NOAA’s Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary

Full Article posted on Facebook – February 5  · 

Hello! Welcome back to another edition of #WreckWednesday! Today we are featuring the canal schooner WALTER B. ALLEN!

WALTER B. ALLEN was built in 1866 by shipwright, H.C. Pierson in Ogdensburg, New York. WALTER B. ALLEN was built as an “extreme” sailing canaller, constructed to fit within the tight confines of the 2nd generation Welland Canal locks. These “extreme” sailing canallers had very specific dimensions that were only slightly smaller than the size of the locks at this time. Additionally, these vessels were built with a flat bottom, a sharp turn of the bilge, and a plumb bow. WALTER B. ALLEN had many other unique canaller features as well, like folding davits and catheads, and a bowsprit that could be raised and lowered to traverse the canal locks.

H.C. Pierson actually built two sailing canallers which now lie on the bottom of the Great Lakes: WALTER B. ALLEN (1866) and E.B. ALLEN (1864). E.B. ALLEN has many of the same unique features as WALTER B. ALLEN, though the vessel was slightly shorter and less boxy, demonstrating the difference between the earlier “moderate” canaller and the later “extreme” canaller designs. Today, E.B. ALLEN lies within the NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.