The Canal At Mid-Century
Dundas experienced significantly increased prosperity once the canal had opened. Since flour could now be shipped more cheaply the local mills prospered. Shipments of lumber-based products of all types increased. Once the canal had provided an outlet to the lake, local manufacturers could sell to a broader market. As money flowed into the area the town was able to accumulate capital to finance the growth of local industries. The population, which had been 800 in 1836, had increased to 2000 by this time. Soon sailing vessels were being built in the turning basin.
In spite of the economic benefits that the canal was generating, however, the company continued to struggle with technical and financial problems. Repairs and improvements were necessary in order to make canal operations viable on an ongoing basis but sufficient money was not available from private sources, or from canal operations. There were, however, some bright spots. Increased imports of coal and pig iron through the canal were indicative of the fact that an industrial economy was developing in Dundas. Imports of merchandise rapidly increased as the population grew, the economy developed, and people had more money to spend.
By the beginning of the 1850s the citizens of Dundas had reason to feel optimistic about their town. In 1849 14,000 tons of produce had been shipped via the Desjardins Canal, a reflection of the importance of the canal in supporting the export trade of the area. The construction of a road network connecting Dundas with the back country was also accelerated by the incorporation of the Paris and Dundas Road Company. The Desjardins Canal Company was able to keep the canal operational by means of a scaled down dredging operation.
Along the canal a warehouse 120 by 100 feet (30 m) described as one of the largest in British North America was nearing completion and had already been rented by a Toronto firm. There were several other warehouses on the margin of the canal and it was not uncommon to ship more than 100,000 barrels of flour yearly through the port. However the coming of railway service to Hamilton caused added complications and the competition finally doomed the canal.
Read more about this topic: Desjardins Canal
Famous quotes containing the words canal, mid-century:
“My impression about the Panama Canal is that the great revolution it is going to introduce in the trade of the world is in the trade between the east and the west coast of the United States.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“No culture on earth outside of mid-century suburban America has ever deployed one woman per child without simultaneously assigning her such major productive activities as weaving, farming, gathering, temple maintenance, and tent-building. The reason is that full-time, one-on-one child-raising is not good for women or children.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)