THE MEN WHO BUILT THE FIRST SHIP CANAL AND LOCKS AT SAULT STE. MARIE

摘要

The ship canal and locks at Sault Ste. Marie are a major component of the 2,342-mile Great Lakes Seaway system. Situated between Lake Huron and Lake Superior they are the last climb of the Great Lakes system. The canal and locks allow ships to bypass the rapids of the St. Mary’s River at the border between Canada and the United States. On the American side, construction of the first locks began in June, 1853. To accomplish this project Erastus Corning fused the endeavors of Charles T. Harvey and his employers, the Fairbanks brothers, with his own Michigan interests. Corning pulled together a group of men supremely qualified to carry their individual responsibilities in accomplishing the successful completion of the first ship canal in the United States. Captain Augustus Canfield, of the U.S. Topographical Engineers, designed the work and Charles T. Harvey was general superintendent.