Opened in 1849, the Saint-Ours canal is part of a network which made navigation possible between the St Laurent river, Richelieu river, Lake Champlain and the Hudson river. In the early 20C, ships carried timber, hay and cereals to the US, and returned with coal, iron, copper and building materials. The current lock dating from 1933 is 103m/338ft long and 14m/46ft wide.