Other Names #
- W.J. CARTER U81112
The W.J. Carter was a steambarge built in 1886 with an official number of 81112. It was constructed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and had a round stern. The vessel was made of wood and had a single deck. The builders of the W.J. Carter were Wolf & Davidson, with W.H. Wolf serving as the master carpenter. The original owners of the steambarge were W.J. Carter and J.R. Cook from Chicago, Illinois.
Powered by a screw propulsion system, the W.J. Carter had a steeple compound engine with two cylinders. The engine, manufactured by Sheriffs Manufacturing Co. in Milwaukee in 1886, had dimensions of 15 + 28 x 26 inches and provided 250 horsepower at 110 revolutions per minute. The steambarge was equipped with a single boiler, measuring 7′ x 13′ with a firebox weight of 95 pounds, manufactured by Johnston Brothers Works in Ferrysburg in 1886.
In terms of dimensions, the W.J. Carter had a length of 122 feet, a beam of 28 feet, and a depth of 9.6 feet. It had a gross tonnage of 235.13 and a net tonnage of 171.54. The steambarge had a capacity of 352,000 board feet of lumber.
On July 28, 1923, the W.J. Carter met its final fate approximately 20 miles south of the Point Petre Lighthouse in Lake Ontario. The vessel encountered a leak and foundered during a gale. At the time of the incident, the steambarge was carrying a cargo of coal and was bound from Oswego, New York, to Cobourg, Ontario. Thankfully, the crew was rescued.
The history of ownership of the W.J. Carter includes several changes over the years. On March 18, 1893, it came under the ownership of J.E. Danaher from Ludington, Michigan. Then, on April 28, 1893, it was owned by Danaher & A.C. Wanvig, still based in Ludington. John W. Greenwood from Buffalo, New York, became the owner on March 7, 1902, followed by the Churchill Lumber Co. from Alpena, Michigan, on April 25, 1907.
On March 5, 1913, the steambarge was owned by Fin & Olsen Freighting Co. from Ogdensburg, New York, and on April 1, 1918, it was transferred to the ownership of the Ogdensburg Steamship Co., with Edward J. Burns as the owner. The W.J. Carter ran aground on Yorkshire Island in Lake Ontario in 1919. It was then owned by the St. Lawrence Coal & Freighting Co. from Ogdensburg on September 8, 1919.
Finally, on April 19, 1920, the steambarge came under the ownership of Robert Hicks Coal & Towing Co. from Cobourg, Ontario. The vessel was re-registered as C141754 and had dimensions of 122 feet in length, 27.8 feet in beam, and 9.6 feet in depth. Its tonnage was recorded as 317 gross tons and 170 net tons.
