John R wreck

[Drogo]

I asked this on various Ship Lists and Wreck sites but no one could help me. I research old ships from the Great Lakes. One that stumps me is a wreck my Father always talked about. When he was a child living on Crescent Beach he would row out to the wreck of the John R, as he called it. It had to have been steam and also sitting upright because he said he could stand on the top of the stack. Before he died I asked just about where the wreck was and his answer from about half way between Crescent Beach and where the water and temperature monitoring station is behind Hutch's and about that far out. I don't find any registers for a ship called John R or a reported wreck of the same. Does anyone else remember this ship???

Thanks,
Peggy

 

[scotto]

Well before my time Drogo, did you read the Paul wilson story on Jim Howlett's dive near Lakeland? would that be close?

http://hamiltonbeachcommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1712

 

[Drogo]

Scott
In trying to find the thread about the stations on the Beach I found your reply to this. I can tell you one of them was the John R. My father used to stand on the stack of the ship and the water just came over his feet. I may try making some phone calls.

 

[scotto]

I met with a ship historian yesterday who gave me some info on the Lady Hamilton, he also gave me a couple of his books, the John R does not come up though. I will have to check if he did a one of the area for ship wreaks.

 

[Drogo]

I met with a ship historian yesterday who gave me some info on the Lady Hamilton, he also gave me a couple of his books, the John R does not come up though. I will have to check if he did a one of the area for ship wreaks.

My Dad came to the beach in about 1926. His line is the Corey family. If he called a wreck the John R there really was a wreck by that name. I have tons of information on Great Lakes ship wrecks and Lloyds Insurance for ships on the Great Lakes and John R doesn't come up. If it was a dredging barge or something of little value it didn't have to be insurance under a certain size. The John R was definitely steam powered. The stack was just below the waterline and the ship was upright.. It was off the old Hutch's location and alittle north. Dad used a row boat to get to it because "he didn't swim". Spent all his growing years on the Beach but was afraid of water.

 

[scotto]

My Dad came to the beach in about 1926. His line is the Corey family. If he called a wreck the John R there really was a wreck by that name. I have tons of information on Great Lakes ship wrecks and Lloyds Insurance for ships on the Great Lakes and John R doesn't come up. If it was a dredging barge or something of little value it didn't have to be insurance under a certain size. The John R was definitely steam powered. The stack was just below the waterline and the ship was upright.. It was off the old Hutch's location and alittle north. Dad used a row boat to get to it because "he didn't swim". Spent all his growing years on the Beach but was afraid of water.

But a barge or scow wouldn't have a stack, I believe the was something mentioned about a wreak in the Van Wagner's book. I will have to look that up.

 

[scotto]

I have asked ship historian, Skip Gillham to look into the wreck John R, hopefully he has something in his records.

 

[scotto]

From Skip

The JOHN R. served the Hamilton Ferry Co. on Hamilton Bay from about 1910 to 1918. It may have been reduced to a barge by 1914 and apparently may have been used for the construction of the waterworks intake off Burlington Beach. It was likely discarded after that which is about 1918. I suspect "discarded" means scuttled.
This ship was built at Port Dalhousie in 1873 as ALMA MUNRO for the Elgin Transportation Co. It was rebuilt at Kingston in 1885, became MEBOURNE in 1893, sustained severe faire damage in the Murray Canal, Bay of Quinte on Sept. 19, 1905 and rebuilt again in 1910 for Hamilton service.

 

[Drogo]

Well to know that the story was finally verified by someone else. I was beginning to think I was the only person who even remembered a ship by the name of John R. lies out behind Van Waggoners. Dad said he stood on the stack. It was just about water level. If they scuttled it there they weren't too concerned about damage to the rest of the ships.
Here is the Lloyds Inland list showing the Alma Monroe. She was fairly big and a propellor so there would have been a stack.

Thanks Scott!

 

[scotto]

From the Van Wagner's Book

Marg Dymond Parker has similar recollections:

Lake Ontario was usually cold, although it was also clean and clear. I always tagged along with Brother Jim and his friends and was soon swimming underwater with them. I remember swimming out to the ribs of an old sunken wooden ship with Jim. It was way over our heads and Jim was a good swimmer. I only thought I was, and I almost didn't make it back to shore. The skeleton of the ship was located around DoDo's restaurant.
The sunken ship might have been an old wooden freighter that was used by the City of Hamilton as a work platform.
According to Harry Mercer, when the city decided to close the filtering basin, they installed a long pipe to take water directly from the lake. "The company hired to do the job had an old wooden freighter to use as a work platform. One day at noon hour the boat blew up, no loss of life but several were injured. Even today some sections can be seen in the water."

 

[David O'Reilly]

scotto
11-27-2013, 05:03 PM
Marg Dymond Parker has similar recollections:

Lake Ontario was usually cold, although it was also clean and clear. I always tagged along with Brother Jim and his friends and was soon swimming underwater with them. I remember swimming out to the ribs of an old sunken wooden ship with Jim. It was way over our heads and Jim was a good swimmer. I only thought I was, and I almost didn't make it back to shore. The skeleton of the ship was located around DoDo's restaurant.
The sunken ship might have been an old wooden freighter that was used by the City of Hamilton as a work platform.
According to Harry Mercer, when the city decided to close the filtering basin, they installed a long pipe to take water directly from the lake. "The company hired to do the job had an old wooden freighter to use as a work platform. One day at noon hour the boat blew up, no loss of life but several were injured. Even today some sections can be seen in the water."

This thread has some information about the boats that were used for the water intake work.
http://hamiltonbeachcommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1712