The
Summer of 1912 at Chaffey's Locks
Back in the summer of 1912, there was a flurry of activity taking place through Chaffey's Locks, the likes of which had never been seen since the building of the locks and dams on the Rideau Canal back in 1828 - 1832. The Canadian Northern Railway was building it's Toronto - Ottawa - Montreal main line. This part of the line passed through the granite-hard rock of the Frontenac Gap - that geological feature of the Canadian Shield that plunges down from Northern Ontario and Quebec to cross the St Lawrence River at the Thousand Islands. This was a major construction nightmare that swallowed up thousands of dollars. A young 21 year-old Queen's student from Brockville, Clarke Gibbs Walton, got a job on the survey crew that summer. He took his own photos and collected those of the photographer assigned to the job of recording the history of this event.
In the next few pages, we include some of these photos which outline some of the major work that was required to complete this railway line. We are indebted to his niece, Mrs L. Coon Henson of Davis Locks, Ont, who has collected and preserved this record of her uncle's summer of 1912. To start your tour, click here |
