• NDL: An Illustrated History of the Soo Locks

One of North America’s most important engineering marvels resides right here in Michigan: the Soo Locks. The first lock on the St. Marys river opened in 1798, the largest in 1969 and work began last year to build a new lock. The story of this amazing man-made behemoth is constantly evolving. Using hundreds of historic images, some dating from the 1860s, Michelle Briggs, chief park ranger at the Soo Locks, leads an in-depth exploration of the National Historic Landmark facility and the lynchpin of Great Lakes navigation.

Michelle Briggs has been the Chief Park Ranger at the Soo Locks since 2009. Before joining the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers she spent 15 years working in museums throughout the Great Lakes region and earned Bachelors and Masters degrees in history from Western Michigan University focusing on Great Lakes Maritime history and museum studies topics.