NICARAGUA C140963

Table of Contents

Propeller
98ffw
241ft Length
Wolfe Island Graveyard
N44 06 966 W76 33 648 (5)

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NICARAGUA, with the official number US130669, has a rich history spanning several decades. Built in 1894 by James Davidson (or F.W. Wheeler, according to some sources) in West Bay City, Michigan, the vessel was originally intended for carrying timber. It had a capacity of 1,300,000 board feet of lumber and measured 248.0 feet (or 249.75 feet, as noted by Bascom and Gillham) in length between perpendiculars. With a tonnage of 1,201.64 gross tons and 911.04 net tons, it featured a single deck with built-up sides and diagonally strapped steel arches.

In 1905, James Davidson sold the NICARAGUA to the Ogdensburg Coal and Towing Company for $29,500. The following year, around 1906, the vessel underwent a significant upgrade as its boiler was replaced with a 13.5-foot by 121-inch, 200psi Scotch boiler. In 1913, the bottom of the barge was caulked to ensure its seaworthiness.

The NICARAGUA encountered various incidents during its active years. In September 1905, it collided with and damaged the Canada Atlantic Railway bridge over the Soulanges Canal in Coteau Landing, Quebec. In May 1914, the barge ran aground at Point Vivian, located between Clayton and Alexandria Bay in New York, while carrying a cargo of coal.

The ownership of the NICARAGUA changed hands over time. In 1917, it was acquired by Oswego Navigation Company, under the ownership of R.M. Wolvin. The vessel was then chartered to the Montreal Transportation Company (also under Wolvin’s control) from 1917 to 1918 for coal transportation. Eventually, in 1919, the Montreal Transportation Company purchased the NICARAGUA as part of a package deal worth $186,000, which also included the MELVIN S. BACON, JEREMIAH GODFREY, and AVON.

The barge faced more challenges in the years to come. On June 8, 1920, it struck the gates of Lock 18 of the Cornwall Canal, and later sank in Kingston’s inner harbor at the LaSalle Causeway. By March 1921, its hull was declared unseaworthy. Ownership of the vessel was transferred to Canada Steamship Lines later that year, and the engine was removed from the NICARAGUA. The engine found a new purpose, powering the Canada Steamship Lines’ barge THUNDER BAY, previously owned by the Montreal Transportation Company.

The registry of the NICARAGUA was closed in 1923, marking the end of its active maritime career. In 1937, the barge was raised and scuttled at the Wolfe Island Graveyard in Lake Ontario