IDENTIFICATION & SITE INFORMATION #
VESSEL TYPE DESCRIPTION #
The EMPRESS was a carvel-built sailing ship constructed primarily of wood, with a single deck and a square stern. It was powered solely by sails and featured one mast, rigged as a sloop, a common configuration for smaller cargo vessels of that time. The ship’s design was straightforward, lacking both a gallery and a figurehead, which indicates its utilitarian purpose in the transportation of goods across the waters of Lake Ontario and possibly other connected waterways.
HISTORY #
The EMPRESS was built and launched in 1876 at Seeley’s Bay, Ontario, by David James Ainslie, a notable shipbuilder of the era. Upon completion, the vessel was registered in Kingston, Ontario, and served as a cargo transporter for various goods. The EMPRESS represents a period in Canadian maritime history where wooden sailing ships were a vital part of commerce, navigating the vast network of rivers and lakes in the region.
Over its years of service, the EMPRESS operated mainly around Kingston, Ontario, carrying goods and possibly passengers across Lake Ontario. Its sloop rigging would have made it relatively nimble and easy to handle for its size, suitable for the variable conditions on the lake.
FINAL DISPOSITION #
The official registration of the EMPRESS was closed on April 4, 1917. This closure was due to the ship sinking and being subsequently abandoned, marking the end of its service. The exact circumstances surrounding the sinking are not detailed in the available records, but like many ships of its era, it likely faced the cumulative wear and tear of years of service, perhaps exacerbated by a severe weather event or structural failure.
RESOURCES & LINKS #
- Maritime History of the Great Lakes
- Kingston Shipwreck Database
- National Archives of Canada (N.A.C.), RG-42, C-2473, VOL. 233 Records
KEYWORDS #
EMPRESS, Sailing Ship, Sloop, Kingston, Seeley’s Bay, Great Lakes, Shipwreck, Maritime History, 19th Century, Wooden Ship
ANALYSIS #
The EMPRESS serves as a representative example of the small to medium-sized cargo vessels that were essential to trade in the Great Lakes region during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its relatively modest size and simple rigging made it an economical choice for shipping goods across the challenging and sometimes treacherous waters of Lake Ontario. The closure of its registration in 1917, due to sinking, underscores the risks faced by these wooden ships as they aged, particularly in an era that saw the transition to steel-hulled steamships. The story of the EMPRESS is a microcosm of the broader maritime history of the Great Lakes, where hundreds of similar vessels met their end, often due to the relentless forces of nature and the limitations of wooden ship construction.
