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Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ========================================================================= Formatted by U.S. Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== SOURCE: Huron Institute Papers and Records, Vol. I Collingwood, Published by the Institute, 1901 [Page 53] SHIPPING ON THE UPPER LAKE ------ In 1899 the desired change was effected by the North Shore Navigation Company, Limited, purchas- ing the steamers Majestic, Atlantic and other assets of the Great Northern Transit Company, Limited. At this time the name of the company was changed to the Northern Navigation Company of Ontario, Lim- ited, with headquarters at Collingwood. The first directorate of the Northern Navigation Company of Ontatio, Limited, was composed of Messrs. James Scott, J. J. Long, Thomas Long, C. E. Stephens, F. A. Lett, M. Burton, H. E. Smith, C. Cameron, E. B. Osler and W. J. Sheppard. The first officers of the company were: -- President--James Scott, Toronto; Vice-President--J. J. Long, Collingwood; Secretary--Thomas Long, Collingwood; Treasurer--C. E. Stephens, Collingwood; The fleet of the Northern Navigation Company of Ontario, Limited, was then composed of the follow- ing steamers:-- CITY OF COLLINGWOOD, CITY OF MIDLAND, CITY OF TORONTO, CITY OF LONDON, CITY OF PARRY SOUND, MAJESTIC, ATLANTIC. In 1899 the company built at Collingwood the passenger and freight steamer Germanic, purchased the steamer Britannic, formerly "Rocket," placing her in the passenger business, and at the same time disposed of the steamer City of London. In 1900 the company met with a disaster, the steamer City of Parry Sound being burned at Collingwood. At this time the company recognized the im- portance of extending their operations, particularly in the Lake Superior trade, as the two vessels they had been running from Georgian Bay to Port Arthur and Duluth were not well suited to that business. With this object in view negotiations were entered into, whereby control was secured of the Northwest Transportation Company, Limited, of Sarnia, fa- miliarly known as the "Beatty Line," which enjoyed a valuable connection with the Grand Trunk Railway [Page 54] System at that point and a large trade from Wind- sor and Sarnia to the north shore of Lake Superior and Duluth. This line dated from 1870, when it was establish- ed as the Lake Superior Line by Messrs. James H. and Henry Beatty, the former of whom had, as al- ready noticed, been connected with the Great Nor- thern Transit Company in its earlier days. It began with the side-wheeler Manitoba, which it owned, and the propeller Acadia, which it leased. A few years later they had built in Chatham the propellers Ontario and Quebec, which, when they went on, were the largest Canadian boats in the Lake Superior trade, and the Acadia was taken off. The Manitoba, Capt. A. Symes; the Ontario, Capt. Edward Robertson, and the Quebec, Capt. E. An- derson, formed the line for many years. Shortly after the formation of the C.P.R. steam- er lake line Mr. Henry Beatty took the management of that line (1885) and withdrew from the Beatty firm, which was reorganized as the Northwest Trans- portation Company, with Mr. James H. Beatty as president and manager, and Mr. John D. Beatty as secretary and treasurer. The Windsor and Lake Superior Line which oper- ated the steamers Asia and Sovereign, was incorpor- ated with the Sarnia Line, which for a time ran the five boats. The Asia was later leased to the Great Northern Transit Company, and, as stated, lost in 1882. In 1883 the United Empire and afterwards in 1890 the Monarch were built in the Dyble shipyard in Sarnia by Messrs. Dyble and Parry for Mr. J. H. Beatty and put on the line. Of the old boats the Sovereign was sold to Captain Patrick Kerwin of Sarnia, who used her in the pulpwood trade till she finally foundered in Lake Superior. The Ontario was sold to Captain Cornwall of Sombra, who refitted her as a lumber carrier; she went on the rocks in Lake Superior during her first season in the trade and was lost. The Quebec was wrecked in Wilson Channel, near Cockburn Island, and was abandoned to the insurance companies; she was raised by S. A. Murphy of Detroit and at Detroit was rebuilt as an [Page 55] SHIPPING ON THE UPPER LAKES American vessel, named the General Spinner, and was put into the lumber trade. The Manitoba was wrecked in Southampton harbor, and after lying on the bottom for a winter was raised by the insur- ance companies and rebuilt as the Carmona. She was run by the C.P.R. on the Georgian Bay for a few seasons and later on the Lake Huron Shore route by W. J. Brown, who rebuilt and enlarged her and changed her name to Pittsburg. She was burned at her wharf in Windsor. In the early days of the line a voyage to Lake Superior was an event. There was no railway connection on Lake Superior except at Duluth, and the only means of communication with the north shore was by steamer. The principal business of the line aside from the tourist traffic, was the Hudson Bay posts on the shore, and the conveyance of sup- plies to the mining companies, and the towns of Sault Ste. Marie, Port Arthur and Fort William, and to the railway contractors on the Canadian Pa- cific construction and operators on the north shore. The route of the boats in the earlier years of the operation of the line was from Sarnia along the east shore of Lake Huron, touching at Goderich, Kincar- dine and Southampton, with calls at St. Joseph Island, then to Sault Ste. Marie, Port Arthur, Fort William and Duluth; and on the return trip follow- ing the north shore of Lake Superior and calling at the Hudson Bay posts of Red Rock, Pie River and Michipicoten River, the entire trip usually occupying close to two weeks. The completion of the Canadian Pacific along the north shore cut off the trade with the Hudson Bay posts and the increased draft of the larger boats in later days made it impossible to call at the smaller ports along the shore, and thus was evolved the present route of the line from Sarnia direct to Sault Ste. Marie and thence direct to Thun- der Bay and Duluth. At the time the Beatty Line was taken over by the Northern Navigation Company it was composed of the steamers United Empire and Monarch. They were both large and powerful vessels, said to be the strongest and best oak ships ever built in Canada, of 1960 and 2017 gross tons respectively. They were [Page 56] SHIPPING ON THE UPPER LAKES considered monsters at the time of their construc- tion and knowing ones freely expressed the opinion that they were much too large and too expensive to pay. Such was far from the case, however, for not only were they popular from the start as passenger vessels but their, at that time, large carrying ca- pacity made their freight earnings satisfactory in- deed to their owners. With characteristic enterprise and foresight the Northern Navigation Company saw that with the rapidly growing trade and development of the great Northwest more tonnage was needed. Immediate steps were taken and 1901 saw the commencement of the construction of the steel steamship Huronic, 3,300 tons, at the yards of the Collingwood Shipbuilding Company. She was completed and placed in commission in the Sarnia line, now styled the Lake Superior Division, in May, 1902. At that time she was the largest and best equipped passenger and freight steamer ever built in Canada. Possessed of large power she has developed great speed and has been a most successful addition to the fleet, a credit at once to her builders, the company whose colors she carries and to Canada's lake marine. As many of the vessels now owned by the com- pany had been given names ending in "ic," it was decided to make this the characteristic termination of the names of all vessels of the line. Therefore, in rebuilding the United Empire in 1904 she was called the Saronic, after Sarnia, her home port. She still forms part of the Lake Superior Division. The development of the business of the company has not been due to absence of disasters in later years, but in spite of them. In 1903 the Atlantic was burned near Parry Sound, as already stated. Similarly in 1905 the splendid steamer City of Collingwood was lost while lying at her wharf at Collingwood, entailing the unfortunate loss of the lives of four members of the crew and the destruction of the Grand Trunk freight sheds. In December, 1906, while coming down the lake on her last trip the Monarch went on the rocks at Isle Royale in a snowstorm, becoming a total loss. All the passengers and crew, except one deckhand who, numbed by the [Page 57] SHIPPING ON THE UPPER LAKES intense cold lost his hold and was drowned before he could be rescued, succeeded in reaching the shore. Two additions were made to the fleet in 1906 by the purchase of the small wooden steamer City of Windsor for the Georgian Bay trade and the twin screw iron package freighter Cuba, 1526 tons, renam- ed Ionic, for the Lake Superior trade. During the ensuing winter a further acquisition was made by the purchase of the fine steel freighter Tadousac, 2359 tons, renamed Doric. She was a new ship of the latest type and as in the case of the Ionic has proved a valuable increase to the tonnage of the fleet. In September, 1908, an opportunity to sell the side-wheelers Britannic anc City of Toronto to ad- vantage presented itself, which was taken advantage of. Both went to the St. Lawrence River. The management of the Northern Navigation Company during 1899 was carried on by Mr. A. Mis- cambell; in 1900 and 1901 an executive composed of Messrs. J. J. Long C. Cameron, M. Burton and C. E. Stephens were in control, to be followed in 1902 by Mr. William Askin and in 1903 by Mr. C. T. Long. In 1904 the present manager, Mr. H. H. Gil- dersleeve, was appointed. He has associated with him Captain C. H. Nicholson as traffic manager and C. A. Macdonald as comptroller, both experienced and efficient heads of their respective departments. The fleet of the company at present (1909) con- sists of the following steamers:-- Lake Superior Division: Huronic, 3329 tons; Saronic, 1960 tons; Doric, 2359 tons; Ionic, 1526 tons. Georgian Bay Division: Majestic, 1578 tons; Germanic, 1014 tons; City of Midland, 974 tons; City of Windsor, 511 tons. To these, of course, will be added in June the new steamer Hamonic, built at the yards of the Collingwood Shipbuilding Company, when she will be placed on the Lake Superior Division. This steamer is not only the largest, fastest and most perfectly equipped ship of her class ever turned out of a Cana- dian yard, but is unsurpassed by anything of either [Page 58] SHIPPING ON THE UPPER LAKES English or American construction yet introduced in lake service. To replace the steamer City of Toronto on the Penetang-Parry Sound route a new steamer, the Waubic, was built at Collingwood. The fusion of the two companies operating on the Georgian Bay and the absorption of the com- pany at Sarnia formed one of the strongest marine organizations that has yet appeared on the Cana- dian lakes. It includes the varied interests essential to the carrying on of an extensive marine business, such as that enjoyed by the Northern Navigation Company. It is closely allied with the railways, more particularly the Grand Trunk and Grand Trunk Pacific Systems, with which it but recently entered into a new agreement covering the ensuing ten years, whereby it became the lake part of those corpora- tions which ensures for the company's steamers a trade that cannot be diverted to other routes. It has divisional headquarters at Collingwood and Sarnia. The directorate of the company for the year are:-- President--W. J. Sheppard, Waubaushene. Vice-President--H. Y. Telfer, Collingwood. Secretary-Treasurer--C. E. Stephens, Collingwood. Lt.-Col. the Hon. John S. Hendrie, M.V.O., M.L.A., Hamilton; W. E. Davis, Montreal. H. B. Smith, Owen Sound; W. D. Mathews, Toronto; F. A. Lett, Barrie; C. D. Warren, Toronto; While the Northern Navigation Company has been advancing to its present prominent position it has had to contend with active opposition. The Algoma Steamship Company entered the field with the steam- ers Ossifrage, Minnie M. and King Edward, all boats from the United States. All three were operated for several years, but the Ossifrage and Minnie M. have been withdrawn, while the King Edward is operated but a few months each summer. On the Georgian Bay the steamer Jones plied between a few ports until lost, with thirty people, on Nov. 22, 1906, her place [Page 59] SHIPPING ON THE UPPER LAKES being taken the next two seasons by the steamer Tele- gram, the end of which has already been noted. In time came another Meaford enterprise with a small, but new wooden steamer, City of Meaford, and there is also the Soo City, formerly the Mabel Bradshaw, both of which are operated at present. There are a number of other small passenger steamers, Ella Ross, Emma, Edna and John Lee, wholly devoted to the local tourist trade among the islands of the east shore of the Georgian Bay, while in the North Chan- nel is the Winona, and until destroyed by fire in October, 1908, the steamer Iroquois, both wooden steamers. DAVID WILLIAMS. ===========================================================================