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The first lock to be built at Sault Ste. Marie was in 1798 on the Canadian side. This was constructed by the North West Company for the fur trade, and consisted of a short canal, about 1,000 yards long and a lock 38´ x 8´9? with a 9´ rise. There was a towpath above the lock to enable bateaux to be towed past the rapids. The lock was destroyed during hostilities between the US and the British, and was not replaced until the first American lock was built in 1855.

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American traffic past the rapids at the Soo was negligible and as late as 1844 it is reported as being handled by one old gray horse and a cart. However, discovery of rich copper deposits, including native copper boulders, together with iron ore in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, resulted in a rapid growth in traffic. By 1846 the old gray horse had been joined by two double teams, and a further two double teams in 1848. By 1850 a light tram road that could handle 300-400 tons per day was constructed by the Chippewa Portage Company.

Such rapid growth in traffic persuaded Congress, in 1852, to offer 750,000 acres of land in Michigan as payment to anyone who would build a lock to enable ships to bypass the rapids. The locks were to be 350´ x 70´ x 12´ with a total lift of 18´. A syndicate was formed that agreed to build the canal and locks, and on June 1, 1853, Charles T. Harvey, as General Agent of the St. Mary's Falls Ship Canal Company, landed at the Soo with some 400 men to start work. The canal was completed on April 19, 1855, but because of a leak in the north bank of the canal, navigation could not start until June 18th. The first vessels were the "Illinois" upbound and the "Baltimore" downbound for Buffalo. The canal was one mile long, 100´ wide and 12´ deep, with double staircase locks. The work cost about $900,000 - roughly twice the original estimate - but the syndicate realized considerable profits from the land grant.

The canal was transferred to, and administered by, the State of Michigan who charged tolls of 4¢/ton for vessel transit. Records of actual tonnages handled are incomplete until the Corps of Engineers took over administration of the canal in 1881. However, in 1855 there were 4,250 passengers, 1,414 tons of coal, 10,289 barrels of flour and 587 barrels of salt shipped upbound. Downbound traffic was largely copper - 3,196 tons; iron ore - 1,447 tons; 1,040 tons of pig iron and 126,000 board feet of lumber. Shipping register tons was over 100,000.

Traffic grew dramatically, and in 1870 the United States government deepened the canal and built the Weitzel Lock, 515´ x 80´ x 16´ with an 18´ lift. The improvements cost $2.4m and were completed in 1881. The State of Michigan ceded its interest in the canal and locks back to the federal government in the spring of that year. The Weitzel Lock was the first example of a lock where water was let into the chamber through openings in the floor, rather than the gate. This significantly reduced turbulence and lessened ship damage.

In 1870 an episode occurred which strained relations between the US and Canada, when Canada sent supplies on the "Chicora" to support military action against the Riel rebellion in Manitoba. Passage was at first refused, although the ship eventually was permitted to sail west to Port Arthur.

In 1881, the canal was used by 1,706 sailing vessels, 2,117 steamers and handled 1,567,741 tons of freight, half of which was iron ore. Nearly 25,000 passengers also sailed through the canal. This was the first year of toll-free operation and canal traffic continued to grow rapidly. Congestion had become a major problem by 1887, and transit delays of 12-36 hours were common. These delays, together with continuing doubts about Canada's ability to move military personnel and equipment through the American locks following the episode of 1870, prompted the Canadian government to build its own canal and lock. This lock was completed on October 4, 1894, having gone through several design changes, but the final size was 900´ x 60´ x 22´ with a canal nearly four miles long. The lock was designed to handle 2-3 vessels at once. It was not officially opened until September 7th of the following year, when the passenger steamer "Majestic" of the Great Northern Transit Line with 700 passengers board locked upbound.

The US Army Corps of Engineers commenced construction of the Poe Lock in 1886 on the site of the original staircase lock. The 704´ x 100´ x 21´ lock was finished in 1896 and in that year the American locks handled 18,615 transits with over 16m tons of freight, of which half was iron ore. In that year records included 37,000 passenger transit although this was down from the peak year of 1884 when 54,000 passengers were recorded.

By this time the congestion was not in the canal and locks, but in the St. Mary's River and connecting channels. The US Congress passed the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1890 which authorized cutting ship channels to a uniform 300´ x 21´ depth through the connecting waters of all four Lakes.

The contracts for the St. Mary's River, eight in all, were let in December 21, 1892 with a scheduled completion of November 30, 1895. However, work had to be extended by one season due to funding difficulties, but all sections were completed by June 30, 1897. By 1907, 52m tons of cargo were going through the American locks, and in 1914 the Davis Lock was completed at 850´ x 80´ x 23´. In 1919 the Sabin Lock was completed with identical dimensions to the Davis. This is where matters stood until 1943 when the Corps replaced the Weitzel Lock with the 800´ x 80´ x 31´ McArthur Lock. In 1968 the Poe Lock was expanded to 1,200´ x 110´ x 32´, and the Sabin Lock was closed. In 1988 one wall of the Canadian lock shifted, although it did not collapse, and traffic had to be stopped. A steel cage that strengthened the walls, but reduced the effective width, was completed in 1995. The lock is now administered by Parks Canada for use by pleasure craft.

Commercial traffic through the Soo Locks has stabilized at 90-100m tons per annum, and although there have been considerable discussions about twinning the Poe Lock, funds have not been appropriated.