This Great National Object: Building the Nineteenth-Century Welland Canals

by Roberta M. Styran, Robert Taylor

Overview

Making extensive use of the National Archives and the Archives of Ontario, Styran and Taylor unveil previously unpublished information about the construction of the canals, including technical plans and drawings from a wide variety of sources. They illustrate the technical and management intricacies of building a navigational trade and commerce lifeline while also revealing the vivid characters - from businessman William Hamilton Merritt to engineer John Page - who inspired the project and drove it to completion. The history of the Welland Canals is a gripping tale of epic proportions. Given the ongoing importance of the Great Lakes in the North American economy, interest in the St. Lawrence Seaway - of which the Welland is "the Great Swivel Link" - and the relevance of labour history, This Great National Object will be of interest to enthusiasts and historians alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780773538931
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	03/22/2012
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Roberta M. Styran, retired assistant professor of history at Brock University and co-author of The Great Swivel Link: Canada's Welland Canal, is the 2009 recipient of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering's W. Gordon Plewes Award. Robert R. Taylor i

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vii

Introduction xi

Acknowledgments xxv

Chapter 1 This Great National Object 3

Chapter 2 Choosing the Route 49

Chapter 3 Surveyors, Engineers, and Contractors 76

Chapter 4 Digging the Ditch 120

Chapter 5 Creating the Lifts 158

Chapter 6 Managing the Water 195

Chapter 7 Building Bridges 224

Chapter 8 Community Relations 244

Chapter 9 Working on the Welland 264

Chapter 10 Conflict and Survival On the Ground 289

Conclusion: Into the Future 318

Abbreviations 321

Notes 323

Glossary 365

Bibliography 369

Index 379