A single lock provides 8.9 feet (2.7 m) of lift. This scenic solitude lock is literally at the end of the Road (appropriately named Davis Lock Road). It features one of the best preserved defensible lockmaster houses. These houses were built after the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837/38 when it was realized that the Rideau Lockstation were vulnerable to attack. They never had to serve their defensive purposes, but did serve well for many years as Lockmaster residences. The last lockmaster to use the house as a residence, James Pyne, left the house when he retired in 1959.
The lock is named after Walter Davis Jr. who established a sawmill here in about 1820. He was bought out by Colonel By, allowing the lock to be built on the bank of the rapids that separated Opinicon and Sand Lake, and a canal dam to be built across the rapids. When Walter Davis Jr. was bought out in 1829 he was likely paid in American half dollar silver coins which were being used at the time to pay the workers building the canal. A local story is that Davis buried the coins for safekeeping. He died a year later, in 1830, apparently never revealing the location of his hidden hoard.
For a full history of the Davis Lock see: History of the Davis Lock
|
Photo Gallery 
