Writer: Andrew Hind
For 150 years the locks at Magnetawan have been a hub of trade, transportation, and tourism.
Rising in Algonquin Park and running 100 miles west before emptying into Georgian Bay, the Magnetawan (originally spelled Maganetawan) River was a highway of sorts for Parry Sound District with steamships running to and from the railhead at Burk’s Falls.
But there was one problem: navigation was disrupted by rapids and a ten-foot drop at the village of Magnetawan. Passengers and cargo continuing further on to Ahmic Lake would have to disembark and board another vessel below the falls. It was time-consuming and inefficient.
In an era when steamboats were the primary mover of the region’s economy, this was unsustainable and an impediment to both the development of the region and to the profits of steamship operators. The Government of Ontario recognized this handicap and moved to address the problem by building a set of wooden locks at the rapids. Construction began in December 1883.
The project extended beyond just the locks themselves. A lift bridge spanning the river and a pair of wooden dams were also built – one, in Magnetawan to control water levels at the lock and another at Knoepfli Rapids to control water levels on Ahmic Lake. Rocks in the channel below the dam were blasted out to further deepen the river. There was also dredging and blasting at points along the river to improve navigation.
By the summer of 1886 the locks were open. For the first time steamboats were able to run the entire route from Burks Falls to Ahmic Harbour. Magnetawan boomed because of the locks, and quickly became a primary port on the waterway. And the locks were heavily used: around 700 passages per season were reported during the locks’ first 25 years of operation.
Hired for the job of lockkeeper was Allen Kennedy. While in the performance of his duties, Kennedy fell off the locks on October 8, 1894, and suffered grievous injuries. He never recovered, dying 11 months later, aged 78. Kennedy’s son, Charles, assumed his duties and continued until 1905.
By the time Charles Kennedy relinquished his position the locks were deteriorating with age. They were 20 years old, after all. The time was soon approaching when the lock would need to be replaced. That time came in the winter of 1910-11, when concrete locks and a bridge were built to replace the obsolete wooden ones.
Over the next quarter century, the once numerous steamships plying the Magnetawan River began to disappear one-by-one. The last steamship to use the locks was the Mike, which passed through for the final time in late 1934. The decommissioning of the Mike at the end of the season drew a curtain on the steamship era.
After that, recreational boaters took over, using the locks even more frequently. They still do, and on a warm summer day its not unusual to see throngs of tourists watching as boats are locked through, a process that takes about eight minutes.
The Magnetawan locks aren’t just concrete edifices; they represent the heart of the community – historically and, in many ways, spiritually.
Watch for more of Andrew’s new column “Archives of the 705”!
