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The Day the Soo Locks Failed — 1909’s Maritime Meltdown at Sault Ste. Marie
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Apr 10, 2025
In June 1909, disaster struck at the Canadian Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie when a massive lock gate failure sent four ships into chaos—two sank, and the Great Lakes shipping system ground to a halt. In this episode, we recount the worst lock accident in Great Lakes history, detailing how it happened, its cascading impact on shipping and industry, and how it forever changed maritime infrastructure. If you've never heard of the "day the locks broke," you're not alone. But this forgotten event still echoes in today’s supply chain concerns. If you want to read the rest of this story check out. Day of the Soo Locks Disaster — 1909’s Maritime Meltdown at Sault Ste. Marie (https://thumbwind.com/2025/03/31/soo-locks-disaster-1909/)
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on June 9th 1909 a disaster unfolded at
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the Canadian Soolocks in Sue St Marie A
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massive lock gate failed under pressure
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Four ships were caught in the rush Two
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sank one was torn open another was swept
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downstream The iron arteries of the
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Great Lakes were cut and Michigan felt
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it first You're listening to End of the
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Road in Michigan where we pull over and
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take a closer look at the historical
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events that shaped this state Sue St
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Marie straddling the border between
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Michigan and Ontario is home to one of
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the busiest freshwater shipping lanes in
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the world In 1909 it was even more
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critical Iron ore coal and grain nearly
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all of it moved by lake freigherss had
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to pass through one narrow gateway
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between Lake Superior and Lake Hiron The
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Soolocks both the US and Canada operated
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adjacent lock systems On the afternoon
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of June 9th a routine lock became a
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full-blown disaster on the Canadian side
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The steamer part of the Canadian Pacific
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Railroad line was being locked down
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alongside the Crescent City a steel
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freighter At the same time the Perry G
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Walker a Gilchrist line vessel was
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coming upstream to enter the lock
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According to reports from the Detroit
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News and the Daily Nugget one of the
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upper gates gave way without warning
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Water from the higher level surged into
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the lock chamber like a tsunami The
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surge hit the Empire City another
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freighter just exiting the lock tearing
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a hole in her bow She managed to avoid
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sinking but the damage was severe The
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Perry G walker was hit by the rush and
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dragged backward through the lower
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entrance She sank near the bottom of the
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canal The Asinaboa was slammed by the
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water but made it to the American side
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where she was tied up and slowly sinking
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The Crescent City which had barely
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entered the lock was ripped sideways
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hold and sank at the center of the river
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Four massive steel gates were torn from
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their hinges and swept downstream The
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canal was in chaos The Daily Nugget
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called it the worst accident ever
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happening at Sue Staint Marie Ships
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floated free or grounded themselves
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Water continued to pour in from the
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higher elevation above the failed gates
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flooding the lock and threatening to
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wash out nearby peers Officials said the
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accident likely began when the Asina
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struck the gate during her entry But the
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precise cause was never publicly
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confirmed The real problem wasn't just
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the collision It was how vulnerable the
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entire lock system was to a single point
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of failure The remaining emergency gates
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weren't built to withstand that volume
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of water The canal couldn't be fully
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shut off Engineers worked around the
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clock even attempting to drop movable
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dams into place above the locks The
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surging waters from Superior continued
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pouring in The maritime backlog spread
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fast More than 200 ships were delayed or
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rerouted within days Entire shipping
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fleets were sidelined At the time the
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American Pock was already handling
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massive freight volumes But with the
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Canadian locks out of commission
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pressure on the US side mounted fast
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Back in Pittsburgh Chicago and Detroit
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mills and factories began to worry Iron
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ore was trapped in the north Coal
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deliveries were missed The Great Lakes
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industrial engine was sputtering But
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what followed may be even more
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remarkable than the failure itself As
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waters from Lake Superior surged through
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the lock crews immediately deployed a
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massive emergency swing dam a structure
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designed to pivot into place and
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partially stem the flow It worked
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Without the swing dam the situation
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could have been far worse The lock
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chamber was cleared of water and by the
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next day repairs were already underway
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Miraculously the Asininoa was back in
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service within 24 hours The Perry G
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Walker was raised and refloated 3 days
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later The Crescent City which had sunk
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in the middle of the canal was also
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raised and repaired within a week Full
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lock operations resumed just 12 days
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after the failure At a time when heavy
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equipment and repair materials moved by
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rail and barge that pace was
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extraordinary Officials understood this
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lock wasn't optional It was the primary
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artery for moving cargo between Lake
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Superior and Hiron Years later as water
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levels in Lake Hiron dropped a large
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steel structure appeared on a sandbar
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near Echo Bay Locals believed it was one
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of the original gates lost during the
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1909 incident but no confirmation ever
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came To this day it remains a maritime
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mystery The damage forced a rethinking
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of how vital these lock systems were to
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North America's economy The 1909 failure
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showed just how fragile it all was That
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realization would shape the next
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generation of infrastructure investments
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By 1914 upgrades were underway to expand
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capacity and reliability on both the
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American and Canadian sides In time the
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US Army Corps of Engineers would
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dominate lock construction building what
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became today's modern PO and MacArthur
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locks In a 2016 Homeland Security study
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a modern-day shutdown of the Soolocks
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was described as a national threat A
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six-month closure could cost over $1.1
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trillion in GDP and halt over 10 million
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jobs across the country And that
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estimate didn't even include foreign
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trade It all comes back to what happened
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that June afternoon in 1909 when four
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ships were caught two sank and the locks
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that moved a continent were brought to a
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halt This has been End of the Road in
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Michigan Thanks for writing along