Volume 203: The Soo Locks, Part 1

This article is the first of a series on the Soo Locks, 

which are operated and maintained by the Detroit 

District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

(USACE). In Part 1, the history of the locks

through the early 1940s is presented. Then later 

this year as construction begins on a new lock, Part 

2 will be a look into the modern facility complete 

with information on the project. 

Sault Ste. Marie has long been known for its 

importance to the nation. However, the recognition 

of this strategic location and the abundant 

resources available in the surrounding area were 

well established prior to the existence of the 

United States. According to oral traditions, as early 

as 1400 A.D. the Chippewa, a Native American 

people, had a presence in the area. If the tradition 

holds true, it was over 200 years since they had 

established themselves before French explorers 

and missionaries discovered the area. Early Jesuit 

writers named the river ‘Sainte Marie’ in honor of 

the Virgin Mary. Additionally, in the late 

seventeenth century rapids or falls were referred to 

as ‘Sault’. Thus the French referred to the area as 

‘Sault de Sainte Marie’ which meant the rapids of 

the St. Marys (river). 

While it is guessed that the first Europeans to step 

foot in Sault Ste. Marie arrived in the early 1600s 

(likely motivated by the search for a water route 

leading to the Pacific Ocean), the first documented 

arrival of Europeans to the area was by Jesuits in 

1641. The point of their mission was to introduce 

Christianity into the area. However, due to 

conflicts associated with the Iroquois tribe, and 

European settlers, no permanent mission was 

established for some time. Following a temporary 

peace agreement with the Iroquois and the French 

in 1667, the first permanent settlement was 

established in 1668 when Jesuit Father Jacques 

Marquette established a mission. This led to other 

missionaries stopping on their journeys up and 

down the lakes, which eventually led to a village 

beside the rapids. 

In addition to present day Sault Ste. Marie, the 

French had explored several parts of the present 

day North American region prior to English 

settlements. Because of this, the French were 

worried about the increasing English influence. 

This led to an event known as the “Pageant of the 

Sault” where a representative of King Louis XIV 

(in the presence of around 2000 Native Americans, 

representing at least fourteen tribes), proclaimed 

ownership of not only Sault Ste. Marie, but all 

geography west of Lake Superior, as well as south 

and west of Lake Michigan. This was despite the 

fact that the geography of these areas had yet to be 

determined. Fort de Repintigny, completed in 

1751, was meant to enforce the French presence in 

the area and influence Native Americans to 

maintain fur trading alliances - despite British fur 

traders influence in the region.

While the “Pageant of the Sault” had fair 

attendance by the Native American tribes, the 

British did not recognize the French claims. This 

led to a series of wars fought by France and Britain 

from 1689 to 1763. The final outcome of this was 

the Treaty of 1763 which ended the official French 

presence in Sault Ste. Marie. While Britain’s reign 

over Sault Ste. Marie was fairly short-lived, given 

that the Treaty of Paris (1783) officially ceded the 

land east of the Mississippi to the United States, 

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Update
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their influence through fur trading allowed the 

British flag to fly undisturbed until the Cass 

Expedition in June of 1820. 

While the expedition was meant to obtain several 

land grants from the Native Americans, perhaps 

the most important was a sixteen square mile area 

at Sault Ste. Marie. Among the individuals who 

greeted the group upon its arrival was the son of an 

influential fur trader, John Johnston. Johnston 

married the daughter of an important Chippewa 

chief. His son’s presence likely prevented 

bloodshed when disagreement arose between the 

two groups. The Native American’s were 

maintaining their loyalty to the British and were 

not welcoming of unfamiliar faces. The 

American’s believed that due to existing treaties, 

the government had the right to this land. They 

were not leaving without establishment of the post. 

Eventually, after some hostility from both sides, 

there was a successful negotiation in the 

Johnston’s personal home. Following this 

meeting, the American government provided 

quantities of blankets, knives, objects of silver and 

other goods to the Native Americans and in 

exchange confirmed its claim to an area four miles 

square which began two miles above the falls, 

terminating two miles below them, and extending 

back from the river on June 16, 1820. 

While the first modern copper mining venture was 

on the banks of the Ontonagon River in 1771, it 

wasn’t until much later that the presence of copper 

became known at a wide scale. During the Cass 

Expedition (1820), Henry Schoolcraft (a member 

of the expedition) discovered native copper 

deposits by following the Portage River north 6 

miles to Portage Lake and a smaller, disappointing 

amount of copper 30 miles up the Ontonagon 

River, which led him to conclude that there could 

be little doubt that “...extensive mines of this 

metal (copper) exist in the vicinity”. Later, a young 

physician named Dr. Douglass Houghton, 

accompanied Schoolcraft to “Lake Superior 

Country” in 1831 and 1832 where he found copper 

deposits on the Keweenaw Peninsula near the 

Ontonagon River. He was later appointed 

Geologist of the State of Michigan and 

subsequently published a report of his findings in 

1841. Soon after, mining settlements began to 

appear on the southern shore of Lake Superior, 

along with a need for supplies and ways to 

transport men and equipment. It’s important to 

note that while copper was gaining quick 

popularity, it was not the only mineral available in 

the Lake Superior region. The first discovery of 

iron ore in the region happened soon after - most 

likely occurring in 1845 when the deposits were 

disrupting a government surveyor’s compass. 

Even prior to the published findings of Houghton, 

which made the vast mineral wealth of the Upper 

Peninsula (U.P.) well known, some already 

recognized the importance of a connection 

between the U.P. and the lower Great Lakes. 

Among these individuals was Stevens T. Mason, 

Michigan’s first Governor, who in the first 

Legislature of Michigan as a State (a few years 

after the territory of the U.P. was ceded to 

Michigan in a boundary difficulty with Ohio) 

urged for the immediate construction of a canal. 

While it looked like a success, with $25,000 being 

appropriated to make a survey, plans, and 

estimates on March 21st, 1837, eventually an 

additional $25,000 appropriated for the project 

would be lost. This was due to the fact that the job 

interfered with a government mill-race on the 

property of Fort Brady – the land owned by the 

U.S. The contractor, Messrs. Smith & Driggs of 

Buffalo, N.Y., was driven off the premises on May 

13th, 1839.

Several subsequent attempts were made to gain 

funding from Congress, asking for either land or 

money to complete the project. Finally, after more 

than a decade, the vast mineral wealth of the Upper 
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Peninsula became recognized widely and with this 

came the needed support for construction of the 

canal. While strong opposition from the Southern 

members of Congress prevented a money act from 

passing, all efforts were turned to a land act. This 

act was finally passed by both houses and 

approved by President Millard Fillmore on August 

26th, 1852. Originally granting 500,000 acres of 

land within the state, it was amended to grant 

750,000 acres to the State of Michigan to fund the 

canal. Also in this act came the authorized right of 

way needed to complete the project, along with the 

caveat that construction was begun in three years 

and the project completed in ten. 

The importance of having infrastructure available 

to traverse the St. Marys Rapids was long known 

to be of importance, even prior to this first work 

supported by the federal government. The first 

lock used for traversing the rapids, called the 

Northwestern Fur Company lock, was actually 

constructed in 1797. It was located on the north 

side of the river, with a canal almost 3,000 feet 

long leading to a 38-foot timber-lined lock with a 

lift of nine feet. However, due to the lock being 

destroyed by American forces in the War of 1812, 

the rapids remained untamed for over 40 years 

until the completion of the State Lock (funded with 

the 750,000 acres of land grant). 

NORTHWEST FUR COMPANY LOCK

During this over 40 year period, a strong portaging 

business was adopted in the area. This sparked the 

interest of supporters of the lock. An example of 

how this interest was put forth into action was on 

November 8th, 1851, when visitors saw 12,000 

barrels of freight awaiting transportation while 

attending a public meeting at the Van Andel house. 

Following this meeting, the Free Press of Detroit 

wrote a plea to Congress asking them to consider 

these years of effort put forth by Senators and 

Representatives with an appropriation for the lock. 

Fortunately, this was soon after met with success 

through the land grant mentioned above. 

A survey was completed of the area in October 

1852 by Captain Augustus Canfield of the U.S. 

Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. This was 

required by the negotiations between Congress and 

the Michigan Legislature. Following this, a more 

rigid canal bill was completed and signed by the 

Governor of Michigan on February 2nd, 1853. 

While the original act allowed for ten years to 

complete the project, the Michigan bill allowed 

only 2 years to complete the project with the 

contractor only receiving the 750,000 acres of land 

after meeting the deadline. By the 12th of February 

1853, the Governor of Michigan was authorized to 

appoint commissioners to contract for the 

construction of the lock. 

Meanwhile, a 23 year old salesman named Charles 

T. Harvey, who was sent to the Upper Peninsula 

by his employers (brothers Erastus, Thaddeus, and 

Joseph Fairbanks, of the E&T Fairbanks Company 

of St. Johnsberry, Vermont), noticed the potential 

in the opportunity to construct a lock at the St. 

Marys River. Harvey sold his employers on the 

idea, who in turn persuaded other businessmen and 

financers to join them in bidding on the contract. 

On the 5th of April 1853, a contract was entered 

between this party of men and the federal 

government, due in part to their established 

financial resources. An act of Legislature of the 
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State of New York was approved that designated 

this part of men as the “St. Marys Falls Ship Canal 

Company” on the 12th of April. 

The two year countdown started soon after on the 

19th of May 1853 when Andrew Parsons, the 

Governor of Michigan, signed the contract. 

Harvey, the Superintendent of Construction, 

prosecuted with vigor. The operation started with 

three to four hundred men in the first summer and 

workdays of 11 and 1⁄2 hours, with the majority of 

men working on the excavation effort. Further, the 

peak workforce was over 1,600 men working to 

meet the impending deadline. While several 

problems plagued the contractor, including 

excavation of bedrock during harsh winters, an 

outbreak of cholera (ultimately killing ten percent 

of the workers), and a difficult reef beyond the 

cofferdam (originally thought to be made out of 

sand but consisting of solid rock instead), the 

deadline was met early. The total effort took a total 

of 22 and the 1⁄2 months, with water let into the lock 

a full one month ahead of schedule. Canfield’s 

plan called for two tandem locks – each with a 

nine-foot lift. The gates for the locks were to be 

opened and closed manually with each lock being 

filled and emptied in 7 minutes. The ultimate 

dimensions were 70 feet wide by 350 feet long, 

allowing enough room for a tug with up to three 

vessels in tow. 

STATE LOCKS 

The canal and locks were of high importance, with 

talk of deepening and enlarging as early as 1864, 

and reaching out to the federal government for 

funding being proposed as early as 1868. 

However, due to the locks being under state 

control, Congress was of the opinion that there was 

nothing they could do. This led to a push to transfer 

control of the canal to the Federal government. 

After some support being gathered on the subject 

by the principal cities of the Great Lakes, the 

legislature was convinced. On March 27th, 1869 

the Michigan Legislature passed a joint resolution 

authorizing the transfer of the canal to the United 

States. 

Congress didn’t initially accept this offer, leading 

to the states with an interest sending justifications 

on the importance of the project. This information 

was aggregated into a statistical report of the 

resources in the Lake Superior district, which 

eventually led to a resolution by Congress on 

March 14th, 1870. This resolution requested the 

Secretary of War to have General Cram, then in 

charge of the river and harbor improvements of the 

Great Lakes, construct a report on the significance 

of the project with a 14 feet draft. General Cram 

was soon superseded by Major Poe who took on 

the task. Before this task was completed, Congress 

appropriated $150,000 for improvement of the St. 

Marys Falls Canal, prior to any acceptance of the 

canal by the federal government. On September 

20th, 1870 this report was completed by Major Poe 

where he confirmed all claims made regarding the 

importance of the project and recommended 

construction of a new single lock. This shows the 

intertwined nature of the transfer to the federal 

government and the construction of the new lock, 

later called the Weitzel lock. 

Congress continued to appropriate federal funds 

for construction of the Weitzel lock adjacent to the 

State Lock, with over $1,700,000 appropriated in 

total between 1870 and 1877. These appropriations 
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were used first to build cofferdams for enlarging 

and revetting the canal. This was a project with 

many difficulties, one being how late the 

navigation season had ended. Based on the 

complications associated with this, Major Poe had 

made attempts to have the canal transferred to the 

United States in 1872. However, the issue had not 

been resolved for several years. In the operations 

season following 1880, when subsequent 

improvements to the canal and locks required 

cofferdams be built again, Major Poe’s 

predecessor Major Weitzel made a successful 

effort to impose a transfer. An act of Congress 

dated June 14th, 1880 authorized the Secretary of 

War to receive the canal from the State free of all 

liabilities and conditions. However, the State of 

Michigan wished to wait until after the season’s 

work had begun, allowing ownership of the canal 

to be passed from the State to the Federal 

Government on June 6th, 1881. Soon after, the 

Weitzel Lock was opened to traffic on September 

1st, 1881. 

The total effort (enlargement of the ship canal and 

construction of the new lock) took a total of 12 

summers and 6 winters and cost a little over 2 

million dollars. The total time dedicated to the lock 

itself can be calculated to be a little over 5 years 

with a cost of $983,335. The lock was 515 feet 

long, 80 feet wide in the chamber, and 60 feet wide 

at the gates. Therefore, it enabled two vessels to 

transit the locks side by side. The depth over the 

miter sills was 17 feet, compared to maximum 

depth of 12 feet in the State Lock and had a single 

lift of about 20 feet, compared to the two smaller 

lifts utilized in the State Lock. Some of the 

important engineering developments which 

occurred from the State Lock to the Weitzel

include utilizing culverts with portholes beneath 

the lock floor for filling and emptying, hydraulic 

power for operation of the lock gates and culvert 

valves, and installation of lighting which allowed 

passage in the dark. 

Just four short months after the completion of the 

new (named the Weitzel in 1896) lock, in January 

of 1882, General Weitzel suggests construction of 

another lock. This lock was later to be known as 

the (First) Poe Lock. Several events happened 

which helped support this suggestion, namely the 

formation of the Lake Carriers Association in 1885 

and the canal traffic reaching a new high transiting 

4 and 1⁄2 million tons in 7,400 passages in 1886. In 

fact, in 1886 Congress appropriated $250,000 for 

the new lock and its approaches, allowing 

construction operations to begin in May of 1887. 

Following this, Navigation interests met in the 

Sault to discuss the push for large appropriations 

from Congress and a resolution was sent to 

Washington. Likely owing partially to this effort, 

Congress appropriated $1,000,000 for the lock in 

August of 1888. This was followed by five more 

appropriations in the next seven years, ensuring 

that the work would continue to move forward 

uninterrupted. 

As the (First) Poe Lock was the first to be built in 

the footprint of the State Lock, the State Lock had 

to be removed in order to make room for the new 

work. This occurred in 1888, allowing actual 

construction of the lock itself to begin in 1889. 

Interestingly, a lock on the Canadian side of the 

rapids had begun construction this year, being 

completed in 1895. By 1896, the (First) Poe Lock 

was opened – making the total number of locks 

traversing the rapids three (two on the American 

side, and one on the Canadian side). The total 

construction time for the lock (including removal 

of the State Lock) was 9 years - as the first 

appropriation was not obtained until too late in the 

1886 season to begin work. The actual cost of 

construction was $4,773,865. The high cost was 

partially due to the need for building a long-lasting 

strong foundation calling for masonry rather than 

biodegradable timber. Other important 

advancements in this lock were that the five sets of 
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Page 6

lock gates were constructed of steel, as compared 

to wood, the dimensions of the lock were 800 feet 

long, 100 feet wide, and 21 feet of water over the 

miter sills, and that the filling and emptying system 

– similar to the innovation used in the Weitzel –

containing 6 filling and 6 emptying culverts with 

214 portholes in the lock floor. General Orlando 

M. Poe was remembered through dedication of the 

name, as he was responsible for several of the 

innovations of the lock, and later passed away as a 

result of an injury sustained in inspecting the new 

lock. 

(FIRST) POE LOCK

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEELWAYS - REFERENCED IN 

PAMPHLET “BUILDING THE SOO CANAL” (APRIL 1955)

For reference, the year the (First) Poe lock was 

opened, 19,000 vessels carrying more than 16 

million tons of freight were carried through the 

Sault. By 1902, it was almost 36 million tons of 

freight; By 1907, 58 million. Based on this, it is 

clear that the commerce traveling through the Soo 

Locks was expanding rapidly over a relatively 

short amount of time. Additionally, ships were 

getting bigger. While the (First) Poe Lock had 

been designed to accommodate four ships, 400 feet 

long, by 1905 several ships were exceeding that 

length. It was becoming clear that larger locks 

were needed. The Corps of Engineers submitted 

three plans to Congress to help meet this need. 

Ultimately, the plan selected called for a new canal 

with one lock on the south side, leaving room for 

another lock on the north. On March 2nd, 1907 an 

act provided for construction of the Third, or Davis 

Lock, the north canal, and an emergency dam. In 

total $1,200,000 was given in 1907, for the 

$6,200,000 project. 

Even before the completion of the Davis Lock, the 

need for a fourth lock became apparent. By 1912, 

72 million tons of freight were passing through the 

Sault and the average delay to vessels reached two 

hours. Accordingly, this year an act was provided 

for construction of the Fourth (later known as the 

Sabin) Lock. At the time being there was no 

warrant for changing the dimensions, so it became 

a duplicate of the Third, or Davis Lock. The Davis 

Lock took a total of 7 years to complete (starting 

construction in 1907 and opening in 1914) while 

the Sabin Lock took a total of 6 (starting 

construction in 1913 and opening in 1919). While 

there was additional expense associated with the 

north canal and emergency dam, the cost of the 

Third, or Davis Lock, itself was around 

$2,200,000. The cost of the Fourth, or Sabin Lock 

was about $1,750,000. Some of the engineering 

developments which were implemented were 

larger dimensions for the locks themselves, at 

1,350 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 24 1⁄2 feet over 

the miter sills, locks built of concrete, as opposed 

to previous locks made of stone, and gates moved 

by cables rather than the hydraulic systems used in 

the Poe and Weitzel. 

Around this time, it was starting to become more 

apparent how important the Soo Locks were to the 

United States. Even prior to the U.S. entering 

World War 1, a military guard was stationed at the 

locks in March of 1917. Similarly, in December of 

1917, all the nation’s railroads were placed under 

Government control and similar steps were taken 

with the fleets of the inland waterways. Peacetime 

competition was set aside and lake vessels 

operated under the overall direction of a 

Government committee. Also, despite wartime 
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Page 7

cutbacks on civil works projects, the locks 

received no reduction in funding and barbed wire 

fences were installed at the Soo Locks facility. The 

locks were only going to gain in importance over 

time, becoming a vital link to national security 

during the World War II era. 

Prior to the United States entering World War II, 

there was substantial buildup of protection on both 

sides of the locks. Some of these measures were 

introduced in 1939, with British troops posted at 

the locks and their approaches on the Canadian 

side in August, and a ban on visitors for the U.S. 

side which eventually stuck following Hitler’s 

attack on Poland (September 1st). Following the 

visitor ban, a detachment of 20 soldiers from Fort 

Brady were promptly detailed to the locks. By 

October 12th, anti-aircraft guns, machine guns, a 

battery of searchlights, squads of infantrymen, a 

small fleet of coast guard craft and miles and miles 

of new fence topped by barbed wire were in place 

surrounding the (American) locks. 

Later, in June of 1940, Canadian vessel owners 

developed a set of security rules that governed 

loading procedures and passages through the 

canals controlled by the Canadian government. A 

copy of the rules was sent to the Lake Carriers 

Association (LCA) with a request to adopt similar 

measures to coordinate security effort on both 

sides of the border. By August the LCA held a 

meeting in Cleveland, OH with the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard in 

response to the request. These regulations -

including a shore-leave pass system, which 

required all sailors to have in their possession a 

pass signed by an officer of the ship before leaving 

the vessel in port, remained in effect (with only 

minor alterations) throughout the war years. 

While the capacity of the locks to handle 

commerce was sufficient for some time after the 

Sabin lock was completed, eventually the time for 

a new lock came again. At the end of December in 

1940, A.T. Wood, President of the Lake Carriers 

Association (LCA) wrote a letter to Ralph Budd, 

the Transportation Commissioner of the National 

Defense Advisory Commission (NDAC) – an 

organization put together by Theodore Roosevelt 

to oversee his defense program, first addressing 

the topic of a new lock. The overall message was 

to start thinking about the new lock for when the 

current vessel traffic began to tax the lockage 

system again. In February of 1941, Congress 

requested a report on the need for a new lock. The 

LCA Vice President responded to this with a fivepage detailed report stating the LCA’s suggestions. 

This report stated that while there was only slight 

evidence of the current facilities capacity being 

reached, some of the statistics indicated another 

threat. The threat being that the crippling of any 

one lock would have impacts that could affect 

national security. The report went on to suggest the 

initial idea for a new lock – that it be constructed 

in the footprint of the (now obsolete) Weitzel lock 

and that its dimensions be 800 feet long, 80 feet 

wide, and 30 feet deep.

By February of 1941, security at the locks had 

certainly heightened. The locks began to be 

guarded by the 702d Military Police Battalion, a 

specialty trained force of 546 officers and men 

under the authority of the U.S. Department of 

Interior. Shortly after, in March, the Sault Ste. 

Marie Military District was formed under the 

authority of the Central Defense Command, by an 

executive order signed by President Roosevelt. 

This placed the entire Sault Ste. Marie area under 

direct military control. If it wasn’t already clear 

that the United States was concerned about losing 

functionality of the locks, an accident which 

occurred in the fall of 1941 made the importance 

of the system even more evident. 

On October 7th, 1941, a bridge span collapsed with 

a train engine into the north canal of the locks 
Vol. 203 Great Lakes Update June 2019

Page 8

approaching the most recent working locks at the 

time (Sabin and Davis). This effectively blocked 

the approach for several days, with 50 anchored 

freighters being delayed as a result of the accident. 

This major accident seemed to highlight the LCA’s 

point. It made clear the importance of the 

functioning of the Soo Locks and that an attack 

could cripple the Great Lakes shipping industry. 

Heightening this fear further, the attack on Pearl 

Harbor (December 7th, 1941) left an unsettling 

panic regarding lack of appropriate protection of 

the locks. Another important point, which drilled 

in the importance of protection and adequate 

accommodations at the locks, was that 110.7 

million tons of freight moved through the Sault by 

the end of the 1941 shipping season - breaking all 

previous records.

RAILROAD BRIDGE COLLAPSE (OCTOBER 7TH, 1941)

COURTESY OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

PICTURE EDITED BY MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

All of these events placed a great deal of pressure 

on Wood (President of the LCA) from the industry, 

causing him to promptly reach out to the U.S. 

Army regarding the matter. By February 1942, 

General Marshall ordered that the military police 

battalion on guard at the Soo be reinforced by a 

detachment of the 100th Coast Artillery and a 

barrage balloon battery. Further measures were 

later taken, which at its peak consisted of a force 

in the excess of seven thousand troops defending 

the locks, with the area being referred to as 

“probably the most heavily defended in the 

country.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit 

District would like to thank Lake Superior State 

University and Bayliss Public Library in Sault 

Ste. Marie, MI for access to their immense 

wealth of knowledge on the project.

Sources:

• Arbic, Bernie. City of the Rapids: Sault Ste. Maries Heritage. 

Priscilla Press, 2003.

• Arbic, Bernie, et al. Upbound Downbound: The Story of the Soo 

Locks. The Priscilla Press, 2005.

• Aune, C A. “The Soo Locks - St. Marys River, Michigan.” 

Military Engineer, May 1965.

• Bald, Dr. F Clever. The Sault Canal through 100 Years. 

University of Michigan, 1954. Obtained at Lake Superior State 

University.

• Chandler, William. “History of the St. Mary’s Falls Ship Canal”. 

Annual Report of the Superintendent of Collector for 1877, 1878. 

Obtained at Bayliss Public Library

• DeYoung, Isaac. "Beyond the Moon" - A History of St. Marys 

Falls Canal and Environs. Chamber of Commerce. Obtained at 

Lake Superior State University.

• GLD in WWII, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1946, pp.43-45, 

125–136. Obtained at Bayliss Public Library.

• Joachim, George J. Iron Fleet: The Great Lakes in World War II. 

Wayne State University Press, 1994.

• Larson, John W. Essayons: A History of the Detroit District U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, 1841 and Forward. 2nd ed., U.S. 

Government Printing Office, 1995.

• Reeves, H.F. Building the Soo Canal. Reprinted from 

Compressed Air Magazine. Fairbanks, Morse, & Co. April 1955. 

Obtained at Lake Superior State University.

• Sabin, Louis C. “Remarks of L.C. Sabin on the Occasion of the 

Opening of the MacArthur Lock, St. Marys Falls Canal, Mi.” 

Opening of the MacArthur Lock. 11 July 1943, Sault Ste. Marie, 

Michigan.

• Smith, Samuel L. “Pre-Historic & Modern Copper Mines of Lake 

Superior.” Mining in the Upper Peninsula, vol. 1-40, The MidPeninsula Library Foundation, 1975, pp. 31–45. Obtained at Lake 

Superior State University.

• Pletcher, Ben. “Lockdown: The Story of the Soo Locks and 

WWII.” Military History of the Upper Great Lakes, Michigan 

Technological University, 16 Oct. 2016, 

ss.sites.mtu.edu/mhugl/2016/10/16/3312/.

• Stevens, Deidre. “When World War II Came to the Sault.” 

Michigan History, www.hsmichigan.org/wpcontent/uploads/2012/02/MHM_MarAp_Sault.pdf.

• Taylor, Paul. Orlando M. Poe - Civil War General and Great 

Lakes Engineer. The Kent State University Press, 2009.