Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-19
THE $500" CANAL,
Semi-Centennial Of It's Opening to Be
Celebrated in July.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
A few weeks more will complete the half
century since the opening of the canal at
Sault Ste. Marie, which made possible
through navigation between Lake Superior
and the lower lakes. The state Of Michigan
will celebrate the semi-centennial of the
formal opening in July, and assurances
have been received that the War, Treasury
and Navy Departments will assist the state
In the celebration. The construction of the
cahai was OF immense Importance not only
10 the Lake Superior region which had
previously been little more than a wilder
ness, but to the whole country Cleve-
land profited greatly by it in many WAYS.
and the celebration should therefore he of
strong interest here
Inc opening up of copper mines on the
south shore of Lake Superior upon and
west OF the keweenaw peninsula and sub
sequehtly OF iron mines in the Marquette
district. drew attention to those districts
ana created a traffic, both passenger and
freight, which must be carried on mainly
uy water Steamboat lines were run to
.he Sauit' "here the rapids prevented fur
tHer progress. A portage railroad across
the neck of land to point above the
rapids was built, and some small steam
ers, nearly worn out in service on the
lower lakes We're hauled across the port
age and foated on Lake Superior where
they piled between the Sault and Mar
quette the keweenaw peninsula mining
iandlng places and Ontonagon.
me necessity of better communication
between the lower lake ports and the min
ing colonies on Lake Superior became so
Urgent that the State of Michigan decided
on making canal around the Sault Con-
gress aided the project by giving the state
IooOoo acres of public lands in Michigan
10 De applied to the purpose, In turn the
state offered the lands 10 the ST. Mary's
Fails Ship Canal Company for the con-
sruct1on of the .canll. provided the work
Should be completed in TWO years It was
sood bargain for the company which
received $4,000 acres in the Lake Superior
iron region, 147 600 acres in the conner re-
sl9n, and o64G1O acres in the lower penin-
sula. largely in the lumber region Work
on the canal was begun in the spring of
1853 and completed in 1853. Stone for the
structure was cut in the quarries of Aber-
deem, near Maiden, in Canada and at Mar
blehead near Sandusky and taken to the
Sault in twenty-five sailing vessels After
the completion of the work and the open
ing OF the canal to traffic formal in
spection was made by the Michigan state
government, the work accepted and the
canal grant lands turned over to the con-
tracing company. 1t is the semi-centen-
MAJ OF TINS formal acceptance that it is
proposed to celebrate in July next
The completed work was regarded as q
triumph of engineering skill. The canal
was little over a mile in length, 100 feet
wide at the water line. and u feet deep
There We're two locks each $50 feet long
and 20 feet wide, the upper lock with a
lift of eight feet and the lower of ten feet.
The rapid development of the traffic and
the increase in the size of the lake steam
ers made 1t evident that an enlargement of
the locks was necessary. There was a gen.
eral sentiment that the work should be
undertaken by the general government and
that the canal should be free of tolls
Michigan offered to turn over the canal and
ES 70 he Init
lions and the offer was accented new
lock by the side of the old one was con-
structed and opened in 1881, the canal be-
ing heightened. widened and deepened to
a channel of sixteen feet. The lock was
made 515 feet long AMI so feet wide. with
a lift of IS feet Blu. few years after
its opening the enormous development of
the iron ore traffic with the steadily in
creasing size of the ore and grain carriers
called for additional facilities, and in 1886
another new lock Vas opened on the site
of the two old locks of 1865 with a length
of 500 feet, width of 100 feet and depth
of over 43 feet, and providing for the pas
sage of vessels drawing q feet of water
These two great LOCKS ale supplemented by
the canal opened saw years since on the
Canadian side of the rapids, both canals
being free to the use of vessels of either
country.
of the Sault canal traffic to proportions
beyond the most extravagant dreams of
the projectors of the work. Its annual ton
mage is greater than that of any artificial
waterway in the world. Its influence on
the industrial activity and material pros
perity of the United States has been be-
yond possible calculation. The enormous
development of the iron and steel manu-
facture of this country was made possible
by the opening and continual broadening
and deepening of the 500 gateway be-
tween the Lake Superior ore beds of vast
extent and richness ard the furnaces and
mills of the states on the lower lakes. The
whole country is therefore interested in the
coming celebration of the sem-centennial
Of the op~%ing of the 800" canal.