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In the mid-1800s, Lake Simcoe was dotted with many impressive
boats which glided across its surface to transport freight and
passengers to the various ports along the lake including
Beaverton's.
These great vessels -- the paddle wheelers -- first began to
appear while sailing boats still rode the waves.
The late Duncan McPherson, a resident of Beaverton, captured the
history of this period in portraits he did of some of the paddle
wheel steamboats. One of these paintings, of the paddle wheeler J.
C. Morrison, now hangs in the home of area residents Russell and
Katherine Morrison. It was built at Bell Ewart in 1855 by Hugh
Chisholm. Today, its remains lie off the south tip Kempenfeldt
Bay, 30-40 feet below the surface.
In August of 1858, while tied up at a dock in the Barrie harbor,
the J. C. Morrison caught on fire. To protect the harbor, the
ship was cut loose and set adrift. It burnt right down to the
water line, as it wafted towards its final resting place. During
that journey, it is believed that many historical items would
have been dropped from the ship to sink to the bottom of the lake.
But because the location of the docks has moved over the past 136
years, nobody is certain of the exact path the J. C. Morrison
followed on its final passage.
Two years ago the ship's remains were discovered. Though the top
has been lost. the bottom is an excellent historical find, say
divers who have been to the site, as mounts, pins, and bolts, are
still intact.
Recently William Black of the Barrie Chapter of Save Ontario
Shipwrecks (S.O.S.) came to Beaverton to shoot some footage of
the J. C. Morrison portrait. The group, whose mandate is to
protect Ontario's shipwrecks by declaring them historically
significant, has been researching this particular wreck for the
past year. It plans to have a plastic plaque made up which will
contain some of the paddle wheeler's history and a photograph of
the ship as it look in this McPherson portrait, and placing it on
the remains so that divers will be able to go down into Lake
Simcoe, find wrecks such as this one, and be able to learn a
little more about them. Mr. Black states that there are as many
as 54 shipwrecks in Lake Simcoe. For example, it is reported that
the remains of the schooner St. George, which, was built in 1851,
lie near Thorah Island. Some of these wrecks are in danger of
being destroyed, though, by threats like zebra mussels and
scavengers, which is why S.O.S. would like to see them protected.
The organization is also compiling information for a book about
the shipwrecks of Lake Simcoe and surrounding area. S.O.S. hopes
that a book like this and the historical plaques on the lake's
shipwrecks will provide a real boost to Simcoe's tourism industry.
"Nothing has been done on these boats. We hope to show that
this area has to offer and the heritage of the boats," he
says.
Mr. Black, himself, admits that he wasn't even aware until
recently that paddle wheelers once traversed the lake. But he
really became interested in the history of these boats when he
began researching this particular wreck. One of the places he's
gone to do that research is the Beaverton Public Library where he's
been assisted by head librarian Brigitta Johnson. He states that
he has been down to the J. C. Morrison site 27 times now.
But putting together the history of the J. C. Morrison has been
slow work, he says. He describes it as putting together a
crossword puzzle where one little piece of information is found
followed by another. For example, little is known about why
Beaverton was one of the boat's ports of call or even where the
original dock was that would have been used. One of the problems
is that this wreck was never actually properly documented.
The group hopes to have the information for this wreck compiled
by May so that a plaque can be made up for it.
Save Ontario Shipwrecks would welcome any input that local
residents could offer on the J. C. Morrison. The group would also
be interested in viewing any old maps, documents, or photographs
from that time period. If you have any information you would like
to share on ships or on the placement of original docks, please
call Mr. Black at 424-0284 or Wayne Elder at 466-2636.
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