The DAKOTA was a barge that was in service from 1906 to 1919. It had a gross tonnage of 535.34 tons and a net tonnage of 516.49 tons. The barge measured 170.4 feet between perpendiculars (some sources mention 180 feet overall), and it had a capacity of 38,000 bushels. It was launched at Garden Island, Ontario, by Henry Roney on June 23, 1885. Initially, the DAKOTA had three masts, but later it was equipped with only one mast. It did not have spars and featured a round stern design. The barge was estimated to cost around $20,000.
In 1890, the DAKOTA received a rating of A1, indicating its excellent condition, and it was valued at $15,000. However, its value declined over the years. In 1906, it was valued at $4,000, which further dropped to $3,000 in 1908. The value fluctuated in the following years, with values of $7,000 (1910-1912), $6,500 (1913), $6,000 (1914), $5,500 (1915), $4,500 (1916), $12,000 (1917), $10,300 (1918), and $8,400 (1919, restricted to Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River). In 1914, the barge had an insurance rating of 90, restricted to the St. Lawrence River.
The DAKOTA was initially owned by Kingston and Montreal Forwarding, which chartered it to Hall Corp for the coal traffic between Charlotte (Rochester, New York) and Brockville, Ontario. The barge achieved notable feats during its early voyages, such as carrying the largest cargo of grain (30,000 bushels) to Montreal in June 1886 and transporting 784 tons of coal to Montreal in July of the same year. In June 1887, it transported a cargo of 1,140 tons of coal from Charlotte to Brockville. However, the barge encountered an incident in July 1892 when it went ashore near Oswego, New York, while carrying a load of coal destined for Montreal. It was lightered of 400 tons and subsequently refloated. The DAKOTA underwent repairs and received a new deck in 1893. In 1906, ownership of the barge was transferred to Montreal Transportation Co. when they acquired Kingston & Montreal Forwarding Co.
The DAKOTA underwent a rebuild in 1911 and underwent repairs again in 1915. In 1919, it was sold “as is” to A.A. Larocque as part of a $75,000 package that included nine other barges. From 1921 to 1926, the barge was owned by William Quarrier Stobo of Quebec City, associated with various shipping companies including Canada Import Co., Canada Shipping Co., Webster Shipping Co., and St. Lawrence Stevedoring Co.
The DAKOTA met its end when it was wrecked at Port Albert, Ontario (north of Goderich on Lake Huron) on August 31, 1926. Some sources indicate that it was scrapped in 1927. The barge’s registry was closed on March 1, 1927.
It is unclear whether the barge was named after the American states of North and South Dakota or directly after the Siouxan First Nation, as it was part of a series of Garden Island-built barges with Aboriginal names. Alphonse Arsene Larocque, who acquired the barge in
