The Desjardins Canal, named after its promoter Pierre Desjardins, was built to give Dundas, Ontario, easier access to Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes system of North America. Although a technological achievement and a short term commercial success, the canal was soon eclipsed by the railway and Dundas by neighbouring Hamilton. Dundas, Ontario held a town charter between 1848 and 2001. ... Lake Ontario seen from near Wolcott, New York Lake Ontario, bounded on the north by Ontario and on the south by Ontarios Niagara Peninsula and by New York State, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. ... The Great Lakes from space The Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes on or near the United States-Canadian border. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Motto: Together Aspire - Together Achieve Area: 1,117. ...

Historical context

Water transportation is often the most efficient, cheapest and most reliable form of transportation before paved roads and railways are developed. Consequently, in the first half of the 19th century, Canada and the United States were gripped by canal-building fever. Great works like the Erie Canal, Welland Canal and Rideau Canal were undertaken during this period. Categories: Water-transport stubs | Canals | Water transport ... Erie Canal - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal that runs 43. ... A portion of the worlds largest skating rink The Rideau Canal, also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. ...

It was in this context that the government of Upper Canada authorized in 1823 the construction of a canal through the Burlington sandbar separating Burlington Bay from Lake Ontario. Dundas was the leading settlement in Wentworth County and it hoped to become an intermodal transportation junction at the end of Governors Road and the head of Lake Ontario. Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario Upper Canada is an early name for the land at the upstream end of the Saint Lawrence River in early North America – the territory south of Lake Nipissing and north of the St. ... Burlington (2003 population 161,437) is located in the Golden Horseshoe, across the harbour from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. ... Burlington Bay, also known as Hamilton Harbour, is a branch of Lake Ontario bounded on the northwest by the City of Burlington, on the south by the City of Hamilton, and on the east by Hamilton Beach (south of the Skyway Bridge) and Burlington Beach (north of the channel). ... Lake Ontario seen from near Wolcott, New York Lake Ontario, bounded on the north by Ontario and on the south by Ontarios Niagara Peninsula and by New York State, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. ... Wentworth County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario. ...

However, cutting through the Burlington sandbar was not enough. An additional passage was needed to link Cootes Paradise to Dundas in the west and Burlington Bay in the east. Because Cootes is a marsh, water levels were very low and were inadequate for the draught necessary for useful commercial boat traffic.

Rise, fall and rebirth

Pierre Desjardins, a local settler originally from France, began organizing in 1825 to dredge the marsh and build a canal linking Dundas with Burlington Bay. The canal company received its charter in 1826, but its leading light died the following year after falling from a horse. The Desjardins Canal was completed in 1837 and the commercial benefits it brought helped Dundas grow enough to incorporate as a town in 1847.

However, this success was short lived as the completion of the Great Western Railway in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1854 offered stiff competition. Like the earlier canal-building boom, the railway-building boom seized North America in the mid-1800s and provided a practical death-blow to water transportation. Bristol Temple Meads railway station, the original terminus at Bristol. ... Motto: Together Aspire - Together Achieve Area: 1,117. ... Rail transport refers to the land transport of passengers and goods along railways or railroads. ...

The canal company tried to participate in the new railway craze by building a railway bridge across the canal. However, the venture was tragically punctuated in 1857 by a derailment which killed seventy people. Local opposition prevented the reconstruction of the bridge. Notable historic train accidents: 1830s September 15, 1830 – William Huskisson becomes first ever passenger train death. ...

As water traffic and Dundas slowly declined in importance relative to Hamilton, the Desjardins Canal gradually fell into disuse. In 1867, sediment blocked direct access to the town.

Today, its remains can be seen north of Cootes Drive in east Dundas and in the rotting logs in the shallows of Cootes Paradise. As part of the renaissance in the area, the megacity of Hamilton established a walking path along the former canal. Megacity, megapolis, or megalopolis is a general term for cities together with their suburbs or recognized metropolitan areas usually with a total population in excess of 10 million people. ... A trail, in the most general sense, is any linear route for travel. ...

External links

• Desjardins Canal (http://collections.ic.gc.ca/hamilton/desjard.htm) history
• Desjardins Canal (http://www.ontarioplaques.com/Locations/Hamilton/Webpages/W19.html) plaque
• Railway accident (http://www.hpl.hamilton.on.ca/Local/SPCOLL/desj.shtml) contemporary reporting
• Railway accident (http://www.hamilton.ca/Parks/Cemeteries/History/default.asp) gravesites
• Commercial photograph (http://www.canadianheritage.org/reproductions/20344.htm) of railway accident
• Desjardins Canal (http://www.hamiltonpostcards.com/pages/patriotic.html) historic postcard
• Desjardins Recreational Trail (http://www.city.hamilton.on.ca/Parks/Trails/desjardins.asp) greenspace