Sunken Villages - The Story of the Lost Villages of the St Lawrence Seaway

July 1, 1958 is remembered as Inundation Day in the region near Cornwall, Ontario and Ogdensburg, New York. At 08:00 a controlled explosion tore open a cofferdam and four days later an area once home to 7,500 people disappeared under the waves of Lake St. Lawrence, part of the newly created St. Lawrence Seaway.



On the Canadian side, twelve communities, some dating back to the 1700s, were gone. Maple Grove, Mille Roches, Moulinette, Sheeks Island, Wales, Dickinson’s Landing, Farran’s Point and Aultsville were entirely destroyed; Iroquis was demolished and moved inland continuing on in name; and, about half of Morrisburg – including its waterfront, business district and main street – were levelled.



In St Lawrence County on the American side, the community of Croil's Island disappeared and, along Highway 37B, Louisville Landing and Richards Landing ceased to exist. Much of Waddington was also dismantled.



On both sides, large rural tracts and property, farms, cottages, and entire islands were flooded. Sacred sites were obliterated and the historic battlefield of Crysler’s farm – where in November 1813 Redcoats, local militia and …. [more]





