CONESTOGA C140988

• Steamer
• 30ffw
• Cardinal, ON St. Lawrence River
• N44 46 465 W75 23 370

During the heyday of railroad-operated lake package freight lines, the Anchor Line stood out as one of the most renowned. Originating from the enterprises of E.T. and J.C. Evans in Buffalo in the mid-19th century, the Anchor Line operated as a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Its fleet consisted of package freighters, which played a crucial role in transporting goods on the Great Lakes. However, the transportation of passengers by these vessels had largely ceased by the late 19th century, except for one notable exception.

The Anchor Line boats were easily recognized by their distinctive color scheme, featuring green hulls with white upper trim, white cabins, yellow masts, and crimson stacks with a black smoke band. The company’s vessels also sported a red keystone, symbolizing the Pennsylvania Railroad, along with a white anchor on the bow. In the late 1870s, the Anchor Line decided to modernize its fleet, adding several large wooden-hulled package freighters. One of these vessels was the SUSQUEHANNA, built in 1878 by Thomas Quayle in Cleveland. Measuring 252.8 feet in length, she operated under the Anchor Line and later assumed the name CONESTOGA in 1886 when a new steel-hulled vessel named SUSQUEHANNA was constructed.

CONESTOGA continued to serve the Anchor Line well until 1906 when the company initiated a fleet modernization program. The older vessels, including CONESTOGA, were retired, and she was subsequently sold to the Crosby Transportation Company of Milwaukee. Under Crosby’s ownership, CONESTOGA operated primarily on Lake Michigan, carrying passengers and general cargo between Milwaukee, Grand Haven, and Muskegon. In 1918, she was acquired by the Lake Port Shipping Company of Sarnia and operated by Canada Steamship Lines Ltd. (C.S.L.) but remained under Crosby’s ownership.

As part of C.S.L.’s package freight service, CONESTOGA sailed up the lakes from Montreal under the registry C.140998. However, C.S.L. was gradually phasing out its wooden vessels, and CONESTOGA’s time was limited. On May 9, 1922, while downbound in the Galops Lock of the Williamsburg Canal near Cardinal, Ontario, the steamer caught fire. The fire quickly became uncontrollable, and CONESTOGA was flushed out of the lock, grounding on the north shore of the river near Cardinal. The vessel burned to a total loss, with the cause of the fire remaining undetermined. Some speculation suggests it may not have been accidental. Parts of CONESTOGA’s boiler and steeple compound engine still protrude above the St. Lawrence River as a haunting reminder of her fate.