View of the lock at the Isthmus looking out into Mud Lake. The blockhouse is visible on the left. The two posts located on either side of the lock at the near end are attached by ropes to a flood safety gate. This gate was designed to automatically pivot upwards in the event of a flood or the failure of the lock gates (which would have drained Upper Rideau Lake into Newboro Lake). It lay flat on the floor of the channel and could also be manually raised into place using the posts and ropes.
About this Painting: This painting one of about 80 known paintings of the Rideau Canal done by Thomas Burrowes. They are held by the Archives of Ontario. The set came from a private collection discovered in an attic in Detroit in 1907 (gifted to the Archives of Ontario by A.H.D. Ross in 1948). The set is incomplete, many paintings are missing. They were painted by Thomas Burrowes who started work as a surveyor on the Rideau Canal in 1826 and became an Overseer of Works. When the canal was completed, he became Clerk of the Works for the southern section of the canal, settling in Kingston Mills and working until his retirement in 1846. His paintings date from 1827 to 1861. |
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