Thomas Burrowes recorded the Chaffey’s lockstation between Lake Opinicon and Indian Lake in 1833, one year after the station was completed. His painting provides a clear view of the simple mechanics of a lock. The original course of the river is seen to the left, flowing over a waste weir built to control the water level upstream of the lockstation. The two timbers (known as “stop logs”) seen above the waterfall fit into the stone wall’s slotted channels (known as “slots”). Similar logs lay below the waterline. As water levels dropped in dry periods, more timbers were added to the dam to raise the upstream water levels; during periods of high water, especially during the spring melt, timbers were removed to increase the flow and prevent flooding upstream. Each lock had adjustable weirs that could regulate water levels throughout the canal system.

To the right in this painting is the channel that was dug to direct water into the cut limestone lock, whose double set of lock gates are shown closed.

Midway through construction, the contractor, a local mill owner named John Brewer (whose brewery, grist- and sawmills can be seen on the right) went bankrupt and fled the province. The next contractor completed the job, but only after negotiating a hefty increase in pay. Lieutenant-Colonel By bought the mills and closed them down so that a dam and waste weir could be constructed across the river. The round building beside the river is the kiln used to make mortar for the stonemasons.

After construction was complete, the locks needed careful maintenance, and Burrowes travelled regularly to the lockstations to oversee their operation. In this painting of Davis’ Mill, he captures carpenters beside the lock preparing a timber for a new set of gates. A teamster, lower right, brings another timber to the site. Notice that by this time the gates’ “crabs” have been replaced by long, wooden swing beams that could be operated more quickly.