The Carillon Canal is a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

in Saint-André-d'Argenteuil, Quebec. It preserves the historic Carillon Canal that was first built in the 1830s to facilitate travel on the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

. It is a prominent heritage site and recreation area, visited annually by 20,000 pleasure boaters and 30,000 people who use its riverside park. In addition to the original canal itself, other items of historical interest are: * the remains of lock No. 1, built between 1830 and 1833 * the superintendent's and toll collector's houses * the jetty of the second canal built between 1873 and 1882 * the Carillon Barracks, currently housing the Regional Argenteuil Museum.

History

Together with the

Grenville Canal Grenville is a village municipality in the Argenteuil Regional County Municipality of the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada. It is located opposite Hawkesbury, Ontario, on the Ottawa River. History Although Grenville was already shown on ...

and the Chute-à-Blondeau Canal, the Carillon Canal was built to navigate the Long Sault Rapids on the Ottawa River which stretched for from Carillon to Grenville. The impetus for these canals was the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

. During this war, attacks along the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

jeopardized the communication lines between Kingston and Montreal, the two main military positions of Upper and Lower Canada. The Ottawa River Canals and the

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal, also known unofficially as the Rideau Waterway, connects Canada's capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston. It is 202 kilometres long. The name ''Rideau'', French for "curtain", ...

were thus designed as an alternative military supply route in the event of war with the Americans. Work began first on the Grenville Canal in 1818. In 1819, Captain Henry Vernet of the Royal Corps of Engineering arrived from Britain to lead the construction of the project. Hundreds of Irish immigrants and French Canadians excavated the canal under the direction of a hundred British soldiers. In 1833, the Grenville Canal was completed with an original length of and the entire network on the Ottawa River, including the 11

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

, was not fully completed until about 1843. Carillon lock

The military requirements decided all aspects of the canal. The size of the locks were set to long, wide, and only deep at the thresholds. These dimensions, standards adopted for military use, were insufficient for any commercial use. Forestry had become the main economic activity in this region, and from 1867, local business people demanded that the government carry out improvements to the network because the original canal network had become outdated. In 1870, the Canals Commission recommended making the Ottawa River deeper between Lachine and Ottawa. Therefore, between 1873 and 1882, the Grenville and Carillon Canals were enlarged (the dam built upstream from the village of Carillon raised the level of the Ottawa River at Chute-à-Blondeau, making the need for a canal and lock there no longer necessary). The canal was designated a National Historic Site in 1929. Further changes were made from 1959 to 1963 with the construction of the Carillon hydroelectric dam and a modern high lock at Carillon. This work substantially and irreversibly changed the canal network. The dam raised the water level by over at Carillon and over at Grenville. The new water level flooded the rapids of Long-Sault, transforming them into calm water.

References

External links

Parks Canada official website
{{NHSC Canals in Quebec Tourist attractions in Laurentides National Historic Sites in Quebec Geography of Laurentides Buildings and structures in Laurentides Transport in Laurentides Parks in Quebec Canals opened in 1830 1830 establishments in Lower Canada

History

See also

References

External links