Today in 1824 George Keefer, the president of the Welland Canal Company, made a ceremonial first turning of the sod to signal the start of the building of the first Welland Canal which would bypass Niagara Falls and provide a waterway between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
Five years to the day, November 30, 1829, the canal opened for business with two lake schooners, the Annie and Jane of York, and the R.H. Boughton of Youngston, New York made the first 2 day trip through the 40 locks to Lake Erie.
Three more Welland Canals were built as construction materials and technology improved through the years. The fourth Welland Canal was completed in 1932.
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