Hi John,,

To the best of my knowledge, the 19th-century canals around the rapids in the St. Lawrence River could have been enlarged to allow ocean-going ships; and perhaps several smaller power dams could have been built. I have heard that the gross destruction of the communities along the river was due to the United States wanting to build a bigger dam than one that had recently been built on the Nile River (as I recall), perhaps by Russia (as I recall).

The people who lost their homes and farms through eminent domain received a pittance (so I have been told). Many were given a short time to pack up and leave - one newspaper report tells of a family that just got in their car and left - never looking back.

A few years ago an author in Canada interviewed people who had lived in the "Lost Villages" destroyed by the Seaway. She found many who had never spoken about it in over fifty years, similar to those who were displaced by a war.