Black Rapids Lock 13 (Parks Canada)

What sets the Rideau apart from other lakes and river systems is its rich history. The oldest continuously operated canal in North America, the locks work today much as they did when first opened in 1832. The canal, built in a wild frontier of lakes, rivers and swamps is an engineering marvel and a testament to human genius, sacrifice, and perseverance.The Rideau was a sparsely populated frontier when construction of the Rideau Canal first started. In some places, water power of rapids had been tapped for saw mills, grist mills and carding mills. A few small communities were in existence, but most of the settlement was in the form of widely spaced farms, laboriously hacked out of the forest. A few rough roads connected some of these communities.