The first white men to see the mile-wide rapids of the St. Mary's River were struck with their wild beauty. But the turbulent falls were an almost impassable barrier between Lake Huron and the rich Lake Superior country to the north and west. Indians daringly shot the rapids in their frail birchbark canoes, but this was not possible for bigger, heavy laden craft. Furs and goods could be transported between the upper and lower lake regions only by portaging past the rapids.

In the 1830's, with the invention of the McCormick reaper, the discovery of rich minerals in the upper lake country, and the steady westward expansion of settlers, need for an easy method of transport at Sault Ste. Marie became more urgent. Plans moved slowly, but finally in 1853, The St. Mary's Falls Ship Canal Company was formed to build a canal and locks. Charles T. Harvey of Connecticut was appointed general agent in charge of the work.

Harvey's task was almost impossible, for time was short and difficulties were many. His courage, daring, and ingenuity overcame tremendous obstacles, and on June 18, 1855, the first ship locked through and steamed on to Lake Superior.

Indians, explorers, and black-robed priests; trappers and traders; soldiers, voyageurs, and businessmen are the actors in this rich pageant—the story of Sault Ste. Marie and the canal. The Mighty Soo is a thrilling epic of five hundred years at the rapids, the place which has come to be known as "the Miracle Mile" to the upper lake country and to all America.

From the dust jacket