Winnipege, Manitoba, Canada Book 9 in Colour Photos

Lockport is a small community in Manitoba located twenty-eight kilometers north of the city of Winnipeg. The community is a part of both the Rural Municipalities of St. Andrews (west of the river), and St. Clements (east of the river). Lockport is an ancient settlement, predating European history by thousands of years. It is one of the oldest known settlements in Canada. Flocks of the North American White Pelican are often seen. The Red River Floodway joins the Red River just north of the dam. Architect H. E. Vantelet of Montréal designed the St. Andrews Lock and Dam. He chose the "Camere" style found in France and modified it for the unique circumstances of the Red River. Construction began in 1908. The bridge and locks at Lockport submerged the St. Andrews Rapids (a natural obstruction to the south) in order to make the Red River navigable through to Lake Winnipeg. The first ship to pass through the locks was the government steamer Victoria on May 2, 1910. We enjoyed lunch at the Half Moon Restaurant. South along River Road is St Andrews Church and Rectory. The Church is the oldest operating church in Western Canada. Kennedy House, also located on River Road in the Rural Municipality of St. Andrews, was built in 1866 for Captain William Kennedy using stones quarried from the Red River banks at nearby St. Andrews Rapids. The Gothic Revival style of the Kennedy House is architecturally distinctive, compared to the other old stone houses built in the Red River Settlement, which reflect Georgian influences. By contemporary Eastern Canadian or British standards Kennedy House was simple and unadorned. By Red River Settlement standards, however, it was very fashionable. William Kennedy (1814-1890) was an Arctic explorer, missionary, and a Hudson's Bay Company employee.