Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name: Maplegorge (formerly Ionia/Fairfax)
- Type: Steel-hulled bulk propeller (steam screw)
- Year Built: 1890
- Builder: Grand Haven Shipbuilding Co., Grand Haven, Michigan
- Dimensions: Length: 210 ft (64 m); Beam; Depth of hold
- Registered Tonnage: Approx. 1,300 gross tons
- Depth at Wreck Site: 21 m / 70 ft
- Location: Amherst Island Graveyard, near Kingston
- Coordinates: Not published (site is mapped in dive guides)
- Official Number: Not confirmed
- Original Owners: Various; Canada Steamship Lines (final owner)
- Number of Masts: N/A (scuttled)
Wreck Location Map
Vessel Type
Steel-hulled bulk propeller (steam screw) vessel, typical of late 19th-century Great Lakes freighters.
Description
This unidentified bulk propeller hull is one of several scuttled ships in the Amherst Island Graveyard. Measuring 210 ft, with steel-hull characteristics consistent with early Great Lakes bulkers, it may be the former Maplegorge, ex-Ionia/Fairfax. The vessel design included a compound steam engine and single screw propulsion, standard for late 19th-century Great Lakes freighters.
History
*Ionia* (1890–1912): Built at Grand Haven, Michigan, the vessel entered service in the ore and coal trades. Early in her career, she was damaged in a collision but repaired and returned to work.
*Fairfax* (1912–1920): Under new ownership, the vessel continued in bulk trades during the peak of Great Lakes industrial demand.
*Maplegorge* (1920–1925): Acquired by Canada Steamship Lines, renamed, and used until her retirement. By the mid-1920s, her design was obsolete compared to newer steel bulkers.
Scuttling (1925): Records suggest the vessel was dismantled and deliberately sunk off Amherst Island as part of a Kingston harbor clean-up program that disposed of retired hulls in designated areas.
Significant Incidents
- No lives lost in the vessel’s scuttling.
- No known memorials specific to the Maplegorge.
- CSL corporate archives may hold crew rosters from her operational years.
Final Disposition
The vessel was stripped and scuttled in 1925. Today, the wreck lies at 70 ft in the Amherst Island Graveyard, amidst other disposed ships. The site is historically significant as a record of early 20th-century ship disposal practices.
Current Condition & Accessibility
The wreck is broken and degraded, with recognizable hull sections. Divers should be aware of entanglement risks due to steel debris and overlapping wreckage.
Resources & Links
[shotline_reference_links slug=”maplegorge-ionia-fairfax-c-111966″ title=”References & Links”]
The Amherst Island Graveyard has long been known to local divers. Individual hull identifications remain speculative, with Maplegorge among the candidates for this wreck.
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