Disposition: Abandoned in 1924 at Ogdensburg, NY; sunk and used as portion of dock at Diamond Match (Algonquin) plant. (McCormick, THE WISHBONE FLEET, p. 89)
The bulk freighter known as Avery, Waldo A. was built in Bay City, Michigan in 1884. It was constructed by Wheeler & Crane, under the supervision of master carpenter Frank W. Wheeler. The vessel, measuring 240.1 feet in length, 38 feet in beam, and with a depth of 17.6 feet, was primarily used for the transportation of iron ore and grain. It had a gross tonnage of 1294 and a net tonnage of 1035, with a carrying capacity of 2000 net tons.
Avery, Waldo A. was powered by a screw propulsion system, utilizing a for-and-aft compound engine with two cylinders measuring 26.5 inches and 56 inches in diameter. The engine, manufactured by Detroit Dry Dock Engine Works, Detroit, provided 560 horsepower at 85 revolutions per minute. The vessel was equipped with two 10’6″ x 11′ scotch boilers, weighing 100 pounds each, built by Boiler Works, Detroit in 1884.
Upon its launch on August 27, 1884, the Avery, Waldo A. commenced its operations in the iron ore and grain trade. It was enrolled in Port Huron on September 1, under the ownership of H.A. Hawgood from Bay City and Waldo A. Avery from East Saginaw. However, its early years were not without incident, as it collided with the WALLULA at Church’s Bend on the Sault River on August 6, 1885.
In March 1886, the Avery, Waldo A. towed the barge H.A. HAWGOOD, which was owned by Henry A. Hawgood and Waldo A. Avery. Ownership of the vessel changed hands over the years, with H.A. Hawgood and Waldo A. Avery initially owning it, followed by H.A. Hawgood from East Cleveland, Ohio, and Waldo A. Avery from Bay City, Michigan in March 1889. By June 1891, it was under the ownership of Hawgood & Avery Transit Co. based in Mautua, Ohio.
Tragedy struck the Avery, Waldo A. in December 1893 when it caught fire near McGulpins’s Point, two miles from Mackinaw City. The vessel, carrying a cargo of corn, managed to be refloated in 1894 and was towed to Bay City. In October 1895, it underwent a rebuild by James Davidson in West Bay City, Michigan. The vessel was widened by 18 feet and renamed PHENIX, measuring 240.1 feet in length, 38 feet in beam, and 17.6 feet in depth. Its gross tonnage remained at 1294, with a net tonnage of 1035.
Following the rebuild, the PHENIX was enrolled in Chicago, Illinois, on October 17, 1895, under the ownership of Steamer Phenix Co. It was involved in a collision with the schooner RIVAL on the Detroit River in 1898. Ownership changed again in October 1904, with the vessel being enrolled in Chicago and owned by Phoenix Transportation Co. On December 18, 1906, it ran ashore near Cheboygan, Michigan, resting on the bottom of Tawas Bay in Lake Huron.
In May 1910, the PHENIX was acquired by George B. Hall Coal Co. based in Ogdensburg, New York. The ownership changed once more on May 26, 1910, when it was transferred to the George Hall Coal Company. Subsequently, on April 16, 1913, the vessel came under the ownership of George Hall
Coal Transportation Co. It was eventually renamed LIBERTY on May 21, 1918, under the same ownership.
The final chapter of the Avery, Waldo A./PHENIX/LIBERTY’s history took place on April 11, 1923, when the vessel was dismantled and abandoned, marking the end of its active service.
