Architect H. E. Vantelet of Montréal designed the St. Andrews Lock and Dam. He chose the “Camere” style found in France and modified it for the unique circumstances of the Red River. Construction by the firm of Thomas Kelly and Sons began in 1908. The first ship to pass through the locks was the government steamer Victoria on 2 May 1910. The first commercial ship, the Alberta, followed the next day. The official opening took place on 14 July 1910 when the Winnitoba sailed from Winnipeg with Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier and his Public Works Minister William Pugsley, the man credited with getting the often-stalled project completed.
The lock is the only one on the prairies and measures eleven meter deep, 62 meters long and 13.7 meters wide. Each curtain in the dam is made up of 50 Douglas fir laths, each four meters long and two meters wide. The St. Andrews Lock and Dam is a designated National Historic Site and a Canadian Civil Engineering Historic Site (1990). A commemorative monument stands nearby.
St. Andrews Lock and Dam (1923)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, FA23.22 Red River.
St. Andrews Lock and Dam (1930s) by J. Fred Spalding
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2014-0338
St. Andrews Lock and Dam (no date)
Source: Robert Farrell
St. Andrews Lock and Dam, with the Red River Floodway on the right (June 2011)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
St. Andrews Lock (no date)
Source: Christian Cassidy
St. Andrews Lock and Dam (July 2015)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
St. Andrews Lock and Dam (June 2019)
Source: Rose Kuzina
St. Andrews Lock and Dam (June 2019)
Source: George Penner
St. Andrews Lock and Dam commemorative monument (July 2015)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.08420, W96.94120
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Manitoba Business: Kelly Brothers / Manitoba Construction Company / Kelly Brothers and Mitchell / Thomas Kelly and Sons
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Repair Shop and Power House (RM of St. Clements)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Plaques for Persons, Events and Sites of National Historic Significance
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Lockport Provincial Heritage Park / Kenosewun Centre and Museum (Lockport, RM of St. Clements)
St. Andrews Locks by Hartwell Bowsfield
Manitoba Pageant, Volume 11, Number 3, Spring 1966Lockport’s 100th, West End Dumplings.
“St. Andrew's Locks informally opened,” Manitoba Free Press, 3 May 1910, page 22.
We thank Robert Farrell, Christian Cassidy, Tim Worth, Rose Kuzina, and George Penner for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 17 April 2024
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