Stuart H. Dunn (W.R. Taylor) C 72964

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Name: Stuart H. Dunn
• Type: Schooner / Barge
• Year Built: 1877
• Builder: George Dickson, South Bay, Prince Edward County, Ontario
• Dimensions: 164.8 ft (50.2 m) X 26.8 ft (8.2 m); Depth of hold: 12.7 ft (3.9 m)
• Registered Tonnage: 458 tons
• Location: Near Whitby, Ontario
• Official Number: C.72964
• Original Owners: W. R. Taylor, Dunn and Company, Conger Coal Company
• Number of Masts: Three-masted schooner (original), unrigged (final)

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

• Original Configuration: Three-masted schooner (timber drogher)
• Final Configuration: Unrigged wooden coal barge

Description

The Stuart H. Dunn began her life as one of the largest Canadian lake schooners of the 19th century, purpose-built for the timber trade. She was one of few schooners equipped with two centerboards, facilitating greater control and balance under heavy loads. Her post-rebuild sail plan was elaborate, with 13 sails including gaff topsails, raffees, a square topsail, and four jibs.

The stern displayed the Masonic square-and-compass emblem, a common insignia on Great Lakes craft of the era. Her later conversion to a barge involved complete removal of rigging, bowsprit, and deck gear.

History

• Operated by W. R. Taylor in the timber export trade, especially squared oak between Toledo and Garden Island (Kingston), forming rafts for St. Lawrence transport.
• Likely associated with Dunn and Company by the time of her wreck and salvage.

• After going ashore in 1888, she was salvaged and rebuilt at Port Robinson, and renamed Stuart H. Dunn in honor of the new owners.
• Underwent significant enlargement and re-rigging; continued timber service into the 1890s.

• Purchased by Conger Coal Company of Toronto, operated under Capt. Alex Ure.
• Converted to barge use around 1910, with rig removed and hull repurposed for coal hauling from U.S. Lake Ontario ports to Toronto.
• Towed frequently by the tug Joseph L. Russell (formerly the steamer Lakeside).

Significant Incidents

• July 4, 1920: Stuart H. Dunn foundered at Port Dalhousie piers, declared a constructive total loss, but was salvaged and resumed operations.
• By 1924–1925, she was laid up and deteriorating in Toronto’s east harbor, among derelicts like John Rolph, Rickarton, and the Roller Boat.

Final Disposition

• In 1926, during waterfront redevelopment by the Toronto Harbour Commission, Stuart H. Dunn was towed to a marsh near Whitby, Ontario, then eventually towed out and scuttled in deep Lake Ontario waters.
• The vessel remained listed in shipping registers for years after her disappearance, likely due to unsurrendered documentation.

Current Condition & Accessibility

• Wreck Site: Unknown. Presumed scuttled offshore from Whitby, Ontario.
• No sonar, ROV, or diver survey has located her remains.
• Likely deeply buried or disintegrated; considered archaeologically unconfirmed.

Resources & Links

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The Stuart H. Dunn is emblematic of the lifecycle of 19th-century Great Lakes schooners: built for timber, later repurposed for coal, and finally discarded as obsolete hulls in a changing technological era. Her endurance and adaptability over nearly 50 years of service, transitioning through multiple owners and trades, reflect the broader industrial narrative of Canadian inland maritime commerce.

From a maritime heritage perspective, her story underscores the importance of schooner barges in sustaining pre-steam commerce and the quiet, unsung final chapters many such vessels met—reduced to boneyard hulks or scuttled without fanfare.