Locking Through: Sailing Canallers and the Evolution of Maritime Industrial Landscapes in the Great Lakes

Summary

The mid to late nineteenth century emergence of purpose-built sailing vessels to ply the Welland Canal was a relatively simple solution to meet the diverse demands of bulk cargo transportation in the Great Lakes. As such, ‘sailing canallers’ were an important economic link between the eastern and western United States, connecting economic and industrial landscapes of the Midwest with eastern markets, and fueling the expansion of major Great Lakes industrial centers. With few drawn plans, and no contemporary examples of sailing canallers afloat, information gathered through historical and archaeological investigations of known canaller wreck sites in the Great Lakes provides the only remaining opportunity to study the design and adaptation of these vessels over time. By examining the catalysts of maritime innovation, and variations in hull design and construction, this paper demonstrates the role sailing canallers played in the development and evolution of maritime industrial commerce throughout the Great Lakes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions) 2018   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 337