The Ghost Canals: St. Catharines’ Secrets Hidden in Plain Sight

An illustration of the towering limestone walls of the Second Welland Canal, hidden within a modern St. Catharines neighborhood.

Seriously? Those mossy ridges in the backyard woods were not just... you know, hills? NOPE! It turns out we are literally living on the edge of a 19th-century canyon! We’re talking about the "Ghost Canals"—the super cool (and slightly spooky) remains of the Second and Third Welland Canals that are hiding right behind vinyl siding and garden sheds all across the city.

And can you believe it was even the site for some international conspiracy?? Yeah. I didn't know that either! I am so excited to peel back the vines with you and look at these "Limestone Titans" that time basically forgot, but the earth definitely didn't! Get ready, because these secrets have been hidden in plain sight for way too long!

The Ghosts of the Canal: Niagara’s Limestone Titans

Behind the vinyl siding of quiet Western Hill and Fitzgerald cul-de-sacs, and the steady hum of the QEW, a limestone empire is quietly surrendering to the forest. These aren't just ruins; they are the architectural echoes of the Second and Third Welland Canals—massive industrial arteries that once pumped the lifeblood of global trade through the heart of the Niagara Peninsula.

Most St. Catharines residents navigate their daily lives within arm's reach of these limestone titans without ever realizing they are standing on the edge of a 19th-century canyon. To the untrained eye, a mossy ridge is just a hill; to those who know where to look, it’s a 6.1-metre (20-foot) lock wall, carved and set by a combination of early steam-powered shovels and the sheer human grit of thousands of laborers nearly two centuries ago.

Reclaimed by creeping vines and the thick morning mist of the Twelve Mile Creek, these "Ghost Canals" now rest in the shadows of backyard swing sets and garden sheds. We’re peeling back the overgrowth to reveal the Secrets Hidden in Plain Sight, tracing the jagged stone path of the canals that time—but not the earth—has forgotten.

By the Numbers: Engineering the Ghost Canals

A rendition of the abandoned 1876 Merritton Railway Tunnel entrance.

To appreciate the staggering scale of the 19th-century ruins hidden in St. Catharines, one must look at the data that defined their construction and operation:

• 99.5 meters (326.5 feet): The total vertical lift required to move ships from Lake Ontario over the Niagara Escarpment to Lake Erie.
• 27 Stone Locks: The number of massive masonry chambers built for the Second Welland Canal.
• 107 Lives: The haunting human cost officially recorded during the construction of the Merritton Tunnel and nearby canal works (though the total across the entire 19th-century system likely had much higher unrecorded tolls).
• 217.3 meters (713 feet): The total length of the abandoned Merritton Railway Tunnel also known as the Blue Ghost Tunnel).
• 180 Years: The age of the surviving stone masonry—massive hand-carved blocks of Queenston limestone.
• 45.7 m x 8.1 m (150 feet x 26.5 feet): The standard dimensions of a Second Canal lock chamber—designed to house the wooden schooners of the 1840s, many of which now serve as overgrown foundations in our local parks.
• 4.3 meters (14 feet): The navigable depth of the Third Welland Canal, a massive engineering leap in 1887 that allowed deep-draft steamships to bypass the falls.

The Hidden Landscape: Modern Markers

• The "Buried" Lock 3: In Jaycee Gardens Park, what appears to be a long, manicured hill is actually the entirely buried structure of Lock 3 from the Third Canal, preserved under layers of earth.
• Neptune’s Staircase: A well-preserved flight of locks (16 through 21) from the Second Canal can still be walked today in Mountain Locks Park, climbing the escarpment step by step.
• Backyard Relics: Fragments of the older stone routes are integrated into private properties, serving as garden walls and property markers in neighborhoods like Western Hill.

The Sabotage of Lock 24: The 1900 Terrorist Plot

On April 21, 1900, the "Ghost Canals" were the site of an international conspiracy. Three Irish-American operatives arrived in Thorold carrying valises filled with dynamite, aiming to blow up Lock 24 of the Third Canal. The resulting explosions were heard for miles, shattering windows as far as Port Dalhousie. While the lock held, the plotters—including the notorious "Dynamite Luke" Dillon—were captured after a massive manhunt and sentenced to life in prison.

The Haunting of the Limestone Titans

• The Screams of 1903: On July 7, 1903, two steam trains collided head-on just feet from the Merritton Tunnel entrance. The wreck was so violent that the boilers exploded, and the cries of the trapped firemen are said by some to still echo from the dark mouth of the tunnel during heavy mists.
• The "Blue" Apparition: The tunnel's nickname comes from more than just the limestone; many visitors peering through the iron-gate entrance claim to see a faint, blueish mist that moves against the wind inside the 217.3-metre (713-foot) chamber.
• The Forgotten Graveyard: Much of the Second and Third Canal masonry was built over or near early pioneer cemeteries. When the waters were diverted, these "resting places" were often disturbed, leading to the local belief that the "Ghost Canals" are literally guarded by those they displaced.
• The "Hog’s Back" Shadow: At Lock 17 of the Second Canal, hikers often report the sensation of being watched from the top of the 6.1-metre (20-foot) walls. It is a place where the history feels heavy, as if the industrial spirit of the 1840s never truly left the canyon.
• Subterranean Silence: Inside the buried sections of the canals, sound travels in ways that defy physics. A whisper at one end of a limestone culvert can often be heard clearly hundreds of feet away, contributing to the "ghostly" reputation of these hidden conduits.

The canal is not merely a channel for water, but a monument to human persistence carved into the very stone of the earth—a majestic of old that still breathes beneath our feet.

Sofistikateit Visual Archive

"Exploring the HISTORIC Third Welland Canal Locks By DRONE" — Field Research Footage

Closing Thoughts: The Silent Watchers

As the sun sets over the Niagara Escarpment, the "Ghost Canals" of St. Catharines do more than just sit as decaying relics. They serve as a permanent, stone-carved memory of the thousands of laborers who struggled in the mud and rock to build a path to the heart of the continent—and a tribute to the 137 men whose lives are officially honored at the Welland Canal Fallen Workers Memorial.

While the modern world pulses with digital life, these 19th-century giants remain hidden in plain sight. They are the hollowed-out skeletons that remind us that beneath our streets, parks, and quiet suburban gardens, a deep history still breathes through the limestone.

The next time you’re walking a trail in Mountain Locks Park or noticing an oddly shaped hill in Jaycee Gardens, take a closer look. You might just be standing on the edge of a limestone secret—a subterranean mirage waiting for the mist to clear.

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Resources:

St. Catharines Museum. Old Welland Canals Field Guide.
Welland Canal Fallen Workers Memorial. The Second Welland Canal.

City of St. Catharines. Welland Canal History.

Haunted Hamilton. The Blue Ghost Tunnel (Merritton Tunnel).

fallenworkers.ca. Welland Canal Fallen Workers Memorial.

Historic Places Canada. Merritton Tunnel (Blue Ghost Tunnel).

City of St. Catharines. Mountain Locks Park.

City of St. Catharines. Jaycee Gardens Park.

PhotogHiking. Exploring the HISTORIC Third Welland Canal Locks By DRONE.