1865
The PEWABIC, Captain George P. McKay, was downbound on Lake Huron when she was rammed by her sister ship, METEOR. The PEWABIC sank with an estimated loss of 125 lives and a cargo of copper ingots, ore, and hides valued at $500,000.
1868
The package freighter ARIZONA was launched at Cleveland, Ohio, by Quayle & Martin for E.T. & J.C. Evans of Buffalo, New York.
1874
The propeller QUEBEC was launched at the Chisholm & Simpson yard at Chatham, Ontario. She was built for the Beatty Line and designed to run between Sarnia and Duluth.
1902
OMAR D. CONGER (wooden propeller ferry, 92 feet, 200 gross tons, built in 1887 at Port Huron, Michigan) burned at Port Huron, Michigan. The entire upper works burned, and the lower deck was also badly burned. She had previously burned on June 20, 1901, and had been rebuilt over the winter. She was again rebuilt and lasted until 1922.
1906
GOVERNOR SMITH, a wooden package freight carrier, sank in Lake Huron about 8 miles off Pointe aux Barques after a collision with the URANUS. All 20 on board were rescued.
1909
CITY OF GREEN BAY (wooden propeller passenger-package freight, 134 feet, 257 gross tons, built in 1880 at Fort Howard, Wisconsin as the sidewheeler M.C. HAWLEY) caught fire while crossing Saginaw Bay, burned to the waterline, and sank. This wasn’t her first experience with this type of accident; on November 17, 1887, she had burned to a “total loss” in Lake Michigan.
1915
The wooden passenger and freight carrier HENRY PEDWELL burned at Wiarton, ON, but was salvaged and rebuilt at Owen Sound in 1916.
1930
The ANN ARBOR NO. 7 towed the disabled tug FRED C. GREILING from Frankfort, Michigan, to Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.
1960
BELLE ISLE II caught fire and sank after a collision with the HOLMSIDE on Lac-St. Pierre in the St. Lawrence near Trois-Rivières. The ship had originally been the “Castle Class” corvette HMS WOLVESEY CASTLE and later HMCS HUNTSVILLE for the Canadian Navy. It was rebuilt for cargo service as c) WELLINGTON KENT in 1947, becoming d) BELLE ISLE II in 1951. The hull was salvaged and towed up the Seaway to Portsmouth, ON, on November 2, 1960, and broken up at Whitby, ON, during the winter of 1965–1966. HOLMSIDE was later a casualty as b) CABINDA after hitting a jetty while inbound at Casablanca on December 28, 1980, with the loss of nine lives.
1966
JOHN E.F. MISENER went aground on Hard Island in the St. Lawrence and had to be lightered before being released on August 21.
1967
The retired Paterson steamer SASKADOC, which last operated in 1966, was downbound at the Iroquois Lock under tow of GRAEME STEWART and SALVAGE MONARCH en route to the scrapyard. It arrived at Santander, Spain, on September 24, 1967, along with the AUGUSTUS B. WOLVIN, behind the Polish tug JANTAR.
1974
The CARDINAL, a.) WINDSOLITE, was towed to the Strathearne Terminal in Hamilton, Ontario, for scrapping.
1982
The ROBERT S. PIERSON (1) was sold to P&H Shipping Ltd. and renamed e) SPRUCEGLEN.
1988
The Greek-owned, Cypriot-flagged freighter BLUESTONE arrived at Halifax to load flour, but the crew reported “hull cracks,” and the Coast Guard said repairs must be made. The vessel first visited the Great Lakes as a) ASIA SWALLOW in 1980 and returned as b) BLUESTONE for the first time in 1985. The work was carried out. The ship finally cleared September 13 and operated until arriving at Chittagong, Bangladesh, for scrapping as e) VRITA N. on about August 31, 1998.
Contributors & Sources:
Joe Barr, Skip Gillham, David Swayze, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Max Hanley, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
Compiled & Maintained by Roger LeLievre.
