Jones Falls 2

Upper Locks and Turning Basin, empty in the winter.

Looking at basin from one way.

Looking back.

The Rideau Canal was constructed between 1826 and 1832 under the supervision of Lieutenant Colonel John By of the Royal Engineers. It was to provide a secure, defensible, military water passage to connect Montreal to the naval shipyards in Kingston in case of an American invasion in the uneasy years following the War of 1812.
The Canal has gone through three different eras in its history. The military period began with its construction but slowly declined over the next couple of decades, being replaced with a period of commercial use. Timber, potash, feldspar, mica, iron ore and phosphate were transported along the canal by steamer and barge, with destinations such as England, New Jersey and Montreal. In the 1850s, the advance of the railroads provided a more economical and quicker form of transportation, thus causing a declining use of the canal for a brief period. The 1880s heralded the recreational period, with numerous excursion steamers ferrying loads of travellers and sightseers through all areas of the canal. Fishing lodges were established, such as the Hotel Kenney at Jones Falls, and tourists came from all over the east coast of North America to vacation, fish and enjoy the beauty of the Rideau Canal.