The Third Canal brought unprecedented expansion. Traffic had been growing steadily and the canal was constantly bustling with activity. Ships continued to grow in size and length to meet the increased volume of trade. The desirability of an enlarged and more efficient canal was once again realized. The canal ha been transferred from provincial to federal jurisdiction and the government was soon compelled to make improvements. In 1869 the east pier was rebuilt and the following year the harbour was dredged and deepened. Work began on the Third Canal in 1875 and was completed in 1887.

It was deepened to fourteen feet and each lock enlarged to two hundred and seventy feet by forty-five feet. A more direct route was followed, no longer utilizing the Twelve Mile Creek. A tow path was constructed and at that time there were ninety horses stabled at the west end of Lakeside Park.

After 1881 the Feeder canal was discontinued. Port Dalhousie remained as the northern terminus but alterations had to be made. The Government bought and dismantled the Donaldson, Andrews and Ross dry dock in order to build Lock One. Squire Pawling had interests in this dry dock, an investment which was instrumental in financially crippling him.

Port Dalhousie welcomed boats by the thousands upon completion of the new canal. Citizens prospered, businesses thrived, new enterprises developed and considerable time was spent in patronizing the many drinking establishments. There was plenty of excitement along Front and Lock Streets as the motley group of sailors, teamsters, towboys and labourers frequented the numerous taverns.

The harbour was always full with the boats coming in and staying. There were plenty of boats that would come in and stay all winter. They wouldn't go across the lake or up to Hamilton, but would come in here and fill the harbours from one shore to the other across the canal. The sailors would walk over to the other side (Michigan) from boat to boat. They were all that tight. From Murphy's store straight across to the sand point. These were sailing vessels, and some steam vessels.

Looking across the harbour from the east side

Although most of the vessels passed through the canal on their own power, the tow teams remained active towing barges and sailcraft. The ships passed slowly through the locks creating much leisure time for the sailors and towboys. Often they became boisterous and rowdy, sometimes ending the evening in the village lock-up which still stands near the parking lot of Lakeside Park.

It is dated prior to the second canal. This two room stone building originally had a copper roof which is now covered by tin shingling. Each cell is equipped with a fireplace and it's said that prisoners were responsible for stoking their own fires in order to keep from freezing in winter.

By 1880 Port Dalhousie had several hotels which were closely inspected. Licenses were granted under the authority of the Reeve and Village Clerk but only after the necessary conditions were fulfilled. Two requirements were:

At the corner of Front and Lock Streets stood the Wood House, a quality hotel built in 1877. It was a three-story frame building with a balcony and housed a tavern, dining room, a large lobby and a parlour with a reading room. It was not uncommon at the time for several businesses
to share the same building and I believe the Wood House included J. Gregory's grocery store and the Post Office.

Other hotels established were the Wellington, now the Lion, the Union, Walkerly's, Runchey's and one owned by Patrick Harrigan. It is interesting to note that the lock tenders, towboys, engineers, watchmen, labourers, and blacksmiths boarded at Runchey's, while the foremen, civil engineers and captains stayed at the Wood house.

Port Dalhousie didn't merely consist of hotels. In 1877 there were the following establishments in the downtown sector: five blacksmiths, two merchant taylors, four grocers, two grocer/ bakers, four shoe and bootmakers, three dry goods stores, three booksellers, a stationer, two butchers, a barber, a chemist/druggist/physician/coroner, a coal merchant, two ship builders, a livery stable, a sail maker, a veterinary surgeon, four ship chandlers, a tug office, a Post Office, Wood House (proprietor Richard Long), Union Hotel (proprietor Captain Alex Read), Runchey's Hotel (proprietor William Runchey), Wellington House (proprietor R. Dixon), Pat Harrigan's tavern, Temperance Hotel, Orange Hall, Masonic Hall, Runchey Hall (to rent for entertainments), Niagara House, Dominion Telegraph Company, agents for Montreal Telegraph and American Express Company and the Village Hall, Pound and Lock-up on Brock Street at the Welland Canal.

Sam Houston's hotel was at about the same location as the Port Hotel. The Houston Hotel was burnt out. There was no turnway into the park then. Further on, beyond that there was the ferry boat landing. The freight sheds also burned down when the hotel went.

Fire plagued many of the establishments in Port Dalhousie and the business district had to be rebuilt on several occasions. In September 1869, a fire broke out in the back kitchen attached to Sam Cole's hotel on Front Street. It was believed that burning soot which fell down from the chimney ignited the woodwork causing the fire. Valiant efforts to prevent the flames from spreading to the connecting houses and businesses were futile. Although the village did own a fire engine, it was inoperative at the time.

Within moments Mr. Martindale's dry good store, Mr. Wood's grocery store, McGrath's hotel, Walkerly's and Denton's taylor shop were engulfed in flames. Bewildered, terrified and hysterical, the tenants and residents began heaving crockery, clothing, bureaus, tables, bedsteads, bedding and other possessions from the windows amid the roar and rage of the fire. Frightened and confused horses were reluctantly removed from the Walkerly stables. The tolling of the church bell beckoned crowds of anxious people who watched the conflagration that threatened to destroy the whole block. With the aid of the tug "James Norris", the fire was extinguished at the other end of the blazing block and the block below escaped ruination. Insult was added to injury with discovery that many of the possessions that had been rescued from the fire had been stolen. Restoration was slow as the twenty thousand dollars in losses were only partially covered by insurance.

In August of 1878 another fire struck the Front Street block consuming numerous businesses. Fortunately a Hook and Ladder Company had been formed in the spring of that year, otherwise the business section would have been reduced to ashes.

On December 7, 1884 a fire erupted in the reading room of the Wood House Hotel and soon spread to the adjoining McNulty Hotel. The buildings were quickly evacuated as the flames licked and crackled wildly. A deaf lodger was severely burned and mercifully died the next morning. The Wood House which had welcomed and accommodated a host of travellers, canal employees and mariners was reduced to a pile of burning embers. It was never rebuilt.

Muir Brothers dry dock continued to prosper and the 1881 directory cited it as the most important manufacturing industry. After 1875 Muir Brothers concentrated mainly on the rebuilding and repairing of vessels and business continued to boom. In 1895 the old dry dock, too, was visited by fire and had to be rebuilt.

In 1885 Ed Murphy built his store on the corner of Front and Lock streets where the Wood House previously stood. His partner was Frank Scott and they were kept quite busy servicing the ships in the canal. They stocked groceries, canned goods in glass and tin, fresh produce, dairy products, fancy and staple goods, hardware, smoked meats and marine supplies. While the ships were in the harbour waiting to enter the canal, the provisions were loaded aboard. Often an order would be taken at Lock Three and filled at Lock One.

That same year the Maple Leaf Rubber Company commenced operation in the former Lawrie mill and many people in town found employment. The coal oil lamps were no longer used after 1890 when the Maple Leaf Rubber Company provided the village with its first electric street lights by using the fourteen foot head of water to generate power. It was furnished to the homes for 5 cents per week per bulb. A carbon lamp suspended from poles was supplied at every corner. Children would follow behind the man who changed the carbons, collecting and using them for chalk.

The first water was at the Rubber Factory,they even had flushing toilets. Johnnie Harrigan's Austin House was the next to have water. He had a big windmill over where that parking lot is on the corner. It supplied water, and outside of the rubber factory Johnnie Harrigan had the first sewage in Port Dalhousie in the Austin House. They had sewage of course, because they were handy to the canal. But he had to pump his water out.

On New Year's Day 1898 fire destroyed the rubber factory and a new one with an annex was erected in 1900.

The buildings were joined by a walkway over the road. Boots, rubbers, shoes and boxes for shipping were made in the building which still stands. A track was built and the finished products were wheeled across to the stock room in great iron cars where they were stored and awaited shipment to foreign and domestic markets. It was ideally located to enable the ships to load right at the factory.

The Consolidated Rubber Company took over the factory in 1907 and operated until 1929.

The village prospered during the operation of this industry. Wilf Murphy, who took over the ship chandlery for his father.

Port Dalhousie was in a period of peak growth and reaching maximum development at this time. Business establishments, both grand and small, were thriving and there was an abundance of food, security in employment, and considerable means of entertainment and pleasure that bordered on excess and decadence. The farms were flourishing and fruit, vegetables, fish and grains were plentiful. The suffering, starvation, desperation, degradation and hopelessness which had accompanied early settlement life was virtually non-existent.

Lock Gate on the Third Welland Canal

Canallers waiting to enter Lock One of the Third Canal

Canaller in the Third Canal

Excerpts of this history of Port Dalhousie are from a book on Port Dalhousie by Christine Robertson and Dennis Cushman, copies of which are avaialable through the Port Library on Brock Street