Reflections Of The Burleigh Falls Lock

Burleigh Falls is also located right on the boundary of where the limestone plains formed millions of years ago under a sea peter out, revealing the Precambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield that are much older still. In the vicinity of Burleigh Falls many different types of stone can be found. The falls themselves cut through Precambrian rock, which is much tougher material than the limestone found to the south. For sightseers, a waterfall on the Canadian Shield is beautiful, but when the time came to engineer a waterway, it presented a significant challenge.

The Trent-Severn Waterway was built primarily for political gain, so a few days before the 1882 Federal election was called, Tom Rubidge was sent to survey Fenelon Falls, Buckhorn Rapids and Burleigh Falls for locks (the Lovesick Lock was included with Burleigh Falls). Ironically, Rubidge was the Superintending Engineer for the Trent Waterway, while being opposed to its construction. He thought that public money would be better invested on canals on the St. Lawrence River, and being appointed to oversee the construction of the Trent Waterway did not change his views. He had a reputation of being a skilful engineer, but his tendency of expressing his true beliefs was not necessarily advantageous in an undertaking that was as political as the construction of the waterway. Many of the arguments used to advocate for the Trent Waterway were nonsense, but the waterway was an effective way to buy votes—and it was often not helpful to have Rubidge speaking his truth!

To maximize political advantage, the government posted the tenders on the eve of the election. John A. Macdonald’s message was clear, vote Conservative to have progress on building the Trent Waterway. He won the election and work went ahead. When the contracts were let, canals had not yet been constructed through the Canadian Shield, and the pricing did not reflect how much more expensive it was to excavate granite or gneiss than limestone with the technology of the day. George Goodwin won the contracts for both Buckhorn and Burleigh Falls, and proceeded with Buckhorn first. As the construction crew was boring holes to fill with explosives, they found that the drills frequently broke down because of how hard the rock was, and generally the excavation was far more laborious than anticipated. Buckhorn was completed relatively quickly, but the disagreements over the cost overruns would last.

Based on the experience of excavating through the Canadian Shield at Buckhorn, Goodwin realized that he might lose money at Burleigh Falls, so haggling over the budget came before the construction the second time. As Buckhorn was nearing completion in April 1884, he began moving his derricks and drills to Burleigh Falls. He built a workshop, stables, cookhouse and a storeroom, but little work was done on the canal while the negotiations proceeded. The disputes centred on the amount of money allowed for excavation, and then the route chosen.

Tom Rubidge planned a 600-foot canal that linked Burleigh Bay and Stoney Lake on the north side of the falls, with two locks. In the late nineteenth century, lock gates were generally made of wood and opened with a hand crank. As planned, the difference in elevation between the two waterbodies was 26 feet, which would mean that the lock gate would have to be 34 foot tall. The pressure of water against such a tall wooden, hand operated lock gate would be excessive. So, two locks were used, and a swing bridge had to be installed on the Burleigh Road.

Having been through the experience of excavating Buckhorn, Goodwin thought that it would be better to follow Perry’s Creek, which would allow a natural valley to be used. If this route was followed the lock from Lovesick Lake could be adjacent to the locks at Burleigh. It was the same route that N.H. Baird’s original Trent Survey had proposed. By the time Goodwin made this suggestion, he and Rubidge were already at loggerheads over the budget, and Rubidge saw no reason to change his plan. Rubidge was also responsible for the dam that held water back from the construction site and the contractor was not satisfied with the structure. Goodwin wrote directly to the Department of Railways and Canals, and John Page, the departmental engineer came out to examine the both proposals. He had Rubidge survey the second route, though he was opposed to the proposal. Not surprisingly, Rubidge found that his original plan was preferable, and more economical.

As the years passed with little progress made, the  some blamed the lack of progress on the government and engineer Tom Rubidge. Rubidge had made himself unpopular by observing that the some of the prominent local figures who were demanding the construction of the waterway were also expecting to be compensated for the flooding that it would cause. Rubidge sent two of his employees to oversee the construction, prompting Goodwin to complain of harassment, again requesting John Page to visit. Rubidge was replaced with David Stark, Superintending Engineer of Ottawa River canals. Construction then proceeded much more quickly, with the first boat passing through the locks on October 26, 1887. By the mid twentieth century, concrete walls and steel doors had become common technology, allowing a single lock to replace the two locks around Burleigh Falls, and the new design allowed boats to pass under the bridge, rather than relying on a swing bridge as in the original design.

This story is part of our partnership with Maryboro Lodge, The Fenelon Falls Museum and was written by Glenn Walker.

If you want to make a donation to the museum, you can e-transfer to: [email protected] or mail a cheque to :

Maryboro Lodge Museum

Box 179

50 Oak Street

Fenelon Falls, ON

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