Shubenacadie Canal

The Shubenacadie Canal is a Canadian canal in central Nova Scotia, linking Halifax Harbour with Shubenacadie Grand Lake which drains into the Bay of Fundy by way of the Shubenacadie River. Currently small craft use the river and lakes, but no locks are fully operational. Some restoration has been done, and more is planned.

History

The Shubenacadie Canal was envisioned to facilitate transportation between Halifax, and the agricultural, timber and coal producing areas of northern Nova Scotia and the Annapolis Valley. Construction was started in 1826 by the Shubenacadie Canal Co. which went bankrupt in 1831. Several Scottish and Irish stone masons had immigrated to Nova Scotia to work on the project but were left stranded in the colony with little resources after the project had halted. Construction started again in 1854 under the Inland Navigation Co. but also suffered from financial difficulties, despite completing the canal in 1861. The canal company showed little profit and experienced many problems relating to frigid winters which damaged the locks linking the freshwater lakes.

The canal's ongoing construction delays were partly responsible for the 1851 decision by Nova Scotia's colonial government to build the Nova Scotia Railway. This system built lines from Halifax to Windsor and Truro by 1858. The railway effectively ruined the canal system when bridges crossing the canal were built too low for the steamer. See related article on frog wars.

Route

The canal connected the following waters, running north from Halifax Harbour at Dartmouth Cove:

* Halifax Harbour/Dartmouth Cove (Dartmouth)
* Sullivan's Pond
* Lake Banook
* Lake Micmac
* Lake Charles
* Lake William
* Lake Thomas
* Fletchers Lake
* Shubenacadie Grand Lake (Wellington Station to Frenchmans Road)
* Shubenacadie River (Frenchmans Road to Maitland)
* Bay of Fundy/Cobequid Bay (Port Maitland)

Present use

In recent decades, citizens of Dartmouth sought to restore portions of the canal's portage route between the lakes running from Halifax Harbour to Shubenacadie Grand Lake for pleasure boaters. Highway construction, notably low bridges crossing the Lake Banook-Lake Micmac connection (Highway 111) and Lake Thomas (Highway 102) resulted in blocking the historic canal route to larger vessels, although canoes and small pleasure boats may still pass underneath.

The Shubenacadie Canal Commission was established to stabilize the deterioration of the remaining locks and attempt to restore some of them to working order. An interpretive site for the canal is located in the Fairbanks Centre in Dartmouth's Shubie Park, along the shores of Lake Micmac. Located next to one of the restored operational locks, the Fairbanks Centre features a scale model of canal lock mechanisms.

Some areas along the Shubenacadie Canal are popular outdoor recreation areas for the Halifax Regional Municipality, including:

* Lake Banook's competitive paddling course
* Lake Banook's Birch Cove Beach
* Shubie Park's Dartmouth Multi-use Trail
* Laurie Provincial Park on the shore of Shubenacadie Grand Lake
* Oakfield Provincial Park on the shore of Shubenacadie Grand Lake

The Trans-Canada Trail is currently being planned to run alongside part of the canal.

ee also

* Port Wallace, Nova Scotia, community named after the president of the Shubenacadie Canal Company

References

* Barbara Grantmyre, "The River that Missed the Boat" Halifax: Petheric Press, 1975 ISBN 0-919380-17-4
* Donna Barnett, "River of Dreams" Nimbus Publishing Ltd. 2002 ISBN 1-55109-407-X
* Harry Chapman, "Men, Money and Muscle - Building the Shubenacadie Canal", Dartmouth, NS: Dartmouth Historical Society, 1994

External links

* [http://shubie.chebucto.org Shubenacadie Canal Commission - official website]