Building the Canal, Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site

Digging into the sandstone bedrock, the lock took 6 years to construct. The project used the combined efforts of 800 workers, 53 teams of horses and 10 miles of track to move heavy equipment. In addition, 3 steam-powered traveling hoists, 40 derricks, and numerous drills, stone crushers and pumps were necessary to complete the task.

This portion of the canal under construction was photographed from the top of the lock wall, looking down into the canal. On the opposite side, several cranes and other pieces of equipment are silhouetted against the sky, and a wooden chute leads from the top of the wall to the floor, allowing for loose materials, such as gravel for concrete, to be easily moved. On the floor of the canal are construction materials, such as full barrels, wheelbarrows and lumber. There are sets of tracks running the length of the canal for the transportation of materials. The workers and a horse on the floor of the canal are dwarfed by the scope of the construction scene.