Lying east of the Port Dalhousie piers and at the bottom of Lake Street in Lake Ontario lie the remains of three Great Lakes freighters. They lie in shallow water and appear to have been there for close to a hundred years.
Easily seen in aerial drone photos, the wrecks have been of interest to historically minded folk in the Niagara region for years. Some have been unaware of their existence, but more and more folk on Facebook pages are taking an interest in their existence.
Naturally, the first question asked is why they are there. These vessels at the end of their periods of use were brought to Port Dalhousie to be scrapped. Once all the useable material was removed the remaining hulks were towed to this area and sunk. This happened quite a lot through the Great Lakes and many similar wrecks lie under Great Lakes waters after they were scrapped.
I had been aware of these three wrecks and other divers, over the years, had visited them. Although close to shore they are difficult to get to, except by boat. Recently some new aerial drone photos were posted on a local Facebook page that were quite good. This initiated an interest for Kimberly Monk and I to try and pay a visit to assess their condition. Fortunately, NOTL resident Francois Lauzon had brought out his Zodiac from storage and I asked if he might be interested in taking us to the site.
Dr. Monk is a marine archaeologist who has been responsible for some incredible research on sunken sites around the world. Locally, she headed up the recent archaeological investigation of the Shickluna Shipyards along Twelve Mile Creek in St. Catharines. This study produced some amazing results and added greatly to our knowledge of this very important historical site. In June, she helped organize a conference at Brock University, CNRS/NASOH Inland Seas, Rivers and Canals, which was a great success.
With our tanks filled and plans to launch the Zodiac at the St Catharines Fish and Game ramp at Port Dalhousie, we met at 8:30 a.m. one Saturday morning. The day was overcast which proved to be a blessing as it was supposed to be a very hot day. Sitting on a boat in a wet suit can be quite warm so we were thankful.
Another concern, however, was that with no direct sunlight, the wrecks might be in waters too dark for decent photos. Indeed, as we hovered over the site the water looked quite opaque and we couldn’t see much from the boat. The water that the wrecks are in is less than four metres deep so, we thought they should be clearly visible. It wasn’t until I rolled over backwards into the water in scuba gear that I saw that we would not have a problem. Using a GoPro with an attached wide angle lens enabled me to successfully obtain both still photos and video throughout the dive.
We had moored the Zodiac to the green Coast Guard Buoy located at the site, right above the ship wrecks. The first wreck is on an angle to the other two, which lie parallel to each other. We got ourselves orientated and swam the length of the first vessel. The size of the timbers used in its construction were amazing to see and we could see how the bottom of the hull had been constructed with iron spikes.
As we reached what was left of the bow, we could see the next vessel in line. It too was heavily constructed of wood with iron reinforcement plates visible. I photographed areas of the wrecks and also of Kimberly at work, taking measurements and viewing components of the hulls.
The third wreck was, I felt, the most interesting. It showed what appeared to be a different style of construction, what is referred to as a composite hull. This hull was made with iron framing instead of wood, but with wooden planking forming the bottom of the hull and up the sides of the vessels. This style of vessel became quite popular and successful in the late 1800’s with the construction of the Great Lakes bulk freighters. After a good hour long visit to the wrecks, we slowly swam back underwater to the Zodiac. I was able to complete some video of the site during this swim back.
We were certainly fortunate to have been able to visit the sites and gain some information on the vessels. The identity of all three vessels is unclear. Although the composite hull vessel may be that of the Malton, formerly the Peck, which is reported to have been scuttled in the area after being stripped at Port Dalhousie. More research will hopefully result in the correct identification of all three vessels.
Dr. Monk describes the next phase of the archaeological research program as being focused on connecting, documenting, and commemorating the first, second and third canals; especially as we begin celebration the bicentennial anniversary this year. So, the third canallers on Lake Street provide a perfect opportunity to engage the public on the ships that were built to third canal lock dimensions, but also highlight the connection with the Muir Drydock where these ships were broken up.
