Sluice Gates at Morton Dam - Morton, Ontario
N 44° 32.233 W 076° 12.251
18T E 404330 N 4932248
The hand operated gates of this dam that was built between 1826 and 1832 are still used.
Waymark Code: WMZFR1
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 11/04/2018
Views: 1
Morton Dam was constructed from 1826-1832. At one point, a log guard house was erected to defend the canal during the Upper Canada Rebellions.
This dam helps to control the water levels on Whitefish Lake. Whitefish Lake is part of The Rideau Canal, a UNESCO-designated world heritage site.
According to (visit link) before the dam, millers and sawyers were using the water power of Whitefish Falls. In the mid-1800s, both John A. Macdonald [first Prime Minister of Canada in 1867] and George Morton had dreams. Morton envisioned a model community at Whitefish Falls to power his model mills. Model streets would be lined with bustling businesses and prosperous homes. On the floodplain of Whitefish (Morton) Creek, he developed a model dairy farm with a cheese factory to turn fertility into food. His brick yard turned clay into houses. George Morton even built a unique model school.
Today, barely any evidence of this intended prosperity exists in this somewhat rundown little village.
Name of Waterway.: Rideau Canal / Whitefish Lake
Roughly when was the Waterway created?: 1830s
Is this waterway working?: Working
What is the condition of the sluice gate?: Reasonable
What is/was the water used for?: Floodgate
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