The Geology
The Grand River is a large river in Southwestern Ontario. From its source near Wareham, Ontario, it flows south through Grand Valley, Fergus, Elora, Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Paris, Brantford, Caledonia, and Cayuga before emptying into the north shore of Lake Erie south of Dunnville at Port Maitland. The Grand starts near Dundalk, a small town which is among the highest points in Southern Ontario at 525 meters, or 1,722 feet, above sea level. It flows south 280 kilometers to its mouth at Port Maitland on Lake Erie. The elevation at Lake Erie is about 174 meters, or 571 feet, above sea level.
The Grand River is the largest river that is entirely within southern Ontario's boundaries. The river owes its size to the unusual fact that its source is relatively close to the base of the Bruce Peninsula, yet it flows southwards to Lake Erie, thus giving it more distance to take in more water from tributaries.
However, despite its length, the Grand River is quite shallow in many places, making it virtually useless for vessels and cargo ships to move goods between Lake Erie and the northern Towns, including Brantford. Numerous spots record the water levels being less than 12" deep and very rocky. Thus, a wide, deep canal was built for steamship navigation between Dunnville and Brantford, containing a series of 8 locks to assist with water control and to ensure boats could safely pass.
A channel is a type of landform consisting of the outline of a path of relatively shallow and narrow body of water, most commonly the confine of a river. Channels can be either natural or human-made. A channel is typically outlined in terms of its bed and banks.
The Brantford Canal is a man-made channel, and was a dredged and marked lane of safe travel which guaranteed to have a minimum depth across its specified minimum width. This allowed for travel of barges and steamships between Brantford and Lake Erie (primarily Buffalo), and began the further development of Brantford as a town, rather than just a small villiage.
The History
In the early 1800's, people living in the area were looking at the river to improve extremely poor land transportation routes. In 1824 the Welland Canal Company was incorporated and people in this area studied the feasibility of a canal to improve the navigation of the Grand River. The potential of large scale navigation on the Grand River came in 1829 with the construction of a dam at Dunnville and a feeder canal to supply water to the just completed Welland Canal. This led to the formation of the Grand River Navigation Company.
By 1832, the company began the construction of eight locks and dams. Construction of the river project consisted of a series of locks and dams. Dam and Lock #1 was built 22 miles upriver from Dunnville, later known as the Town Of Indiana. Lock and Dam #2 was built further 3 miles upriver at Nelles Rapids. This area later became the site of the Village of York. Lock and Dam #3 was known as Sim's Lock. The fourth lock and dam was located a further mile and became the site of the Village Seneca, at Stoney Creek. A series of other locks and dams were constructed two miles apart. An extra two locks were later necessary for the Brantford Cut, a three mile canal built to avoid twelve miles of meandering of the river between Bunnell's landing and Brantford.
The Grand River Navigation Company enabled local businesses to ship and receive goods from their own warehouses and provided the means through which the produce of the surrounding area could be sent to outside markets. The Town of Brantford benefited immensely. The bringing of the canal to Brantford increased trade and attracted new businesses to the area. By 1850 there were over 100 steamers on the Grand River.
The development of the canal system built between 1830 and the 1860's from Dunnville to Brantford is part of the industrial history of the Grand River valley. Paddlewheelers and other crafts used the system to transport wheat, other goods and passengers to and from the United States and other Canadian ports. Access to other cities was facilitated by the construction of a feeder canal between the lower Grand and the Welland canal.
The area located south of Lock Road at Beach Road, where you are currently standing, is nall that remains of the once-mighty Brantford Canal and Locks. This canal, which runs along the Grand River, played a very important role in the development of Brantford. This site was the location of the old locks which were necessary in operating the Brantford Canal. The canal increased the efficiency of navigating the Grand River by eliminating 12 miles of meandering of the shallow waterway. As large scale navigation developed, the City benefited as industries and people were attracted to the area. This area was a major component in the link created by the Grand River Navigation Company between Buffalo and Brantford.
The financial factors combined with the coming of the railways in the 1850's marked the end of the company. On January 13, 1854, the Buffalo, Brantford and Goderich railway line was opened and thus navigation on the Grand River declined. Those settlements along the river that depended on navigation for survival had to find altenate means of support. Some of these settlements stagnated while others died. By 1880, the locks were not in use, became neglected and were abandoned. However, this area continued to play an important role in the economic development of Brantford, as it became the site of Brantford's first Hydro Electric Generating Station. The availability of cheap hydroelectric power continued to attract industries and Brantford became a prosperous industrial centre.
This year marks the 158th anniversary of the opening of the Brantford Canal. On November 6, 1848, The Grand River Navigation Company officially opened the canal and the navigation of the Grand River for a distance of fifty seven miles from Brantford to Dunnville was made possible. It provided for the haulage of goods and later expanded to passenger service from Brantford to Buffalo. The ability to navigate the Grand River was the catalyst for settlement and economic development in the region. Remains of the Grand River locks are quite visible today.
The Geocache
From the posted coordinates, you should be able to see 3 things of interest - the remnants of the locks, the hydroelectric station and the old rail line that eventually replaced the canal.
Send me the asnwers to the following questions, based on your observations at or near the posted coordinates.
1. What is the current water flow level between the locks? Your answer can range from "no movement"/"frozen", to "some movement", "strong flow" or "rapids appearing with heavy flow". Compare this to the flow rate near the hydroelectric dam a few metres away. Why do you think that the water flow varies in these two places?
2. Do you see any evidence of plant or animal life in the water between the locks? Why would it be difficult for plant life to grow between the lock formations?
The answers to the following questions can be taken from the plaque at the posted coordinates.
3. How many miles of canal had been completed by the year 1836, and which cities did they connect?
4. How many years did it take to complete the Brantford locks? Using what you know about the area, and time period, why would it have been delayed?
5. Name three types of cargo (other than passengers) that frequently travelled down the Brantford Canal.
6. (Optional) Post a photo of yourself or your GPS at or near the locks.
You do not need to wait for confirmation before logging your find. You may log your find as soon as you send me your answers. I will contact you if your answers are incorrect. Log entries that don't have answers sent along within seven days will be deleted. Any log that includes spoiler answers, or if I feel that you didn't actually visit the location, will result in your log being deleted.