HILDA C96870

HILDA working in Port Stanley, Photo courtesy, Capt G. Oberkirk+

Barge
250ffw
160ft Length
Amherst Island, Lake Ontario.
N 44’08.104 W 76’49.595

HILDA was a steel river barge built in 1898 by the Bertram Engineering Works of Toronto, Canada. It had a gross tonnage of 458.41 tons and a net tonnage of 417.71 tons. The barge measured 160.0 feet in length, 30.0 feet in width, and had a depth of 12.3 feet. It featured a steel hull with a 5-inch wood-sheathed bottom and bilges. Initially valued at $10,000 in 1906-1908, its value increased over the years, reaching $34,000 on the Montreal Transportation Co.’s books in 1921.

Originally built for the Prescott Elevator Co. Ltd., the ownership of HILDA changed hands over the years. By 1904, it was owned by the St. Lawrence Terminal Co. Ltd. and was later acquired by the Montreal Transportation Co. from the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Transportation Co. The barge had its fair share of incidents and challenges. It ran aground with a cargo of grain on Lake Ontario on August 29, 1918, but was successfully released. Another grounding occurred near Galoo Island, southeast of Main Duck Island, near Kingston, Ontario, on September 24, 1919. HILDA was cut loose by the Montreal Transportation Co. tug D.G. THOMSON during a storm. However, it was salvaged. Shortly after, the barge ran aground again near Henderson Harbor, New York, with 35,000 bushels of grain on board, but it was salvaged once more.

In 1921, as part of the final winding up of the Montreal Transportation Co. fleet, ownership of HILDA was transferred to Canada Steamship Lines. It was later sold to R.G. Weddell Constr. of Trenton, Ontario, in 1923. The barge underwent further transformations when it was purchased by Pyke Towing & Salvage of Kingston in 1929. It was rebuilt as a crane barge, featuring a two-deck superstructure aft and a large crane forward. Pyke Towing & Salvage merged into McAllister-Pyke Salvage in 1962. However, due to its poor condition, the HILDA could not be towed to Hamilton and was ultimately scuttled in Lake Ontario off Kingston in October 1969.

Throughout its history, the HILDA changed owners multiple times, serving various purposes from grain transportation to salvage operations. Its final fate came when it was deemed unfit for further use and was intentionally sunk in Lake Ontario.