The ''Mary Ward'' was a passenger and cargo
steamer built in
Montreal in 1865. She ran aground on a reef in November 1872, and was subsequently wrecked in a storm.
History
The ''Mary Ward'' was built in 1865 for service on the
Great Lakes, carrying goods and passengers between
Montreal and
Chicago. The ship caught fire on
Lake St. Clair
Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day ...
and had to be repaired. She soon returned to active service and continued to ply the Lakes for a few more years without incident.
In 1872, the ''Mary Ward'' was purchased by businessmen in
Owen Sound for a sum of around $18,000. On November 22 of that year, the ship left
Sarnia for
Collingwood, her new home port, with a cargo of coal, oil, and salt. At a stop-off in
Tobermory, passengers were picked up from the ''Cumberland'', whose captain had decided it was too late to brave the waters of
Lake Superior as originally planned.
At around 9 p.m. on November 24, for reasons that were never established, the captain of the ''Mary Ward'' erred from the correct course, and the ship ran aground on Milligan's Reef, four kilometres off Northwinds Beach in
Craigleith. Since the damage was not substantial, and the waters were calm, the passengers and crew decided to remain aboard and wait for help to arrive. Shortly after midnight, however, the weather began to turn, and by morning a fierce storm was blowing. Increasingly desperate, eight men made for shore in a lifeboat, but were quickly engulfed by the waves.
The direction of the wind was deterring any rescue attempts from Collingwood, but eventually three fishing boats from nearby Thornbury were able to reach the stranded vessel. The surviving 19 people were rescued, with the only further casualty being the ship's dog. The ''Mary Ward'' eventually broke up and sank.
The rescuers were rewarded for their efforts by the
Canadian government. On the 100th anniversary of the disaster, a plaque commemorating the ''Mary Ward'' was unveiled in Craigleith Provincial Park.
References
*
*{{cite web , last=Williams , first=Cara , date=Summer 2018 , title=Mary Ward , work=Escarpment Magazine , url=https://www.escarpmentmagazine.ca/recreation/mary-ward/
External links
"The Sinking of the ''Mary Rose''" plaqueat Ontario's Historical Plaques.
Shipwrecks of Canada