Welland Canal - City of Port Colborne

Ramey’s Bend
At Main Street, the old canal channel curves slowly eastward to a
point where it meets the present-day canal. The location is known as
Ramey’s Bend. After Ramey’s Bend, old and new channels co-exist
to a point where a 1972 diversion allows the Welland Canal to
bypass the City of Welland. Over the years, the construction of new
shipping channels has moved the canal away from the commercial
districts of St. Catharines, Thorold, and Welland. Only Port Colborne’s
Downtown Business District remains bisected by the waterways.
This photo of Ramey’s Bend, circa 1980, shows the current alignment of the
canal and remnants of the old alignment.
Old Robin Hood Flour Mill
The old Robin Hood mill is situated on the west bank of the “old”
Welland Canal. The mill was built in the early 1940s to meet
demand for flour during the Second World War. The large steel
structure to the left of the building was a guide for the 15-storey
ship unloader called the “marine tower” (no longer used), which
rolled back and forth on railway tracks. The elevator itself has a
capacity of 2.25-million bushels of wheat.
Port Colborne remains an active location for grain storage and
milling. Both ends of the canal in Port Colborne are flanked by
grain storage and milling facilities. Port Colborne’s location at the
Lake Erie entrance to the Welland Canal and easy access to rail
transportation has made the grain industry an important local
economic activity.
H.H. Knoll
Lakeview
Park
Robin Hood mill on the weir channel.