Tug RUTH B. and barge VIGILANT at Hadley's coal dock in 1935. The Prairie Siding bridge can be seen at the far left. Credit: Capt. Buck Longhurst Collection.
The remains of an unidentified wooden steamer
were discovered off Salter Street in Chatham during work on a new
revetment wall along the banks of the Thames River in the early
1980's. The derelict hull was removed from the bank and spent
several years in the Maintenance Yard at the C. M. Wilson
Conservation Area, south of the 401 at Chatham.
During the winter of 1988, members of SOS Windsor photographed
and measured the wreck. The project was the group's introduction
to wooden ship construction. With unlimited "bottom time"
and no decompression stops as in diving, the 60' wreck was
studied at length. Then, in February 1988, the remains were towed
onto the ice of a man-made lake in the conservation area. With
spring thaw the hull settled to the bottom, taking several months
to become waterlogged enough to do so.
At the time of her sinking, John Karry, president of the Windsor
chapter, was quoted in the Chatham Daily News as saying "We
intend to dig further into the history of the old ship, but for
now we are thankful its remains are being returned to the cold
waters of the lake at the conservation area where they will be
preserved." The wreck now lies in 38 feet of water, and it
is thought to be the remains of the steam tug RUTH B., which met
her demise in the Thames River in 1937.
This tug was built at Owen Sound, Ontario, by Capt. John Simpson's
Owen Sound Shipbuilding, Dry Dock and Navigation Company. The
Owen Sound Advertiser, of June 14, 1887 reported a new tug being
built for the Spanish River Lumber Company. The same newspaper on
July 21st stated that the new tug was rapidly approaching
completion. Unfortunately, there are no local news accounts of
her launch. The Wiarton Echo, of August 19th reported the name of
the new tug as S. H. Heisordt, however, the new tug was actually
christened P. S. Hiesordt. She was registered at Owen Sound [C.
92286], although her home port was Spanish River, Ontario. She
was 45 gross tons; 31 net tons and measured 66 x 16 x 6.
The Hiesordt originally had a high pressure 30 hp. steam engine
built by Hillon Bros., of Buffalo, N.Y. Particulars of her
original boiler are unknown. She received a new steeple compound
engine in 1900 and her second boiler. Both engine and boiler were
built by the Waterous Engine Works, of Brantford, Ontario in 1900.
The vessel was rebuilt in 1905 by the Doty Engine Works, of
Goderich and another steeple compound engine was installed. Her
second boiler was replaced in 1928 by a Scotch marine boiler,
again built by the Waterous Engine Works in that year.
Her registry papers indicate that Owen Sound merchant William
Rough was her original owner. He was likely a major shareholder
of the Spanish River Lumber Company. She was seldom reported in
the press, however, the Owen Sound Times, of October 9, 1890
reported P. S. Hiesordt Iying at the dry dock waiting to go on
the dock for a new shoe and wheel and general repairs. She
departed for Spanish River the following Wednesday.
From 1896 until 1904 bookkeeper John Andrew, of Spanish River was
her registered owner. Lumberman John K. Cameron, of Spanish River
had her briefly in 1904 and in the fall of that year W. J. Bell,
of Sudbury acquired her. She likely served as a logging tug from
her launch until sold by Bell in December 1920 to Capt. David J.
Burke, in joint ownership with his brother Capt. Edward J. Burke,
both of Midland, Ontario, who bought her for their Burke Salvage
& Towing Co. Ltd., of Midland.
On April 29,1921 the tug had her name officially changed to Ruth
B., no doubt named after Ruth Burke, wife or daughter of one of
the owners. The Burke's also owned the John Simpson-built tugs
Fanny Arnold, and Luckport [built at Chatham in 1872 as R. W.
Standley]. The Burke's were involved in general towing and marine
salvage and construction projects. In December 1927, the Canada
Steamship Lines bulk freighter Kamloops went missing on Lake
Superior with all hands. The following spring, Isle Royale
fisherman located two bodies bearing Kamloopsf lifebelts. In an
effort to locate the body of Capt. William Brian, his brother,
Capt. H. J. Brian, of Kingston chartered Ruth B. which was then
stationed in Port Arthur, to go out to Isle Royale, some forty
miles distant from Port Arthur. Aside from finding his brother's
trunk washed ashore, there was evidence that some of the crew of
31 had made it ashore. A second expedition was made with Ruth B .
in late June 1928, but no bodies were recovered.
Tug RUTH B. and barge VIGILANT at Hadley's coal dock in 1935.
The Prairie Siding bridge can be seen at the far left. Credit:
Capt. Buck Longhurst Collection.
The Burke's sold Ruth B. in the fall of 1932 to lumberman Sherman
Leslie Farley, in joint ownership with Capt. Frederick Roy
Thompson, both of Kincardine, Ontario. These gentlemen later sold
the tug to R. E. Gibson, of Simcoe, but it is not known when.
Ruth B. ended her career towing the coal barge Vigilant, which
had begun life as an armed government fisheries patrol vessel on
Lake Erie in 1904. Converted to a barge in 1935 it too became the
property of R. E. Gibson in 1938.
In September 1935 Vigilant and Ruth B. were bound for Penetang
with a load of coke. They were forced to put into Goderich for
shelter. Vigilant, under the command of Captain Joseph Granville,
lost her rudder and when Ruth B. put about to render assistance,
her rudder was damaged as the craft were buffeted by high winds
and waves. Ruth B. managed to get alongside the barge and the two
were lashed together. Temporary repairs were made to Vigilant's
rudder and the two craft, under the tug's power and the barge's
direction, crept into the safety of the harbor.
In November 1936, Ruth B. was forced to seek sheJter in Erieau
harbor after encountering terrific seas on Lake Erie, while
enroute from Amherstburg to Port Stanley to tie up for the winter.
While entering the Erieau Channel Vigilant had to be cut loose,
as she had became unmanageable. Vigilant eventually grounding in
the channelfi and Capt. Granville and his son Joe were taken off
by the tug. All day thereafter Vigilant kept floating free and
then grounding again. Eventually she was recovered.
Ruth B. was 50 years old when, Sunday, December 5, 1937, when she
sank below the Prairie Siding Bridge on the Thames River, about
four miles downstream from Chatham. The tug, under the command of
Capt. Stanley Grieg, had made the final trip of the season up to
Hadley's coal dock with Vigilant, and had discharged her cargo.
They were headed back to Port Dalhousie to lay up for the winter
when they encountered a frozen stretch of the Thames. In
attempting to break her way out, the ice ripped a hole in her
wooden side, and Ruth B. filled with water faster than her pumps
could take it out. The crew was forced to abandon ship.
Only the top of the mast and the smokestack remained above water
after she settled to the bottom. Ruth B. proved to be a total
loss. Her register was closed on May 18, 1938. She was hauled
close inshore in June 1938 and her machinery was dismantled where
she lay. The engine and boiler and everything else of value was
removed, but the broken hull was abandoned to the mud bank.
Through time, the hull was silted over and forgotten until its
chance discovery in the early 1980's. Then, thanks to the work of
S. O. S. Windsor, this derelict hull became a dive site.
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