Soo Canal (United States)

The St. Marys River is the only water connection between Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes. There is a section of the river known as the St. Marys Rapids where the water falls about 21 feet from the level of Lake Superior to the level of the lower lakes. This natural barrier through navigation made necessary the construction of the locks project known as the St. Marys Falls Canal. The world-famous Soo Locks form a passage for deep-draft ships around the rapids in the St. Marys River. Before white men came to the area, the Ojibway Indians who lived nearby portaged their canoes around the "Bawating" (rapids) to reach Lake Superior from the St. Marys River. Early pioneers arriving in the territory were forced to carry their canoes around the rapids. When settlement of the Northwest Territory brought increased trade and large boats, it became necessary to unload the boats, haul the cargoes around the rapids in wagons, and reload in other boats. In 1797, the Northwest Fur Company constructed a navigation lock 38 feet long on the Canadian side of the river for small boats. This lock remained in use until destroyed in the War of 1812. Freight and boats were again portaged around the rapids. Congress passed an act in 1852 granting 750,000 acres of public land to the State of Michigan as compensation to the company that would build a lock permitting waterborne commerce between Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes. The Fairbanks Scale Company, which had extensive mining interests, in the upper peninsula, undertook this challenging construction project in 1853. In spite of adverse conditions, Fairbanks' aggressive accountant, Charles T. Harvey, completed a system of two locks, in tandem, each 350 feet long, within the 2 year deadline set by the State of Michigan. On May 31, 1855, the locks were turned over to the state and designated as the State Lock. Boats which passed through the State Lock were required to pay a toll of four cents per ton, until 1877, when the toll was reduced to three cents. Within a few years, commerce through the canal had grown to national importance, and the need for new locks became clear. The funds required exceeded the state's capabilities, and thus, in 1881 the locks were transferred to the United States government, and were placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps has operated the locks, toll free, since that time. ^ACE   Today there are 4 locks in use, continuously being visited by ships and tourists alike.

The sudden increase in shipping was caused by the twin discoveries of the vast iron deposits of the Marquette Range and of copper on the Keweenaw Peninsula in 1844. Eagerly the new ships carried the men and supplies that would pioneer the new mines and open the riches to development. Quickly the small settlements at Eagle Harbor, Eagle River, Marquette, L'Anse and Ontonagon assumed major importance as ports for the expanding mining industry. From 1850-1875 the Keweenaw mines provided more than 75 per cent of all the copper mined in the U.S. With the opening of the St. Marys Fall Ship Canal (Soo Locks) in 1855, lake commerce truly burgeoned. Now ships could sail directly between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. Previously, cargos had to be transshipped overland around the St. Marys rapids, an expensive and time consuming proposition. If a vessel was to move from lake to lake, it was hauled out of the water and teams of oxen literally pulled it past the mile-long cataracts on large rollers. Over the years new, bigger locks were built as vessel traffic and the size of the ships increased. Today 1,000-foot freighters navigate the lakes. Since the Soo Locks provided the means for cheap transportation of ore from the mines to the lower lakes mills, the iron mines stepped into high gear. Soon a veritable river of the red ore was flowing from the Ishpeming and Negaunee shafts to the docks at Marquette and on down the lakes to the mills. Vessel traffic to the iron port quickly increased from one or two a week to that number in a day. At first the ore was laboriously loaded into the schooners by the basketful. Later, when larger and stronger vessels were used, it was loaded directly into the holds by chutes from the new "pocket" docks. ^{ACS n.p.}

1668, Jacques Marquette and Louis de Boesme reoccupy a mission site (first established in 1641) below the rapids at the Sault 1853, ground was broken on June 4 for construction of the locks at Sault Ste. Marie 1855, the first locks (the State Lock) opened, June 18 1881, the Secretary of War assumed possession of the locks on June 9; The Weitzel Lock opened, September 1 1896, the Poe Lock opened, August 3 1897, the Administration Building, designed by Edward Pearce Casey, was completed. It served as the canal office and Poe Lock pumphouse 1914, the Davis Lock opened, October 21 1919, the Sabin Lock opened, September 18 1942, construction began April 20 on the MacArthur Lock, constructed on the site of the old Weitzel Lock 1943, the MacArthur Lock opened, July 11 1964, construction for a new Poe Lock (on the site of the old Poe Lock) began again on August 7 after a delay for redesigning purposes 1969, the new Poe Lock opened, June 26 ^{Michigan n.p.}

The American locks form part of a 1.6 mile (2.6 km) canal formally named the St. Marys Falls Ship Canal. They are owned and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The first American locks were completed in May 1855. Davis Lock was built in 1914. It is 411 meters (1350 feet) long, 24 meters (80 feet) wide and 7 meters (23.1 feet) deep. The Davis lock is used rather infrequently to lock light freighters, tour boats, and small craft when traffic warrants. SS James A Farrell was the first vessel to lock through. Sabin Lock was built in 1919. It is 1350 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 23.1 feet deep. This lock is decommisioned and no longer used. MacArthur Lock was built in 1943. It is 244 meters (800 feet) long, 24 meters (80 feet) wide and 9 meters (31 feet) deep. This is large enough to handle ocean going vessels that must first pass through the smaller locks in the Welland Canal. First vessel through was the SS Carl D. Bradley. Poe Lock was re-built in 1968, after the Saint Lawrence Seaway had opened. It is 366 meters (1200 feet) long, 34 meters (110 feet) wide and 10 meters (32 feet) deep. It can take ships carrying 72,000 tons of cargo. The Poe is the only lock that can handle the large lakers used on the upper lakes. There is a project, as yet unfunded, to built a new large lock to replace the Davis and Sabin locks. ^{Wiki n.p.}