James Beard (wesley Hawkins – St. Clair River Ferry Shipwreck (1927)

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Name: James Beard
• Type: Wooden Ferry
• Year Built: 1873
• Builder: Au Sable, Michigan
• Dimensions: Length 72 ft 5 in (22.07 m); Beam 17 ft 2 in (5.23 m); Depth of hold 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
• Registered Tonnage: 86 tons
• Location: St. Clair River

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

The James Beard was a wooden-hulled ferry, originally built as the Wesley Hawkins in 1873. After being rebuilt in 1882, she was renamed and served as a passenger and vehicle ferry across the busy St. Clair River, connecting Port Huron, Michigan, with Sarnia, Ontario.

Ferries like the James Beard were vital to regional transportation during this era, providing essential links between U.S. and Canadian communities before the construction of modern bridges and tunnels. They carried a mix of passengers, horse-drawn wagons, early automobiles, and cargo, playing a key role in cross-border trade and travel.

Description

Constructed in Au Sable, Michigan, the original vessel (Wesley Hawkins) was a modest-sized ferry, reflecting the needs of the growing communities along the Great Lakes and connecting waterways. Measuring 72 feet 5 inches in length, with a 17-foot beam and a 6-foot draft, she was well-suited for navigating the St. Clair River’s strong currents and busy shipping lanes.

In 1882, after nearly a decade of service, she underwent a major rebuild, likely to modernize her structure, improve capacity, or update her propulsion system. Following this reconstruction, she was renamed James Beard, marking the beginning of a 40+ year career as a cross-border ferry.

History

The James Beard operated for over four decades as a ferry between Port Huron, Michigan, and Sarnia, Ontario—a critical transportation route long before the construction of the Blue Water Bridge in 1938. During her service, she would have witnessed significant changes in maritime and transportation history, including:

• The transition from horse-drawn carriages to early automobiles
• Growth in cross-border commerce and passenger traffic
• Increasing competition from rail ferries and eventually automobile bridges

Her role would have been especially important during the late 19th and early 20th centuries when ferries were the only reliable means of crossing between the two cities for both people and goods.

Significant Incidents

By the 1920s, the rise of larger, more modern ferries, combined with the advent of bridge construction projects like the Blue Water Bridge, rendered many older ferries obsolete. In 1927, after over 50 years of service under two names, the James Beard was abandoned.

The term “abandoned” typically indicates that the vessel was decommissioned, stripped of valuable equipment, and left to deteriorate, either afloat or beached. Some ferries from this era were scuttled (intentionally sunk), repurposed as breakwaters, or left in ship graveyards along rivers and lakes.

Final Disposition

Status: Abandoned in 1927

Fate: Unknown—there are no specific records detailing whether she was scrapped, scuttled, or left to deteriorate along the shoreline.

Possible Locations: Port Huron, Sarnia, or nearby areas along the St. Clair River, where many obsolete vessels were disposed of during that period.

Current Condition & Accessibility

Nil – No confirmed discovery of the vessel’s remains has been reported. However, given the busy maritime history of the Port Huron–Sarnia region, local divers and maritime historians may have encountered remnants in ship graveyards along the St. Clair River.

Resources & Links

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The James Beard, originally launched as the Wesley Hawkins in 1873, served as a critical transportation link between Port Huron and Sarnia for over half a century. Her long service life reflects the importance of ferry systems in an era before modern bridges and highways. Though she was abandoned in 1927, her story offers a glimpse into the dynamic maritime history of the Great Lakes region, where vessels like hers quietly shaped the growth of border communities and commerce.