Series consists of records created and maintained by the Department of Railways and Canals relating to the Welland Canal. The series includes records created by the Paymaster, the Overseer of the Dunnville Feeder Canal, the Superintending Engineer, the engineer in charge, and other members of the canal's engineering staff.
When the Department of Railways and Canals was created in 1879, it assumed responsibility for Canada's canal systems. The Canal Branch of the new department was organized to supervise the operation, maintenance and enlargement of the various canals in Canada, and to arrange for the construction of new ones if required. In 1879, the canal systems in Canada included one of the most important links in the navigation of the Great Lakes - the Welland Canal, which connects Lakes Ontario and Erie through the Niagara Peninsula. The first canal was constructed between 1824 and 1829 by the Welland Canal Company. Financial difficulties eventually resulted in the canal being taken over by the legislature of Upper Canada in 1841, and responsibility for it was assumed by the Board of Works. A number of improvements and alterations were undertaken in the 1840s and 1850s. This is usually referred to as the second Welland Canal. Further enlargements and refinements--the third Welland Canal--were effected in the 1880s, and in 1913 work began on what was generally known as the Welland Ship Canal. Temporarily interrupted by the Great War, construction on the fourth canal was not completed until 1932.