History Lesson 101

A neighbor asked me about the Rideau Canal today and I thought it prudent to brush up on my history of my " home town".

The three waterways that make up the Ottawa Region are the Mississippi, Ottawa River and the Rideau system.Of course the most historic body of water is the Rideau River and the Rideau Canal.The Canal being - man made- under the direction of Colonel By (Ottawa's original name was Bytown after the Colonel)

You can read all about it!!

http://www.rideau-info.com/canal/history/hist-canal.html

For a synopsis, the Canal was conceived after the war of 1812 when it became apparent that Canada may want to have a secondary route of transportation of goods, via waterways, other than the St. Lawrence River, that would be heavily guarded by USA patrols.In 1826, Lieutenant Colonel John By of the Royal Engineers directed the construction of the Rideau Canal. It was an immense undertaking to devise a pathway and create a navigable waterway. The building of the Canal was subsidized by the British Government. It was not an easy task with the terrain that had been virtually undeveloped bushland. Opening in 1832 it boasted of 47 masonry locks and 52 dams creating a 202 km (125 mile) waterway.Noted in the 19th century as greatest engineering feat.