THE SOO LOCKS


At Sault Ste. Marie Michigan and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, there is a drop of some 21 feet in less than a mile between Lake Superior and the St. Marys River which forms the connecting link to the lower Great Lakes. Until the first lock and ship canal were built by the State of Michigan in 1855, it was impossible for vessels to navigate the St. Marys Rapids and enter Lake Superior. In later years both the United States and Canada have built more and larger locks until, according to the ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA this has become the greatest ship highway in the world.

There are presently four American Locks and one Canadian Lock. The latter was closed for a time, but has recently been refurbished and is now used by pleasure craft and Lock Tour boats.

Starting from the American side there is Lock No. 1, the MACARTHUR. Built in 1944, it is 800 feet long and 80 feet wide. After more than 50 years of use, it was in need of extensive repairs. These took place during the winter of 2000/2001. Numerous photos of the repair work appear on following pages.

Lock No. 2 is the POE. It was designed especially to handle the newer Great Lakes freighters which are 1000 feet long and 100 feet wide.

Lock No. 3, the DAVIS, and Lock No. 4, the SABIN although available for emergency use are not presently being operated. The DAVIS is longer than the POE, but narrower. There are plans afoot to replace both the DAVIS and SABIN Locks with a single Lock which will be similar in size to the POE. Exactly when and if construction may begin is still not known.

The following photos, taken a number of years ago, show some of the earlier, smaller Soo Locks and the smaller vessels for which they were designed.

Photo Courtesy Of The Les Cheneaux Historical Association, Cedarville, MI

Back in 1896, well before the U.S. began construction of the Panama Canal, Andrew Tanner produced this photo on a sensitized glass plate. At that time there were so many vessels on the lakes that the Soo Locks were often hard pressed to handle all the shipping traffic. If you examine the picture carefully, you'll note that the lock is literally packed with boats all the way back to the upper lock gate. It is interesting to note that at the head of the procession the sailing ship IRON QUEEN is abreast the steamer IRON KING.

Winnie Lowes Photo

In June, 1916 the Morton Salt Company's wooden hulled steamer MARION was downbound at Sault Ste. Marie.

Winnie Lowes Photo

Also in June of 1916 the barge JOHN FRITZ was upbound.

Winnie Lowes Photo

Here we see the FRITZ with its companion Tug ILLINOIS.


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