Other Names KINGSTON, BAVARIAN, ALGERIAN

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The steam paddle vessel known as the Kingston had a tumultuous history, experiencing multiple wrecks and surviving devastating fires in 1872 and 1873. In the later years of its career, it was converted into a salvage vessel and renamed the Cornwall. Eventually, in 1930, it was taken out of service and deliberately sunk near one of Kingston’s ship graveyards. The vessel remained submerged until 1989 when diver Rick Neilson discovered it. Today, the once grand Kingston serves as a popular dive site and tourist attraction.

In an incident reported on August 2, 1889, the ALGERIAN, a steamship belonging to the Royal Mail Line, struck a rock near Morrisburg while traveling upbound from Montreal. The vessel, with a weight of 575 tons and a history of 15 years, suffered partial loss and was homeported in Montreal. The damage amounted to $300.

According to the registry books of the Dominion of Canada in 1886, the ALGERIAN was a steam paddle vessel of 914 tons gross and 575 tons registered. It was built in Kingston, Ontario, in 1874 and had Montreal as its homeport. The vessel was owned by The Richelieu & Ontario Navigation Co.

A casualty report from September 8, 1898, indicated that the tug IDA of Quebec collided with the passenger steamer ALGERIAN while towing barges from Lachine to Beauharnois. The collision resulted in the destruction of the tug’s upper works, but the ALGERIAN was undamaged. Thankfully, there were no casualties, and the cause of the incident was attributed to the tug’s signal lights not being lit.

The steam paddle vessel, initially named KINGSTON and built in Montreal in 1855, underwent rebuilding and renaming over the years. It was renamed BAVARIAN after being rebuilt in Montreal in 1872, then ALGERIAN after another reconstruction in Kingston in 1874. Finally, in 1904, it was given the name CORNWALL. Its official Canadian number, as recorded in 1874, was 71609, and its dimensions were listed as 176 x 27 x 10. The vessel was eventually scrapped in 1930.

On August 4, 1897, a collision occurred between two passenger steamers, the AMERICA of the America Line and the ALGERIAN of the Richelieu & Ontario Navigation Company, in the treacherous Lachine Rapids of the St. Lawrence River near Montreal. Despite the panic and chaos that ensued among the crowded passengers, miraculously, no one was injured. The AMERICA suffered damage to its bulwarks and woodwork, while the larger and heavier ALGERIAN escaped with less serious harm. Both steamers managed to reach the end of the rapids and dock safely, allowing passengers to disembark.

In a record from December 31, 1905, the ALGERIAN had undergone another name change, becoming the CORNWALL. It retained the same official Canadian number (71609) and continued to be homeported in Montreal, Quebec.

External Links

• David Swayze Shipwreck File
• Inland Seas
• Dept. of Marine and Fisheries. Annual Report for the Year ending the 30th June, 1872, p. 298-299. Sessional paper No. 8, 1873.
• The Toronto Globe, June 12, p. 1, CO l. 6.
• Dept. of Marine and Fisheries. Annual Report for the Year ending 30th June, 1873. Appendix No. 44. “Report of Investigation into the Causeof the Wreck of the Steamer Bavarian.”
• Ross Robertson, Landmarks of Canada: A Guide to the J. Ross Robertson Historical Collection in the Public Reference Library, Toronto, Canada. Toronto, 1917.
• River Palace  – Rick Neilson+ and Walter Lewis  Durham Press