Crash at the Lumber Pile
By James Donahue
A huge lumber pile at the mouth of the Black River was blamed for a collision that sank the ferry steamer Grace Dormer at Port Huron on July 25, 1883.
Capt. Ed Thomas, master of the seventy-six-foot-long ferry, was criticized for running his vessel blindly out of the Black River and into the busy St. Clair River without blowing the whistle. But Thomas also was praised for daring action, which probably saved the passengers on the Grace Dormer from drowning.
The accident happened about 1:00 PM as the Dormer was leaving Port Huron, bound for Sarnia, Ontario, just across the St. Clair River, with about thirty passengers. As the ferry cleared the mouth of the river Thomas was shocked to see the tug Frank Moffatt, operated by Capt. William O’Neill, appear from the other side of the wood pile. They were on a collision course and only about a hundred feet apart.
“I put my wheel hard to starboard to turn downstream and blew the whistle three times,” Thomas said. “But the tug came right on, not altering her course a hair.” The Moffatt’s bow collided with the port side of the Dormer, cracking the ferry’s wooden hull. Before the two boats separated, Thomas said many of the passengers and some of the Dormer’s crew jumped to the deck of the tug because it was obvious the ferry was going to sink.
“When the boats separated I found my engineer aboard the tug. I rushed to the engine and gave her a full head of steam, then ran back to the wheel and headed for the Black River,” Thomas said.
It was, of course, a race against time. As the steamer moved up the river it was settling deeper and deeper into the water. “Passengers were grabbing life preservers and getting ready to swim as I swung her up alongside McMorran’s Dock.
It wasn’t necessary to throw out a gang plank or offer assistance to help anybody off. They were on the dock as soon as I was,” Thomas said. Within two minutes the Dormer settled to the bottom in thirteen feet of water. The ferry was raised and put back into service. The Grace Dormer operated on the lakes until a fire claimed her in 1925.
By James Donahue
A huge lumber pile at the mouth of the Black River was blamed for a collision that sank the ferry steamer Grace Dormer at Port Huron on July 25, 1883.
Capt. Ed Thomas, master of the seventy-six-foot-long ferry, was criticized for running his vessel blindly out of the Black River and into the busy St. Clair River without blowing the whistle. But Thomas also was praised for daring action, which probably saved the passengers on the Grace Dormer from drowning.
The accident happened about 1:00 PM as the Dormer was leaving Port Huron, bound for Sarnia, Ontario, just across the St. Clair River, with about thirty passengers. As the ferry cleared the mouth of the river Thomas was shocked to see the tug Frank Moffatt, operated by Capt. William O’Neill, appear from the other side of the wood pile. They were on a collision course and only about a hundred feet apart.
“I put my wheel hard to starboard to turn downstream and blew the whistle three times,” Thomas said. “But the tug came right on, not altering her course a hair.” The Moffatt’s bow collided with the port side of the Dormer, cracking the ferry’s wooden hull. Before the two boats separated, Thomas said many of the passengers and some of the Dormer’s crew jumped to the deck of the tug because it was obvious the ferry was going to sink.
“When the boats separated I found my engineer aboard the tug. I rushed to the engine and gave her a full head of steam, then ran back to the wheel and headed for the Black River,” Thomas said.
It was, of course, a race against time. As the steamer moved up the river it was settling deeper and deeper into the water. “Passengers were grabbing life preservers and getting ready to swim as I swung her up alongside McMorran’s Dock.
It wasn’t necessary to throw out a gang plank or offer assistance to help anybody off. They were on the dock as soon as I was,” Thomas said. Within two minutes the Dormer settled to the bottom in thirteen feet of water. The ferry was raised and put back into service. The Grace Dormer operated on the lakes until a fire claimed her in 1925.