The present Welland Canal, the fourth to be constructed, reflects the evolution of the North American shipping trade during the past 174 years.
Much of the credit for building the first canal goes to an enterprising businessman, William Hamilton Merritt, of the then Province of Upper Canada. It was the need for a regular flow of water to his mills, coupled with the proximity of the Erie Canal, in the United States, that prompted Merritt to undertake initial engineering studies.
In 1824, convinced that the construction of a canal was feasible, he founded the Welland Canal Company which was financed by government and private sources.
The first sod was turned on November 30, 1824, at Allanburg. Today, a commemorative cairn located at the west end of Bridge No. 11 marks the location of that historical event. The Welland Canal Company pressed on with the gigantic tasks of earth excavation and marine construction, made so much more arduous by the limited tools available at that time. Five years later, the schooner “Ann and Jane” completed the first upbound transit, a two-day voyage.
