First Welland Canal
Planning
Planning
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In 1818, William Hamilton Merritt borrowed an instrument called a [water level](/wiki/Spirit_level%23Surveyor.27s_leveling_instrument "Spirit level#Surveyor.27s leveling instrument") from Samuel Beckett, a mill owner in [St. Johns](/wiki/St._Johns%2C_Ontario "St. Johns, Ontario"). Along with George Keefer, John DeCew, and a couple of other neighbours he set out to survey a potential route for a water canal. From the headwaters of the Twelve Mile Creek near present\-day [Allanburg](/wiki/Allanburg%2C_Ontario "Allanburg, Ontario"), they planned a line three kilometers south to meet with the Welland River. A ridge was encountered along the way, and using the instrument, the surveyors calculated it to be 10 metres high. It was actually double that height; the reason for the error is not known.

On July 4, 1818, Merritt organized a meeting in St. Catharines. The outcome was a petition sent to [Upper Canada Legislature](/wiki/Legislative_Assembly_of_Upper_Canada "Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada") to provide for construction of a canal between the Twelve Mile Creek and Welland River. Unlike Merritt's original water\-canal plan, the petition included plans for allowing boats to cross the Niagara Escarpment. In 1823, Hiram Tibbetts, an engineer, was employed to make a formal survey for the route. He suggested to dig a channel  below the surface level of Welland River between present\-day [Port Robinson](/wiki/Port_Robinson%2C_Ontario "Port Robinson, Ontario") and Allanburg, and then follow the Twelve Mile Creek northwest to DeCew's Falls (where John DeCew owned a mill). There, it was suggested to descend the escarpment by an [incline railway](/wiki/Canal_inclined_plane "Canal inclined plane") and continue along the creek to [Port Dalhousie](/wiki/Port_Dalhousie%2C_Ontario "Port Dalhousie, Ontario") to reach Lake Ontario.

On January 19, 1824, an act of the Legislature formed the Welland Canal Company, with a capitalization of $150,000 and Merritt as the financial agent. As part of his fundraising duties, he travelled extensively, including the [United States](/wiki/United_States "United States") and [Great Britain](/wiki/Great_Britain "Great Britain").

Later in 1824, a revised route was put forward for the canal. It travelled from Port Robinson to Allanburg like the previous one, but from there went north and descended the escarpment by a series of [canal locks](/wiki/Canal_lock "Canal lock") in present\-day [Merritton](/wiki/Merritton%2C_Ontario "Merritton, Ontario"). The canal then followed a local creek before joining the Twelve Mile and continuing on to Port Dalhousie. (With this new route, John Decew, one of the original canal proponents would become an opponent, when he realised that the new route would not only bypass his property, but divert water from his mill.)


How did the revised route differ from the previous one?