A. Weston #
- Propeller
- 164ft 50m length
- 20ft 7m depth
- Sodus Bay, New York
- Lake Ontario
History #
The steamers Conger Coal and Lloyd S. Porter were destroyed by a mysterious fire at Little Sodus Bay near Fair Haven on Lake Ontario on May 11, 1917. The fire also caused significant damage to the Lehigh Valley Railroad trestle. Both vessels were involved in the Lake Ontario coal trade and were awaiting loading when the fire broke out.
The fire was first discovered on the Lloyd S. Porter around 2:30 a.m. Since the two steamers were docked next to each other, the fire quickly spread to the Conger Coal. The tug Seymour and its barges, A.D. Whitbeck and Cataract, were nearby, but they managed to escape the flames. Despite efforts from the Fair Haven Volunteer Fire Department and sailors, they were unable to bring the fire under control.
The Auburn Fire Department, located approximately 30 miles away, loaded their equipment onto railroad flatcars and rushed to the scene. However, by the time they arrived, the vessels were already heavily damaged. The loss of the two steamers amounted to about $75,000, and they could only be salvaged for reusable materials. The trestle also suffered extensive damage, resulting in the suspension of coal shipments for about a week until repairs were made.
During World War I, there were suspicions that incidents like this were part of German plots to hinder or destroy Great Lakes shipping. While no Germans were caught or implicated in these incidents, the rumors persisted, fueled by the increased shipments of soft coal for Canadian munitions plants. One newspaper speculated that officials were investigating and trying to bring the responsible parties to justice, with cooperation from the Canadian government due to the vessels being owned in Canada. Eventually, a Chinese stowaway was charged with setting the fire and deported.
The article also mentions other mysterious accidents to lake shipping during that time, including the sinking of the steamers Saxona and Pentecost Mitchell, the sinking of the steamer Venetian Maid in the Detroit River, an attempt to dynamite the steamer Mackinac, and the destruction of the Kasaga 2nd, Jay Dee 3rd, and Niagara.
The charred hulls of the Conger Coal and Lloyd S. Porter remained at the bottom of Little Sodus Bay near the east pier for nearly 40 years before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers removed them in the fall of 1956. These wrecks were considered a navigation hazard, although Fair Haven had ceased to be a commercial port in the mid-1930s.
The article concludes with the recollections of a local resident, Miss Edna Williams, who vividly remembers the night of the fire in 1917. Her father was one of the firefighters who responded to the incident.
Drone Footage cc Daniel Gildea 2023 #
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