NIAGARA

Site Description

1877 built. Catherines
Sunk: Dece

The Niagara, a steambarge constructed in 1875, was built in St. Catharines, Ontario. It had a composite hull and featured a single stack. The vessel was originally owned by M. Simpson of St. Catharines. With its steam-powered screw propulsion, the Niagara was equipped with a low-pressure engine consisting of a single cylinder, measuring 36 x 30 inches and providing 150 horsepower. The engine was manufactured by Gale & Company in St. Catharines in 1875.

The steambarge had a length of 135.6 feet, a beam of 26.3 feet, and a depth of 12.2 feet. It had a gross tonnage of 347.67 and a net tonnage of 272.57. The Niagara had a carrying capacity of 455 tons.

Tragically, on December 5, 1899, the Niagara met its final fate. While en route from Parry Sound, Ontario, to Buffalo, New York, the vessel encountered a fierce gale east of Long Point in Lake Erie. The ship broke up and foundered, resulting in the loss of approximately 12 or 17 lives. The Niagara was carrying a cargo of 3.4 million shingles and/or pig iron at the time of its demise.

Throughout its history, the Niagara had various noteworthy incidents. It was launched on July 31, 1875, and enrolled in St. Catharines on October 28 of the same year. Ownership of the steambarge changed hands over the years, with Robert Fowles and others owning it in 1878, followed by James Matthews of Toronto, Ontario, in June 1878.

In 1881, the Niagara ran ashore at Point Sanilac in Lake Huron but was successfully released with the assistance of the tug Masters. The vessel operated on the Quebec-Detroit route in 1882 and encountered an accident in July of that year when two crew members were seriously injured while hoisting timbers out of a barge in Detroit.

The steambarge underwent a significant overhaul and enlargement in Detroit on September 1, 1882. After the rebuild, it had dimensions of 172 x 26 x 12 feet and a gross tonnage of 468. It was also equipped with three spars.

Over the years, the Niagara was involved in several collisions and incidents. In 1887, it was struck by lightning near Alpena in Lake Huron. It also towed the barge Emerald in the grain trade between Duluth, Minnesota, and Kingston, Ontario, in July of that year. In 1889, a collision occurred between the Niagara and the tug F. A. Crandall in Buffalo. The steambarge made at least one trip to Cuba in 1890 and was involved in collisions with the tug Schriver in June and the vessel Northern Queen in July, both in Buffalo. In 1892, it towed the vessels McDonald and Albatross and was involved in a collision with the steam yacht Ismalia in Buffalo on July 7.

In September 1898, the Niagara towed the vessels Milwaukee, Active, and Right. On October 30, 1899, it participated in towing the wreck of the steamer Sir S.L. Tilley to the Welland Canal. However, its own fate was sealed just a few days later when it foundered in Lake Erie on December 5, 1899.