Erieau’s Nolan Coburn with wreckage believed to be that of the paddlewheeler Picton which sank off Rondeau Point in 1882. (Submitted Photo)
The paddle wheeler steamer Picton was built by William Yoemans and William Jamieson Mill Point, of Hastings County, in 1870. It cost $29,000. A princely sum in those days.
The 158’ long craft was named for its home port. It was a wood, passenger, and package freighter owned by James S. McCuaig & Bay of Quinte and St. Lawrence River Navigation Company.
According to Picton’s Naval Marine Archive, the ship ran aground near Rondeau Point’s lighthouse during a storm on September 22, 1882. It was bound for chartered service in Georgian Bay, but, according to the Cleveland Herald, its owners seemed to have hit a stretch of bad luck.
“The owners of the propeller Asia, recently lost, seem to be particularly unfortunate. The chartered sidewheel steamer Picton of Picton, Ontario was to take her place and while on her way there, the Picton went ashore.”
18 people survived the wreck.
At the helm was Captain Dunn, who blamed the accident on “the compass going wrong by two points.”
Erieau resident Jeff Vidler said that while the skeletal remains of a craft breached the shoreline on December 10 after a strong storm, the keel has been slowly emerging for the last couple of years.
“The kids in the area have been swimming around it but nobody really thought much about it,” Mr. Vidler. “We’ve had a number of big blows this fall and the storms finally pushed it up onto shore.”
The working theory is that this craft is the Picton, although a thorough examination and measuring are required to make the final determination. That will come this spring.
“It may or may not be the Picton, we’ve got Ontario archeologists, folks from the University of Michigan and the Great Lakes ship museum in Kingston ready to come and have a look and take some measurements,” he said. “Once the ice clears and if it’s still exposed on the beach, there should be some studies completed and we can figure it all out.”
Since mid-December, Mr. Vidler has been in contact with various provincial and federal ministries about those responsible for cleaning up the wreckage once the studies are complete.
“I’ve pretty much contacted the world about this,” Mr. Vidler said with a laugh. “We know there’s a ton of ships at the bottom of your lake as well as ours and it’s very interesting when these things come to the surface — but it shouldn’t just be left on the beach or buried for another generation to deal with. They are wonderful pieces of our rich maritime history dating back to the War of 1812 and even way before then.
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