St Marys River - Sault Ste Marie, ON - National Wild and Scenic Rivers on Waymarking.com

Marker for the St Marys River, designated as a Canadian Heritage River in 2000 for its outstanding cultural and recreational values.

From the Canadian River Heritage website:

"The 125 km river, which flows eastward out of Lake Superior into Lake Huron, has long been a strategic link for travel across the continent. Lock and canal building began as early as 1798, when the Northwest Company built small locks for fur trade canoes to pass around the rapids. The Canadian lock, completed in 1895, was the most advanced in the world at that time. Now a national historic site managed by Parks Canada, it was rebuilt and opened to pleasure craft in 1998."

The marker text states:

The St. Marys River - Connecting three of North America’s Great Lakes – Superior, Huron and Michigan – the St. Marys River is the key hydrological, ecological and transportation link in the Great Lakes system. Since its birth less than 10,000 years ago at the end of the most recent Ice Age, this historic river, although only 125 km long, has been a vital artery leading to the heart of the continent and beyond.

The St. Marys River valley is the cultural heartland of the Ojibwe, and for almost 5,000 years Aboriginal peoples have gathered here to fish and trade. For explorers, missionaries and fur traders, the St. Marys was the gateway to the west. In the late 18th century, the British military recognized the value of the river’s strategic location for the defence of Canada, and built Fort St. Joseph. In the 19th century, locks circumventing the rapids connected the commerce and industry of eastern North America to the untapped natural resources to the west. Although still a significant route of commerce, the St. Marys River is now an important playground for sport fishers and boaters.

The designation of the St. Marys River as a Canadian Heritage River is a testament to the commitment of local residents who share a vision for the recognition and preservation of this river’s outstanding natural, cultural and recreational values.

In deference to its rich heritage, the marker is also in Ojibwe and French.

WILD: no Number of WILD miles: 0 SCENIC: yes Number of SCENIC miles: 125 RECREATIONAL: yes Number of RECREATIONAL miles: 125 River Link: [Web Link] Support documentation: Not listed

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