As the site of the first lock in North America, Coteau-du-Lac has been a strategic thoroughfare, from the Laurentian Archaic time until the 19th century. Owing to its strategic position on the River, the main route into inland North America, this site has played a major role in the development of river transportation in Canada. At first a portage for nomadic Aboriginal peoples, Coteau-du-Lac later became a genuine bypass for travellers from Great Britain and France. By the late 18th century, a lock canal is constructed on this location. It was the first work of its kind in North America and was to serve as a forerunner of the modern-day St. Lawrence Seaway.

The interpreters will welcome you, and make you discover the history of the canal, built as the last possible means for circumventing the rapids on the St. Lawrence.

308A, ch. du Fleuve, Coteau-du-Lac, QC, CA, J0P 1B0