Ocean Ships in Wallaceburg, Ontario

[Guest]

I was up there with the Coalfax in 1960 and again with the Joseph Medill Paterson in 1965.

I can remember seeing boats like Franquelin, New York News & Chicago Tribune at the grain elevators in early 70's (??). Also, I have spoken to people who live in Brighton, Ontario & they can remember seeing the Coalfax passing thru Brighton Bay, heading for the Murray Canal to get to Trenton.

One Brighton resident tells a story of watching, from his house window, the Coalfax crossing Brighton Bay in a late night thunder storm.

[Ron Beaupre]

The Manchester Explorer docked at Wallaceburg on August 11, 1952. She loaded 400 tons of canned goods from H. J. Heinz Co. I am sure there were other foreign flag ships that made it to Wallaceburg.

The damage to the bows of the Explorer is due to a collision with George Hindman in Lake St. Louis, near Montreal, in fog, on November 13, 1956. She is approaching the wharf at Ogdensburg when George Deno took this photograph.

[captain]

I was up there with the Coalfax in 1960 and again with the Joseph Medill Paterson in 1965.

[Guest]

An article in the May-June 1977 issue of Telescope magazine mentioned that Norwegian ships would visit Wallaceburg, but provides no names.

The small American Steamship self-unloaders Ben E. Tate and Fontana would make the occasional visit. Ford's canal freighters, Chester and Edgewater would bring in fertilizer from the East coast via the Erie Canal.

[middlerouge]

I can't id any ships from that era, but what I do know is that the MV Wolf River, long in lay-up at the Canadian lakehead, was the last large vessel to visit wallaceburg, in 1985(?), taking out corn. for a vessel of her size, and the narrow turns on the river, she might have required a tug. due to the building of bridges, and the ability to ship everything by land up to sarnia, led to its demise.

however, in recent years, several river sized barges have made their way up to wallaceburg. several brought up by the tug Kewatin, about 10 years ago, and in 2009, a pair of 'russian' barges brought sand in. I think those are the BIG barges, and were mis-identified.

[johnfrombrighton]

I remember my father talking about seeing ocean ships unloading raw sugar at the sugar factory, on the Sydenham River, in Wallaceburg Ontario in the 1930's & 1940's.

Did ocean ships actually go all the way to Wallaceburg?

Does anybody know the names of any of the ships?

Thanks in advance.