I was thinking of exploring something nautical this week, inspired by a recent vacation along the shores of Lake Erie, as well as conversations here at home around placemaking and heritage interpretation with the Lakeview Village development on the former Lakeview Generating Station site here in Mississauga. And speaking of Lakeview Village, please take a moment to participate in the heritage interpretation survey for the development: 

https://www.placespeak.com/en/topic/6683-lakeview-village-heritage-interpretation-plan/#/overview 

But back to our story. 

Part of our conversations around Lakeview have focused on the opening of the waterfront for pedestrian and recreational access on the former Lakeview Generating Station site, as well as the adjacent development of the Jim Tovey Lakeview Conservation Area with the CVC. Part of the site includes a breakwater that stretches out into Lake Ontario. The breakwater was constructed in 1968 as part of the Lakeview Generating Station facility. The breakwater is constructed from the scuttled hulls of three former Great Lakes barges. You can see the shapes of the vessels in aerial photography. 

The barges are, north to south in the breakwater, the Bryn Mawr, the John Fritz and the John R. Roebling. Back in 2020 we published a couple of articles in this series around former lake freighters but neglected to include these three barges in our inventory. Barges were bulk carrier vessels that were towed by larger steamships and did not sail under their own power.  

The Bryn Mawr was built by the Chicago Ship Building Company and was launched on June 12, 1900. The Bryn Mawr was 412 feet long and she operated under the ownership of the Pittsburgh Steamship Company. In 1940 the Bryn Mawr was purchased by the Upper Lakes and St. Lawrence Transportation Company and was renamed the Bryn Barge. After being towed on the upper lakes for more than 60 years, she was laid up in Goderich in 1962 and used for grain storage. She was sold in 1968 for use as a breakwater at the Lakeview Generating Station. She is the hull closest to the shore today. 

The next hull in the line belongs to the John Fritz. The Fritz was built at West Bay City, Milwaukee by F.W. Wheeler and Company and was launched on June 22, 1898. She was 436 feet long. She sailed under the Bessemer Steamship Company banner and her home port was Duluth, Minnesota. In 1901 she was transferred to the Pittsburgh Steamship Company, and in 1945 was purchased by the Upper Lakes and St. Lawrence Transportation Company (which became Upper Lakes Shipping Limited in 1959). She spent her entire career traversing the upper Great Lakes. The John Fritz was retired in 1966, and in 1968 she was sold for use as a breakwater at the Lakeview Generating Station. 

The hull furthest from shore today belongs to the John R. Roebling. The Roebling was a sister barge of the John Fritz and was also built at West Bay City, Milwaukee by F.W. Wheeler and Company. She was launched on August 13, 1898. Like the Fritz, the Roebling was 436 feet long. She also sailed for the Bessemer Steamship Company out of her home port of Duluth, Minnesota. Alongside the Fritz, the Roebling was sold to the Upper Lakes and St. Lawrence Transportation Company in 1945 and after she was decommissioned in 1967, she became part of the breakwater at Lakeview in 1968. 

One thing missing from the story of these barges, from the records we were able to source, is any “tales”. Stories from their long careers on the upper lakes – accidents, groundings, storms, etc. – are not included in the information we located. If you have any stories or images of the history of these vessels, please let us know, and be part of the heritage interpretation story! 

Special thank you to Port Credit historian Richard Collins for sharing his knowledge of these vessels, and to Jesse DeJager from the CVC for reviving a memory of them. For more information on the Bryn, please see the Toronto Marine Historical Society article: 

https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/page.asp?ID=114710&po=6 

Additional information and images on the vessels can be found at:  

https://www.greatlakesvesselhistory.com/ 

https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/search