Twenty metres north of Lakeport Road, on the west side of the Port Dalhousie Harbour Walkway, is a small restored building that looks a bit like an oversized garden shed. Despite its unassuming appearance, it is a legitimate and important piece of Greenbelt canals history. It is the last remaining Lock Tender’s Shanty from the days of the Third Welland Canal, and it was built in  1887. The little building was used as a shelter for Canal employees who operated the lock, collected the usage fees, recorded the number and type of vessels, and oversaw the passage of ship traffic in and out of the Welland Canal.

The Shanty was in poor condition in the late 1980s. In 1989, a group of students from Lakeport Secondary School repaired and restored the original heritage building, but it was soon vandalized again because of its out-of-the-way location. In the late 1990s, the Port Dalhousie Harbour Walkway was established next to the Shanty, making the boarded-up structure more accessible and visible to passers-by.

In 1999, the building was restored once again, and a proposal was advanced to move the historic building to a more central location for use as an information kiosk. The initiative was criticized in the press as being disrespectful to the history and heritage of the Welland Canals. St. Catharines City Council rejected the request in March of 1999, and the Shanty has remained in its original location ever since.

Click to play or download Lock Tender's Shanty TripClip (mp3 format)

This destination is also part of the TripClip tour 'Touring the Twelve.'