History
The schooner barge MELVIN S. BACON was built in Vermilion, Ohio, in 1874. It had a gross tonnage of 614 tons and a net tonnage of 584 tons. The vessel’s home port was Cleveland, Ohio. It measured 182.0 feet in length, 33.5 feet in width, and had a depth of 13.6 feet. The crew consisted of six members.
The MELVIN S. BACON was later sold to Canada around 1919 and was registered under the Official Canada number 140964. It became the property of the Montreal Transportation Company and its home port was changed to Montreal, Quebec. The vessel’s dimensions were recorded as 185.7 feet in length, 33.4 feet in width, and 14.1 feet in depth. The ship had a gross tonnage of 714 tons.
On November 16, 1915, the MELVIN S. BACON was involved in a collision near Grassy Island in the Detroit River. It was rammed and sunk by the steamer Joseph Sellwood. Fortunately, there were no reported casualties. The vessel was carrying no cargo at the time and was subsequently abandoned as a total loss.
The MELVIN S. BACON was later recovered under a U.S. government contract and sold to Canada in 1919. It was dismantled in 1929.
Prior to the collision in 1915, the MELVIN S. BACON had operated on the eastern seaboard for several years. Additionally, it was reported that the ship had suffered another significant incident when it went ashore near Ashland, Wisconsin, on September 24-25, 1905. The vessel was burned and declared a total loss in that incident.
