With spring upon us, it
is time to remind you of a major cleanup scheduled for Saturday
May 1st at the Port Maitland Lock in Port Maitland. We need help!
Lots of help! Much of this spring's cleanup will take place in the
water, which means we need people willing and properly equipped.
As mentioned in earlier articles, the Port Maitland Lock is the
only original visibly remaining lock from the Welland Canal feeder
system. Another lock which to my understanding is in very good
condition lies below Main St. in front of the A&P store in
Dunnville.
In newspaper articles during 1904, when the
Port Maitland Lock was rebuilt, it was described as one of the
finest locks on the Welland Canal. There has for some time been
disagreement over when the Feeder Canal was last used. I am still
not able to give an exact date, but I suggest the year was 1923,
when the nine-foot cement road from Dunnville to Stromness was
built on the heel-path side of the feeder. This road went from
approximately Taylor Road in Dunnville to the swing bridge (Bridge
# 2) in Stromness. At intervals of no more than 1,200 feet the
cement was widened to 18 feet allowing for a passing area. Sand
and gravel used in this cement was hauled off the beach at Port
Maitland on the Beckley Beach side, and transported in barges to
work sites along the Feeder. I have written about Harry Siddall
injuring his leg in the lock during this construction, and I am
also aware Mait Cudney was injured in the lock in a similar
accident during this same period.
The Port Maitland
Lock was built by John L. Brown, a historic engineer who built not
only the Mohawk Island lighthouse, he also built lighthouses known
as the Imperial Towers at Point Clarke, Cove Island, Griffith
Island, Natawawsaga Island, Christian Island, and Chantry Island.
The lighthouse which still stands at Beach Boulevard, under the
James N. Allan Skyway in Hamilton, was another of his many marine
related construction projects.
This only remaining
visible lock from the feeder system deserves better than what it
has received these past eighty years. Last October, with the help
of a few volunteers and George Barnes and Sons Excavating, some of
this respect is being realized. In October 2002, I sent a letter
to former Mayor Lorraine Bergstrand, asking her to bring the
County onboard with me and cleanup the Port Maitland Lock. Mayor
Bergstrand, council, and staff, began that process. Now our new
Mayor, Marie Trainer, along with others on council have given
first-rate support to this project. However, as I had wished from
the beginning, it is a volunteer's project. Volunteers need to
clean out most of the brush and debris before we can expect the
County to step too deeply into the project.
I have a
dream, which to my pleasant surprise is shared by many others. It
is hoped that someday we will clean out the waterway between the
two fill bridges and restore this area to something of a park like
setting. It has come to my attention others wish to take my dream
a step further. I understand there is a desire to rebuild the
gates. Not to restore the lock to working condition, but to bring
it back to visual correctness. What a great idea, and once I see
some serious headway on early phases of this cleanup, I will be
onboard to help in any way I can to see the gates restored. It is
also one of my wishes to build an information kiosk to provide a
good text and visual history of the lock, the Mohawk Island
lighthouse, and the Grand River Naval Depot. Landscaping and
period lighting are also on that list, as is restoring a proper
water level to the area between the fill bridges.
We
need help on Saturday May 1st from people who are willing and
prepared to step into the currently very dirty and uninviting
water of the lock. You will be asked to pull logs, tires, propane
tanks and who know what else from the water. George Barnes and
Sons have agreed to once again provide manpower and equipment. We
will also need help on the banks and along both aprons from people
with rakes, lawn mowers etc., and strong backs.
Finding
volunteers has been slow, but not disheartening. John Brunskill of
the Dunnville Hunters and Anglers, when I asked for their
assistance told me, "I will bring a BBQ and cook hotdogs for
the volunteers." I took him up on it! Let's hope John has to
cook a lot of hotdogs!
Take a drive through Stromness
and head for Port Maitland. You will find the Port Maitland Lock
at the end of Rymal Road, just as you reach the feeder canal. Get
out of you car and look down into the lock. Think not of what you
see now, but rather what you will see after much cleaning has been
done! Then go home and give me a call offering to volunteer your
assistance and ideas.
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Before
clean up Sept 26. 2003 from Georg Madsen
West
Wind in Feeder Canal between Stromness and Lock 1901
Gerould
Stange collection
West Wind being repaired in Port Maitland Lock 1901
Gerould
Stange collection
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