Numerous attempts were made to build the thin Wisconsin-Fox connection through the marshy land, beginning in 1837 with the formation of the Portage Canal Company.

Digging and hauling by hand through two and a half miles of muddy terrain, the project was quickly abandoned.

The firm completed the repairs of the lock and replaced the 1876 wooden gate under the supervision of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Milwaukee.

During the re-construction process, the Engineers were faced with containing underground springs beneath the lock, which caused considerable delays.

[3] The use of the canal as a major means of commerce lasted only a few decades, though pleasure craft, including steamboats, continued to ply the narrow waterway.