 29 and 30), had a lift of 26 feet (7.9 m), the highest lift of any lock on the Rideau. It was electrified, the gates being opened and closed with the use of electric-hydraulic cylinders. Boaters now pass beneath a high level fixed bridge with 26 feet (7.9 m) of clearance before entering the new combined lock.
The original swing bridge at the detached lock was built in 1897. It was replaced in 1958 by the current swing bridge. In 1912-1913, a Scherzer rolling-lift railway bridge (a type of bascule bridge) was built by the Dominion Bridge Company of Lachine, Quebec for the Canadian Northern Railway, some 350 feet (107 m) upstream of the detached lock to avoid interference with navigation and reduce the need for the bridge to be lifted. The base of the bridge was 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 m) above the level of the water. The line is no longer in service, the tracks have been removed, and the bridge is now permanently raised. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1983. Of the many historic buildings in Smiths Falls, of interest to canal travellers are the buildings that house the Rideau Canal Museum and the Rideau Canal Office of Parks Canada. These buildings are on the north end of Jason Island, beside the waste weir channel. The original building on this site was a mill, erected in about 1830 by Abel Russell Ward to replace his original mill that was taken down to make way for the canal works. In 1852, Ward built a new grist mill and in 1868 he also built an oatmeal mill. In 1880, Alexander Wood bought the mills, and in 1887 he rebuilt the grist mill in stone. By 1924, the complex known as Wood's Mills ceased operation. The Town of Smiths Falls acquired the complex when it was purchased by the Water Works Commission. It was sometime during this period that the granary attached to the mill either burned down, or was torn down. In 1981, Parks Canada purchased the property, then owned by Smiths Falls' resident David James. A four million dollar restoration of the complex to bring it back to its 1887 glory, including rebuilding the granary, was launched in 1989. The museum was officially opened in August 1991. The Rideau Canal headquarters moved from Ottawa to 12 Maple Avenue N in Smiths Falls in about 1973. In 1991 they moved into their new offices at 34a Beckwith Street, a portion of the restored Wood's Mill Complex.
The Lockmasters to 2000 Combined Locks: James White, a private in the 15th company of Royal Sappers and Miners, was recommended by By. It is uncertain whether he actually served in this position. By about 1833 or so, Alexander Matheson, formerly of the 13th Regiment, was serving as lockmaster. Matheson died in 1866 and was succeeded by James (Josiah) Richey, a former land surveyor. Richey retired in 1871 and was replaced by his son William Richey. William retired in 1902 and was succeeded by John H. Foster of Smiths Falls who served until 1924. He was followed by R.N. Paul in 1924; Donald Grant from 1925 to 1942; Harry Langley from 1942 to 1947; Robert Moston from 1947 to 1960; Wilfred (Whip) Malloy from 1961 to 1976; Don Bennett from 1977 to 1988; G.A. (Guy) Andre from 1989 to 1997 and Ron Welch from 1998 to 2000. Detached Lock: By’s recommendation was Alexander Kinninmouth, but he left the station quite early, ending up in about 1838 as lockmaster for Old Slys. Thomas Jones took over as lockmaster in about 1832. By 1861, John Jones was lockmaster. He retired in 1871 and he was replaced by his son, James G. Jones. James was retired in 1913 and replaced by his brother, then a labourer at the lock, Arthur Sidney Jones. Arthur, who had first started working at the lock in 1872, retired in 1930. It is little wonder that for a good many years, this lock was known as "Jones Lock." The various Jones were succeeded by Jack McLean from 1931 to 1947; H. Langley from 1947 to 1954; unknown from 1954 to 1958; Morrice Carty from 1958 to 1961; R.G. Dale from 1961 to 1964; unknown from 1965 to 1966; T.A. Truelove from 1967 to 1971; Don Bennett from 1972 to 1976; unknown from 1977 to 1984; John Watt in 1985; Dave Bennett acting in 1986; Guy Andre in 1987 to 1988; Peter Donnelly from 1989 to 1997; and Lawrence Agnew from 1998 to 2000. The Contract For those interested in the full details of a Rideau lockstation construction contract, the following is the contract signed by Rykert, Simpson & Adams in May 1827: "We, Rykert Simpson & Adams do hereby propose to construct, erect and perform the above works according to the plans, elevations and Sections of the Same exhibited at the Royal Engineers Office at this place, and according to the Specifications of those works already exhibited and explained as follows, viz,- taken from Parks Canada, Manuscript Report 193 by Karen Price, 1976, pp.211-213. Originally referenced as: Public Archives of Canada, RG8, Vol. 435, pp. 168-174. |
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