Rideau  Route

Exploring the Pre-Canal Waterway by Ken W. Watson Status: Now available The Rideau Route is a new book about the Rideau Canal which reveals the secret world that lies below the waters of the Rideau Canal – the drowned landscape of the original Rideau Route. The Rideau Canal Waterway that we see today is a flooded environment, created in 1826-31 by the building of canal dams to form a slackwater navigation system. In the pre-canal era, the Rideau Route spanned three watersheds, those of the Rideau River, the Gananoque River and the Cataraqui River. It was a wild place of lakes, marshes, canyons, rivers and sinuous creeks, the latter two often interrupted by rapids and waterfalls. Watson takes the reader on a 1783 canoe trip along the Rideau Route, from present day Ottawa to Kingston, revealing the rapids, waterfalls, marshes and lakes that existed prior to any European settlement along the route. This was the same year that Lt. Gershom French made the first survey of the Rideau Route, travelling in two birch bark canoes along the Rideau Route, with “seven men of the Provincials, Two Canadians and an Indian as Guide.” Watson reveals what French, as well as later Rideau Route surveyors, such as Lt. Joshua Jebb in 1816 and Samuel Clowes in 1823-24, saw on their journeys. Transcriptions and maps of Lt. French’s 1783 survey as well as those of Lt. Joshua Jebb in 1816 and Samuel Clowes in 1823-24 are included as first hand accounts of the route. This newly revealed pre-canal landscape will allow the reader to better understand and appreciate the enormous engineering achievement of the Rideau Canal. The book is profusely illustrated with maps, period paintings and interpretive illustrations. Anyone with an interest in the Rideau Canal, or simply an interest in early Canadian history and geography, will find The Rideau Route an interesting (and educational) read. To purchase the Book The cost of the book is a flat $24.95 (no GST or PST) plus shipping ($6 to Ontario/Quebec, $10 for the rest of Canada, $12 to the US). Cheques or money orders (International Money Order from the U.S.) should be made out to "Pat Watson" and sent to:Pat Watson RR1 Elgin, ON   K0G 1E0 CANADA For those wishing to pay using a VISA credit card, you may order the book through Friends of the Rideau. See the Friends of the Rideau Website for more information. Book Stores selling The Rideau Route If your local bookstore isn't carrying The Rideau Rideau - please ask them to contact me. Novel Idea - Kingston Fort Henry - Kingston Mainly Antiques - Elgin Old Stone Mill - Delta Stillwater Books - Westport Bayview Yacht Harbour - Portland Friends of the Rideau (1 Jasper Ave.) - Smiths Falls Rideau Canal Museum - Smiths Falls The Depot (in Blockhouse Park) - Merrickville (July-September) Leeds County Books - Brockville Frontenac Outfitters - Frontenac Provincial Park Valley Books - Perth Chapters, Byward Market - Ottawa Press Information The following media resources are available for download: April 9, 2007 Information Release (RTF format) Print Ready Cover Image in Colour (601K JPG file) Print Ready Cover Image in Black & White (596K JPG file) BOOK ERRATA & UPDATES A few warts slipped through the proofing. For a listing of these see the Errata Page. Questions about the book and retailer queries should be directed to the author Please email: Ken W. Watson "The Rideau Route: Exploring the Pre-Canal Waterway," 146 pages; 8.5” x 11”; paperback; colour cover; b & w interior; 140 b & w illustrations, maps, period paintings & photos; includes bibliographic references; first printing 2007; ISBN 978-0-9780751-1-8; $24.95

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This page was last updated on: May 15, 2007
URL: www.rideau-info.com/canal/rideauroute/index.html
© 2007-2008 Ken W. Watson