Cruise into Chaffeys Lock

“In Honour of the Irish Workers. This half-acre cemetery became the final resting place for many Irish immigrants who died at Chaffey’s Mills during construction of the Rideau Canal.”

It was used throughout the 19th century as the burial ground for local residents, particularly members of the Simmons and Fleming families.  The first burial was that of Joseph Poole on Sept. 12, 1825. He was the father of Mary Ann Poole who was Samuel Chaffey’s wife. Samuel owned the lot and 4 mills on the waterway that ran out of Indian Lake. There are 79 graves of the Rideau Canal construction workers identified by rows of unmarked stones of those who were buried between 1828 and 1831.

The cemetery is on property owned by the Crown as represented by Parks Canada. The Chaffeys Lock & Area Heritage Society maintains the site along with an Outdoor Chapel and Memory Wall. The Cemetery is protected as part of the Canal, a National Historic Site as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Explore an authentic lockmaster’s house on the Rideau Canal! The Lockmaster’s House Museum is operated by the Chaffey’s Lock and Area Heritage Society in the building that served as home to lockmasters and their families from 1844 until 1967. Fun fact: during its heyday, the house was the social centre of Chaffey's - it had the only phone in the village and even housed the local post office! The Museum opened in 1982, and has featured many different exhibits, telling local stories through research and artifacts. Visitors may also watch short videos highlighting the area’s past and can purchase items from the small gift shop.

Special events include an annual "Craft Market" in late July, as well as community activities.

The Museum is typically open daily, from late June until early September. 

Admission is free and donations are gratefully accepted.

A provincial plaque erected at Chaffeys Locks commemorates Chaffey’s Mills. Samuel Chaffey established an extensive milling complex here on the Cataraqui System in the 1820s and a small settlement known as Chaffey’s Mills flourished briefly. However construction of the Rideau Canal necessitated the flooding of the original mill site.

Plaque Text
Prominent early millers in Eastern Ontario, Benjamin and Samuel Chaffey were born in Somerset, England and came to Upper Canada in 1816. After settling briefly in Perth they moved to Elizabethtown (Brockville) where they operated mercantile and milling ventures. Encouraged by local residents to establish mills along the Rideau River, they chose this location in 1820. Samuel settled here soon after, effecting many improvements to the site. By 1827 an extensive complex including a distillery and grist, saw, carding and fulling mills had been established. A small settlement known as Chaffey's Mills gradually developed. The mills were flooded during the building of the Rideau Canal (1826-32), but shipping and, later, tourism stimulated the continuous growth of the community of Chaffey's Lock.

Located at the entrance to the Chaffeys Lock cemetery, the memory wall was erected by the Chaffey’s Lock and Area Heritage Society to commemorate the founding, building and continuing life of the area. Buried in the cemetery are Samuel Chaffey and his wife Mary Ann as well as 79 labourers, mostly Irish immigrants, who died in the construction of the Rideau Canal. The stones of the memory wall hold plaques inscribed to early families who settled in the area.