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James B. Colgate

Ontario waters · lost 1916

This site's location is withheld. In Ontario waters, where the Ontario Heritage Act requires a licence for any work on a marine archaeological site. Position withheld; general area only. This page shows the general area only.

James B. Colgate
A. E. Young, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Toned for this site.

The whaleback freighter James B. Colgate sank in the Black Friday storm of October 20, 1916, while carrying coal from Buffalo up the lakes. Her captain, Walter Grashaw, was the only survivor: he clung to a life raft for more than a day before a car ferry found him.

The story

The James B. Colgate was a whaleback freighter, built of steel by the American Steel Barge Company at West Superior, Wisconsin, in 1892. She was 308 feet long and made her first voyage in September of that year.[2,1] The HCGL record traces her ownership from her builder to the Bessemer Steamship Company, the Pittsburgh Steamship Company and, from 1915, the Standard Transit Company.[1]

In October 1916 she left Buffalo loaded with coal for Fort William, Ontario. On Friday, October 20, a violent storm swept Lake Erie. Water poured into her cargo hold faster than the pumps could clear it, and she had no way to send a distress signal. Around 10 p.m. she went down bow first.[2,3] She carried only one lifeboat, and the crew had to rely on life preservers, which were little help in such seas.[2]

Walter Grashaw had served aboard for ten years as first mate, and this was his first voyage as captain. In the water he found a small raft already holding two men, one of them the second engineer, Harvey Ossman. Waves swept over it through the night, and by morning Grashaw was alone. A passenger steamer passed without seeing him.[2] The car ferry Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 picked him up on October 22.[1] Wikipedia's list of Lake Erie shipwrecks counts 25 dead and one survivor; the HCGL record gives twenty-six lives lost, about eighteen miles southwest of Long Point.[4,1]

The same storm sank the Merida, the Marshall F. Butters and the D.L. Filer.[3] The wreck of the Colgate was found in 1991 off Erieau, Ontario.[2]

Lives lost: Only Captain Walter Grashaw survived. Wikipedia counts 25 dead from a crew of 26; the HCGL record says twenty-six lives were lost.

Questions people ask

Who survived the sinking of the James B. Colgate?

Only her captain, Walter Grashaw. He clung to a small raft through the storm and was picked up by the car ferry Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 on October 22, 1916.

Where is the James B. Colgate wreck?

Off Erieau, Ontario, where it was found in 1991. It lies in Ontario waters, so this site gives the general area only.

Learn more

Museums and groups are linked for further reading; they are not connected with this site.

Look, don't take

Look, don't take. Shipwrecks and everything on them are protected by law; removing or disturbing anything can be a crime.

  • Ontario: under the Ontario Heritage Act no one may alter a marine archaeological site or remove an artifact from it without a provincial licence; fines for breaking this rule can reach $1,000,000.[5][6][7]

How Lake Erie wrecks are protected

Diving Lake Erie wrecks is dangerous: cold water, poor visibility, depth, entanglement and boat traffic. Nothing here is dive guidance or a dive position. Dive only with proper training, a qualified operator and current information from the groups that maintain moorings.

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Sources

  1. HCGL vessel record: COLGATE, JAMES B., Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University. Accessed .
  2. James B. Colgate (ship), Wikipedia. Accessed .
  3. 1916 Black Friday storm, Wikipedia. Accessed .
  4. List of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes (Lake Erie section), Wikipedia. Accessed .
  5. law-on-oha-part6, Government of Ontario (e-Laws). Accessed .
  6. law-on-oreg-11-06, Government of Ontario (e-Laws). Accessed .
  7. Atlantic (1848 ship), Wikipedia. Accessed .

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