Historedia
Episode 1 of 1

First Sod Turned

When
1824-11-30
Where
Allanburg
Part of
First sod turned for the Welland Canal

The ceremonial first sod for the First Welland Canal was turned in Allanburg on November 30, 1824, marking the start of construction.

Allanburg, a community in Thorold, hosted the original sod-turning ceremony for the First Welland Canal on November 30, 1824. Construction began on this date and continued until 1829. The canal was built to bypass the unnavigable Niagara Falls, connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

Sources

  1. Allanburg, Ontario Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-27
  2. William Hamilton Merritt Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-29
  3. Welland Canal Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-21

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.