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Prepared for: SOS-Ottawa Chapter
Prepared by: Trista Lauzon Date: October 13, 2009
Special thanks to Luc Lafontaine (Save Ontario Shipwrecks, Ottawa Chapter Chair) and Brian Prince (President of Save Ontario Shipwrecks.) for their contributions, without their support the Weehawk project would not be possible.
The wreck of the WeehawkFrom the shore an onlooker can see the exposed, rusty skeleton of a sunken ship, jutting out from the Gallop Canal at the entrance of what was referred to as Lock 28. Lock 28, now buried, is located at the end of Gallop Canal road in the township of Edwardsburg/Cardinal, Ontario. All that remains of this ship is half of the hull, mostly composed of wood and iron, tipped over on its side. This well known and popular dive site is visited by scuba divers who often choose to drift with the current via Lock 27 to a secondary dive site known as the Conestoga about 500 meters east down river. What kind of ship was it? How did it get there in the first place? This is the story of the wreck of the Weehawk.
The cool temperatures of the St. Lawrence River protect the deterioration of many wrecks such as the Weehawk below its waters. With the arrival of zebra mussels the water has become clearer allowing many hidden treasures such as the Weehawk to be discovered by divers and locals alike. To preserve the integrity and historic value of these wrecks, volunteer organizations such as Save Ontario Shipwrecks (also known as S.O.S.) work to raise awareness of low impact diving, by educating the public via historic land plaques, surveys, and publications on how to protect these underwater museums. S.O.S is a Provincial Heritage Organization originating in Ontario dedicated to the study, preservation, and promotion of an appreciation of Ontario's marine heritage. The Weehawk's story begins in 1926 when Electric Ferries Incorporated had naval architect Eads Johnson design an innovative diesel electric automobile ferry. The Electric Ferries Company was a brand new enterprise with routes in Hudson County, New Jersey, real-estate interests as well as a stake in the Erie Rail Road. Its link with Erie R.R. would facilitate providing facilities for landing on both sides of the Hudson as well as being only a mile away from the Erie R.R. Freight yards.
Built by the American Boveri Electric Company of Camden New Jersey, using identical specifications the original Eads 1926 design, six sister vessels were the first of their kind to operate in the waters of the port of New York. All six sister ships were commissioned specifically for the Electric Ferries company and included the Governor Moore, Charles W. Culkin, Grenvile Kane, Frederick Pierce, Frank E. Gannet and lastly the W.A. Baldwin which later in 1931 would be renamed the Weehawk. She was launched on December 12th 1926 at Camden, New Jersey and sailed on her maiden voyage to her new owners at Weehawken, New Jersey. On Monday, November 9 1926, Electric Ferries opened for business. The Weehawk and her five sister ships crossed the Hudson River from the foot of Manhattan's West 23 Street to Baldwin Avenue in Weehawken, just less that a mile from the New York Central Railroads Weehawken Depot. The ferry route would be closely tied to the development of the railway as people and goods could transfer from one to the other without any service interruption. With great fanfare a few of the vessels were showcased on the Hudson with widespread newspaper coverage. On November 9, 1926 the Governor Moore, the first electric ferry boat ever seen on the Hudson, began service between Twenty-third Street Manhattan and Weehawken N. Jersey. Its diesel oil engines generated the electric power needed for the ferry to run.
The original Manhattan's West 23 Street- Baldwin Avenue route came to an end in July 31, 1943 as the Port of New York Authority opened newly built first tube of the Lincoln Tunnel. The new tunnel along with wartime gasoline rationing cut into private automobile usage and this negatively effected businesses. Luckily on August 1, 1943 the Electric Ferries was able to move its diesel powered fleet north to take over the West 125 Street-Edgewater route as another ferry company, the Riverside and Fort Lee Ferry Company, could no longer economically run the route. The 1926 built ferries were outfitted with top-deck enclosed passenger cabins to adapt to routes where foot traffic was important, allowing Electric ferries to keep the service going. These ferries would have heavy pedestrian traffic to rely upon as well as steady vehicle traffic to war plants in New Jersey. After the war, the importance of the ferry service declined as well as the need for commuters to link up to trains. Between the years of 1947 to 1958 the Weehawk was owned and operated by the Westchester Ferry Corporation. Its new route was known as the Yonkers-Alpine Service was shared with another ferry, the John J. Walsh. The Walsh was commissioned by the Westchester Ferry Corporation and designed by Eads Johnson in 1936. Built by United Shipyards of Brooklyn, New York, the Walsh began its service in 1938. From 1947 on the two ferries would be forever linked to each other. Both designed the by Eads Johnson, both very close in dimensions, but build almost 10 years apart.
Due to the construction of a more efficient method of travel, the new George Washington Bridge and the Tappan Zee Bridge of the State Thruway, the Westchester Ferry company all but abandoned its operation. The bridge could handle six lanes of traffic and move vehicles more quickly across the span of the Hudson River as compared to the antiquated ferry route. In December of 1955 the cities and people affected by the new bridge came out to celebrate the change, and bid farewell to the obsolete ferries. In the towns of Tarrytown and Nyacks, it was a holiday as school bands played and hundreds of youngsters and adults leaning from overpasses or ambling about the plazas viewed the procession at a cavalcade of vehicles worked its way over the brand new bridge on a six lane highway. Underneath the new Bridge observers ... dodged past the cavalcade to view a destroyer escort, the U.S.S. Rizzi and the Weehawk, a ferryboat of the Yonkers-Alpine line, which were a part of the celebrations staged at Tarrytown. The ferry, the existence of which is threatened by the new bridge that splits the thirty- three mile gap between the George Washington and Bear Mountain Bridges, carried a big sight saying “Best Wishes — Yonkers Ferry.” i At the end of December 1956 the Yonkers-Alpine ferry route was discontinued. The last ferry of the Yonkers-Alpine crossed the Hudson on December 26th, 1956. In May 25 1957 the New York Times reported that the possibility of a ferry to replace the Alpine-Yonkers ferry had faded. No bids had been received to run the route despite two advertisements placed by the New Jersey Palisades Park Commission. In the next chapter of their lives, the Walsh and the Weehawk would be involved in the development of the St. Lawrence Seaway which had been debated between Canada and the US since the turn of the century. Over a period of fifty years the issue would be a sore spot in political negotiations between the two nations. On January 11, 1909 the US and Canada established an International Joint Commission to study the development of the Seaway for hydro-electric power. Even in the early 1930's the debate continued: On July 18, 1932 the U. S. and Canada signed the treaty calling for a 27-foot channel for navigation with two dams for power. However the U. S. Senate on Mar. 14, 1934 voted 46 to 42 in favour of the treaty, which fell below the two-thirds majority required for ratification ii... The Great Depression hit both nations and any further development in the Seaway project was stalled. The forties saw the onset of power outages throughout New York State and Ontario-leading to concern of national security during the onset of World War II. As early as February 2nd 1941 the Ogdensburg Advance News featured a headline announcing Giant Power-Seaway Project needed for Defence... Construction of Project Seen as Important move against all aggressors.” The immense power generated by the project would give added power to the ever increasing demands of the defence industry: With aircraft the most prominent element in the defence picture today, it is pointed out by sponsors of the power-seaway project that the electrical energy generated at the St. Lawrence River can be made to turn the wheels in aircraft factories in New York State, New Jersey, Connecticut and other states where new construction is actually under way in the aircraft field. iii President Roosevelt continuously approached congress to approve the Project throughout the 1940's but faced opposition as many congressmen feared that a project of large magnitude would draw away workers and materials needed for the war effort. As for Canadian support, Prime Minister Mackenzie King decided not to pursue parliament until Roosevelt gained approval of Congresses. On May 13th 1954 President Eisenhower signed the Wiley-Dondero legislation authorizing American owned St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation to work with the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Authority to construct, operate, maintain and develop the St. Lawrence Seaway. The passage of the 1951 and 1954 American Seaway bills led to the construction of the largest hydroelectric dam in North America and a waterway only comparable to the Panama Canal. Both the province of Ontario and New York State would jointly share the cost and labour in the International Rapids Section of the Seaway. On February 28th 1957, a key player in the American decision to go forward with the project, Lionel Chevrier, President of the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Authority, in speaking with residents of Watertown best outlined the greatest benefits of the Seaway. Firstly the project would harness 2,220,000 horsepower of hydro-electric power —thereby providing energy to the rapidly expanding population of New York State and Ontario. Secondly the removal of a 14 foot draft bottleneck in the St. Lawrence would provide a deep waterway 2000 miles long. This would change the social and economic picture for both countries. Thirdly the massively rich iron ore deposits discovered in Quebec and Labrador could be delivered more quickly and increasing volume to steel mills on the shores of Lake Erie. The war had almost depleted these sources to build military equipment and the onset of the cold war and the Korean War, increased the demand as both nations looked to stockpile defence paraphernalia to prove military prowess. According to the New York Times of January 16 1949, Steel was at its highest demand: ...never before in history has so much steel been needed for so many purposes at one time: steel for national defence, steel for aid to Europe and public housing, steel for new automobiles, factories, freight cars.. iv Chevrier's last point being that the Seaway would expand overseas traffic, increasing the flow of imports and exports resulting in economic prosperity.
The south span of the Roosevelt Bridge, which connects the south shore of Cornwall Island, Canada, with the U.S. south shore of the St. Lawrence River, must be removed and a new bridge built east-west across Polly's Gut between the west end of Cornwall Island and the U.S. shore, in order that ships may be able to use the new 27 foot deep waterway now under construction.The railway line and roadway on Cornwall Island between the north and south spans of the bridge must of course also be relocated. v In February 1957 it became apparent that the south span of the Roosevelt Bridge which connected the U.S.A to Cornwall Island had to be destroyed as it was too low to allow for the passage of Seaway Freighters. In December 1956 the Walsh and the Weehawk, owned by two brothers — the Schwartzstiens of the Westchester Ferry Corporation were sold to the St. Lawrence Seaway Corporation for use between Rooseveltown and Cornwall Island Ontario while the Roosevelt bridge was being replaced. The Walsh was permanently tied up in a dock in the yard of the New York Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers depot at Caver's Point in New Jersey and was purchased for $160,000 plus spare parts worth $13,000. The Walsh was towed to Cornwall over the summer of 1957 through the Erie Barge Canal to Oswego and then to the St. Lawrence. To fit through the Erie Barge Canal the Walsh needed to be trimmed down- 4 feet from the overhanging deck, and the pilot houses had to be removed. The U.S. built a landing facility on the American side of the St. Lawrence Seaway River at Racket Point, while Canada furnished a landing and other facilities on Cornwall Island and operated the ferry jointly with the Seaway Corporation. The goal of the purchase according to the Massena Observer of Aug.8 1957 was to use the ferry service until the traffic would be able to use the new high level bridge across the Seaway channel which was being built to replace the Roosevelt Bridge. In its South Cornwall Channel operations the Walsh was expected to take 15 minutes per trip-including about 9 minutes of running time over the course of 4000 feet between the two shores and six minutes to load and unload at the landing ramps. In June of 1958 it became evident that the Walsh was overburdened by the unexpected increase in border traffic. To resolve the issue, Lewis G. Castle, administrator for the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation announced that the ferry boat Weehawk had been purchased from the Westchester Ferry Corporation of Yonkers, New York. The Walsh's sister ship from the defunct Yonkers-Alpine line, was moved to Cornwall via the Atlantic Ocean and the St. Lawrence River. On July 18th, 1958 at 11AM the Weehawk was put into operation much to the relief of harried motorists in the Massena and Cornwall area. Completion of the South Channel Bridge was scheduled for November of 1958. By December 1, 1958, the South Channel of the new high level span opened to traffic. In total the two ferries had transported over 850,000 passengers over the Seaway from April 2 to December 1, 1958. After 1958 the history of the Weehawk becomes somewhat vague as ownership had been difficult to ascertain. The St. Lawrence Seaway Corporation spent over two years trying to sell the ferries using national wide advertising and bid solicitation. On Thursday July 26, 1960 Mr. M.W. Oettershagen ,Administrator of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, announced that the two ferries would be sold under sealed bids for operation or scrapping. According to the Massena Observer of that day: The ferry boats are the “John J. Walsh” (Official No. 236932), gross tons 370, net. Tons 252, dimensions 146.6x38x14.4, built 1937 Brooklyn, N.Y., Engine “diesel” H.P. 650 approximate capacity, 36 cars, 205 passengers; and the ferryboat “Weehawk” (Official No. 226166), gross tons 405, net tons 268, dimensions 145.6x37.1x12.7, built 1926, Camden N.J., H.P. 700, approximate capacity 36 cars, 500 passengers. vi The winning bid went to James Zigman of Ogdensburg, New York. He paid $3,150.00 for each of the ferries and intended to use them for scrap. Between September and October of 1960, the ferries changed hands again, this time into Canadian Ownership. A Canadian junk dealer had obtained a waiver to buy the ferries from the Seaway Development Corporation, as the Zigman deal had fallen through. On Sunday October 16th 1960 the Ogdensburg Advance News reported that Captain William Golden of the Licensed Tugmen and Pilots Protective Association charged the St. Lawrence Development Corporation with allowing “a motorboat”, to move the bulky 1000 ton John J. Walsh from Massena to Ogdensburg. The tow was manned by three men and the 140 horsepower motorboat had insufficient power to tow the ferry across the Gallop channel. None of the three men were licensed for towing large ships, and the operator of the motorboat, Jennie M. was only a labourer. A Canadian tug, the Whalen, was called to assist the tow and brought the Walsh into Ogdensburg by noon. Golden pointed out that the Canadian junk dealer had been advised by several experts not to attempt such a ‘hair brained stunt’ as this tow. vii In 1961 both ferries were moved to Lock 27 near Cardinal Ontario by a local welder, Percy Larose who operated a local scrap yard. The man who operated the scrap yard at Lock 27 was Percy Larose. He bought the two ferries and began the scrapping of them at the old Cardinal Lock, beginning with the Walsh. However, shortly afterwards he was involved in a severe car accident that took the life of his wife and he was severely injured. He never could recover sufficiently to return to work. Therefore the two ferries were abandoned to gradually sink to the bottom. viii Larose took the ships apart piece by piece and sold the scrap metal to Zigman Metals of Brockville Ontario. With the work never being fully completed, the ships finally sunk to the bottom of the canal.
Between October 10th and November 21st 1989, the wreckage of the John J. Walsh was removed from the North Side of the locks. The wreck in the locks was removed by John Bishop, Thousand Islands Marine. The work was begun on Oct. 10th 1989 and completed Nov. 21st at a cost of $86,700. Prior to removal it was measured to be approx. 140' long with a 32' beam. According to our files, Zigman Metals of Brockville acquired the salvage rights from, presumably, the original owners. Zigman Metals transferred it's interest to Andre Brier Scrap of Lachine PQ who subsequently transferred it's interest to Delepka Equipment of Ottawa. In the end, the Crown paid for the work. ix Prior to the commencement of the work the Canadian Coast Guard took an Arial photograph clearly displaying the wreckage of two distinct vessels near the Cardinal locks. When compared to overhead shots of the area today, or even using search engines such as Google Earth, one can see that some type of wreckage still remains at the west end of Lock 28, now buried. John Bishop of Thousand Island Marine Construction removed the Walsh while the work was monitored by the Canadian Coast Guard from Prescott. The salvage operation did not go smoothly. Locals in the area noticed at one point the crane brought in to remove the pieces of the Walsh nearly toppled into the canal when the earth underneath it gave way when trying to lift a heavy piece. Ten years after the event, Bishop's company cleaned out their files regarding the salvage operation.
Since the Walsh had been removed, one can assume that the wreckage located in Lock 28 today is that of the Weehawk. This assurance comes from the fact that the Walsh was photographed before it sunk in the exact same area that the salvage operation of 1989 took place. Finally photographic evidence should establish that the wreckage in Lock 28 is the Weehawk. This is based on the cabin structure and deck supports: The location of the Walsh (was) on the North side of the canal, and the Weehawk was secured at the entrance to Lock 28. We also compared the deck support struts. The spacing on the existing wreck is the same as (in photos of) the Weehwak and this supports our assumption that the Weehawk is still there. Also the Weehawk was cut right down to the deck while still at Ogdensburg A thorough study of the wreckage and an underwater survey should provide more concrete evidence that the wreck is indeed the Weehawk. The wreckage sitting in Lock 28 appears to be composed of both steel and wood. Looking at a close up picture of the hull taken by Marc Wilmot, one can distinctly see the wreckage was constructed of a metal with wooden planking. Consulting a 1926 article in Marine Engineering and Shipping Age, the Weehawk was designed to be constructed of both wood and steel: The hull was made of steel throughout while the superstructure was of light steel over wood and wooden deck planking. The engine room is of diamond pattern steel plates and constitutes the only flooring in the hull except for walkways between bulkheads and in the peaks. The hull is subdivided by 4 steel bulkheads with small watertight doors at the top of each. On the main deck there is one large hatchway for the engine space and smaller ones for each compartment. The decks are supported on steel beams and tie plates. x On the other hand the 1937 constructed John J. Walsh constructed almost entirely of steel as outlined in the original Ead's Johnson Specifications: Hull and superstructure to be entirely of steel, welded construction .The hull into five watertight compartments by four transverse watertight bulkheads. Main deck of patterned steel without sheer or camber to extend beyond the hull on each side, the over-hang being supported by steel brackets. The superstructure entirely of steel with steel pilot houses midship. Steel trunk on one side only for exhaust and heating boiler pipes... xi Coupled with of the occurrence of all the events described earlier along with the supporting original specifications of both ships, evidence indicates that the wreckage of the vessel near the locks in Cardinal must be that of the Weehawk. Bibliography:Newspapers:
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Photo/Image Credits
Endnotes
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Featured in prominent naval magazine, Marine Engineering, Eads Johnson's design had the ferry operate using diesel and electricity in comparison to the standard steam driven, slow moving ferries operating at the time. Even as early as 1926, keeping efficiency and cost savings in mind, these vessels were designed to have a mechanical injection type system to inject the fuel oil in to the cylinder in a highly atomized form without the use of compressed air. This amounted to a 10 to 15 percent lower fuel consumption rate than that of engines of the air injection type. Over a period of one year the fuel savings amounted to $50,000 as compared with older type steamboats. Engineers believed that the Eads Johnson designed ferries would eventually supersede other types of similar crafts. Little did they know that the Weehawk would operate for some 40 odd years (1926 to 1958) then come to rest in the old Gallop Canal in Cardinal, Ontario some 90 years later.
In August 1933, a study of the Electric Ferries fleet was undertaken to discover why the vessels were encountering reductions in speed compared to the original speeds specs obtained during the 1926 preliminary tests. Readings taken on the Weehawk on June 15th 1933 on her trip from 23rd Street to Governors Island and back showed that she ran at an average speed of 10.07 miles per hour with R.P.M. at 180, amperes at 775, volts at 440, The Weehawk original trial run speed in 1926 with 180 R.P.M was 11.1 miles per hour, in comparison with the 1933 trials this showed a drop in roughly 1.1 miles per hour. The resulting discovery was that the wheels used to turn the engines had degraded to a point that they needed to be replaced. In the first experimental trials, bronze wheels were tested against the performance of the original steel wheels, however the newer wheels had to much surface area resulting in energy displacement. The bronze wheels were recast and changed to a 7" diameter with an area of 16.5'. Final testing of these wheel modifications on a sister ship to the Weehawk, The Gotham, resulted in an improved average speed of 10.8 miles per hour maintained at RPM's of 160, amperes at 650, volts at 440. When the ship moved from full speed ahead to full speed astern the readings did not exceed 1200 amperes resulting in the new set of wheels being accepted as a large improvement for the fleet.
As part of the Seaway project the International Rapids Section of the Seaway included the development of two power dams, deepening of the seaway to allow for larger ships from both the oceans of the world and Great Lakes and sections of the Cornwall Massena International Bridge to be replaced. On October 20th 1955, in a memorandum from Chairman George C. Malner to the Canadian Cabinet Committee on the St. Lawrence Project, to Cabinet it was outlined that;
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