The BRANDON was a schooner barge with an official number C 92535. It was launched on June 22, 1887, at the Montreal Transportation Co. yard in Kingston, Ontario. The barge had a gross tonnage of 540.54 tons and a register tonnage of 516.82 tons. It measured 167 feet in length and had a round stern design. The BRANDON was equipped with three masts.
The barge was reported to have a value of $15,000 to $20,000 when it was newly built. However, tragedy struck on October 1, 1888, while the BRANDON was en route to Duluth, Minnesota. It sank in Lake Superior, approximately 600 feet deep, southwest of Isle Royale. The barge was carrying a cargo of 1,100 tons of steel rails, and it was speculated that it may have been overloaded. The BRANDON was in tow of the Montreal Transportation Co. tug WALKER along with the barges REGINA and JENNIE when it broke loose and became “waterlogged.”
Newspaper reports indicated that the barge was not insured, and the value of its cargo was estimated at $10,000. The registry of the BRANDON was closed on October 26, 1888. It is presumed that the barge was named after the grain-shipping center of Brandon, Manitoba.
The information about the BRANDON and its loss is derived from various sources, including the Alpena Public Library Great Lakes Maritime Database, Canadian Heritage Ship Information Database, Marine Museum of the Great Lakes Canadian Ship Registers, British Whig newspaper, and Marine Record.
