| description: | The Linking Of The Lake Ontario And Lake Erie For Commercial Shipping. The First Shovel Was Turned On November 30, 1824 By William Hamilton Merritt'S Welland Canada Co. Overcoming A Fall Of 325 Feet In The Niagara River, The Canal Was Designed To Convey Small Craft From Lake Ontario To Port Robinson, About Halfway, And By Way Of The Welland And Niagara Rivers To Lake Erie. Swift Currents Forced Abandonment Of The Latter Portion And The Canal Was Extended Across Country In 1833 To Bravelly Bay, Now Port Colborne. The Route Has Been Changed, Locks Reduced In Number And Increased In Size. The Welland Canal Has Proved Increasingly Valuable In The 2,300 Mile Waterway Into The Heart Of The Continent. November 27, 1829, Was The Grand Opening Ceremony Of The Welland Canal, Seen In This Photo From The Painting By J.D. Kelly |