Historic Brunel Lift Locks

At Brunel Lift Locks in Huntsville, a first dam built to run John Fetterly's sawmill around 1873 was replaced in 1877 by the Department of Public Works, and a final concrete dam was built in 1931. The steamer Northern was the first ship to pass through the Brunel Locks in 1877. A dyke was built on the Mary Lake side in 1880 to prevent the river from filling in the channel, and a pier and boom were built on the Fairy Lake side in 1881 to guide ships into the channel. Between 1881 and 1884, the locks were opened annually for between 262 and 369 steamships, 23 and 55 small boats, 10 and 16 scows, and 2 and 19 cribs of logs, for an average of 378 annual openings. The walls of the locks channel required yearly repairs in the early years until they were reinforced by squared logs; the locks were rebuilt in 1890 and again in 1926, refaced with concrete in 1947, reinforced with concrete in 1988, and reopened in 1989. A lift bridge built in 1879 to cross the new channel separating the sawmill and lumberyard from Brunel Road was later replaced by a swing bridge that was easier to operate. The S.S. Dortha began traveling through the locks in 1906, was rebuilt as the S.S. Ramona in 1909, and continued to use the locks until 1941. Ships also used dry docks at the locks for repairs and often wintered there, including the S.S. Joe around 1918. By 1907 Benjamin Cottrill owned the sawmill, which produced 10,000 feet of lumber, shingles, siding, and floor per day between 1920 and 1940, and this water-powered sawmill remained open until 1954. Nell Wolfenden, nee Amanda Ellen Hanes, born 1879 and died 1977, painted many pictures of early Huntsville, including a circa 1970 scene of the locks based on an 1895 postcard view.

Ontario · Canada