The Caledonia Dam, also known as the Grand River Dam, is a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

on the Grand River constructed upstream from the Caledonia Bridge in

Caledonia, Ontario Caledonia is a community located on the Grand River in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada. It had a population of 9,674 as of the 2016 Canadian Census. Caledonia is within Ward 3 of Haldimand County. The Councillor elected for Ward 3 is Dan Lawr ...

, Canada.

History

The first Caledonia Dam was constructed between 1836 and 1842 by the Grand River Navigation Company. The contractor, Ranald McKinnon, is known as Caledonia's founder because of his role in the building of this dam. Known as Dam #4, Caledonia also housed Lock #4 also built by the Navigation Company. The dams located along the Grand River provided boat access from the mouth of the Grand all the way to

Brantford Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County, but is politically separate with ...

, providing an easy route for travelers and scows for shipping. Navigation on the Grand slowed around 1879 and many of the Navigation Company dams fell into disrepair in the years following. The first Caledonia Dam also provided enough run of mill to allow water-powered mills to be constructed along the banks of the Grand in Caledonia. Ranald McKinnon built a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

, saw mill, and woollen (textile) Mill on the North side of the river, and James Little built the Caledonia Mill on the south side. At the start of the 20th century, the ownership of Caledonia's dam was split between the two milling companies at the time: The Caledonia Milling Co. Ltd. who owned the South mill, and The Shirra Milling Co. who owned the north mill. When the dam broke in 1928, The Shirra Milling Co. could not afford their share of repairs and so a deal was worked out with the Caledonia Milling Co. Ltd. Between 1928 and 1930 the original Caledonia dam was gradually replaced with a new concrete dam, built by the Caledonia Milling Co. Ltd. This dam broke in 1979, and was replaced with the current dam in 1980. The new dam was built farther downstream, since it was no longer needed to run mills on the river. Both the remaining Mills had closed in 1964, and the North Mill had burned in 1969. The 1980 dam was built by the

Grand River Conservation Authority The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) is a conservation authority in Ontario, Canada. It operates under the Conservation Authorities Act of Ontario. It is a corporate body, through which municipalities, landowners and other organization ...

, and is still maintained by the GRCA today. When constructed a provision for a boat lock was made so that, if in the future the GRCA wished to make the Grand River navigable once again only a small amount of construction would need to be undertaken on the dam structure. The dam was built with fish ladders to allow fish migration up the river as far as Brantford and a clay blanket to control the water seepage under the dam.

References

{{Reflist Dams in Ontario Buildings and structures in Haldimand County Dams completed in 1980