Category: Lake Ontario Wrecks / NOAA Documentation
Tags: NOAA, Hiawatha, St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, Great Lakes Shipwrecks, 3D Model, Tim Caza, Dennis Gerber, Historical Wrecks, Documentation
Story
NOAA has released a new 3D model of the barge Hiawatha — one of the classic St. Lawrence River coal barges lost during the early 20th century.
Built in 1890 by Thomas Brian at the Calvin Company Shipyard on Garden Island, Ontario, Hiawatha measured 170.6 x 30 x 11.9 feet and registered 539.18 gross tons. She was constructed for the Kingston & Montreal Forwarding Company of Kingston, Ontario, serving in the Lake Ontario–to–Montreal forwarding trade under tow of a tugboat.
On September 20, 1917, Hiawatha was under tow of the tug Magnolia from Oswego to Montreal, laden with 925 tons of coal, when she foundered in a storm. Six lives were lost, with Captain Alvine LaLonde being the only survivor.
The wreck was discovered in 2017 by Tim Caza and Dennis Gerber, whose continued work has identified numerous lost vessels in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River system. In August 2024, NOAA divers documented the Hiawatha as part of their ongoing underwater survey program.
Now, NOAA has released a detailed 3D model of the wreck, providing divers, researchers, and historians a new opportunity to explore and interpret this remarkably preserved site without physical disturbance.