Good Ships Gone - "IC" Not to Blame: Schooner Days MLXII (1062)

by C. H. J. Snider

"FOR YEARS I have been reading your very interesting stories on vessels of Lake Ontario and other lakes," writes T. H. Jackman, general merchant, Killarney. "In fact I had quite a collection of yours and other stories of ships of days gone by, but lost this when I was purser on the SS Hamonic when it was destroyed by fire at Point Edward.

"Looking back over the years I made out a list of steamers which used to ply on the Georgian Bay. In those days there was what was known as the White Line, owned and operated by the T. Long & Bros. of Collingwood, and the Black Lines owned by the C. T. Stephens of Collingwood. The White Line consisted of steamers ending in IC, and the Black Line in "City" boats. With the coming of the railroads into the North Shore business dropped off and consequently the two companies amalgamated, in the Northern Navigation Co., taking the name from the two former companies, The Great Northern Transit Co., and the North Shore Navigation Co.

"The Northern Navigation Co. was later absorbed by the Canada Steamships Ltd., which at the time took in The Richelieu & Ontario Navigation Co., and other companies operating on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence.

You will notice, as I did, that there is quite a coincidence so many of the old steamers with names ending the same way and lives ending the same way—by fire.

This information is from memory and does not reflect in any way whatsoever on any person, company or corporator and is a matter of history only.

The Great Northern Transit Co. (White Line)—Manitoulin, partially destroyed by fire and rebuilt into Pacific, destroyed by fire; Atlantic, destroyed by fire; Baltic, destroyed by fire; Northern Belle, destroyed by fire; Majestic, amalgamated with North Shore Navigation Co. into Northern Navigation Co.; Germanic, ditto; Brittanic, ditto; Waubic, ditto.

The North Shore Navigation Co. (Black Line)—City of London, destroyed by fire; City of Parry Sound, destroyed by fire; City of Collingwood, destroyed by fire; City of Midland, amalgamated with Great Northern Transit Co.; City of Windsor, amalgamated with Great Northern Transit Co. into Northern Navigation Co.

The Northern Navigation Co. (White & Black Line)—Majestic destroyed by fire; City of Midland, destroyed by fire; City of Windsor, sold and destroyed by fire; Germanic, destroyed by fire; Brittanic, sold and scrapped; Waubic, sold and later destroyed by fire; Huronic, sold to Canada Steamship Lines, burned, repaired, later scrapped; Hamonic, sold to Canada Steamship Lines, destroyed by fire.

The Canada Steamship Lines-— Noronic, destroyed by fire; Cape Eternity, sold (Georgian), taken to China; Cape Trinity, scrapped; Modjeska, sold (Manitoulin), scrapped; Macassa, sold (Manisoo), foundered; Kingston, scrapped; Toronto, scrapped; Rapids Prince, in operation; Rapids King, unknown; Cayuga, laid up; Quebec, destroyed by fire; Taduossac [Tadoussac], in operation; Richelieu, in operation; St. Lawrence, in operation; United Empire and another steamer lost on Lake Superior; Saronic, destroyed by fire; Ionic, destroyed by fire.

"I just thought that this might be interesting to you.

"Best of luck and thanks for the pleasure it has given me to read your very interesting articles."

Thank you, Mr. Jackson. It is a remarkable list. The best of steamers have to go somehow—they can't all be sold to China. On the whole our lake steamers have been fortunate when they burned that there was only the one major disaster, with great loss of life. In the preceding century the record was much worse.

—SCHOONER DAYS.