Before the coming of rail and road networks, steamships plying Ontario’s waterways provided the quickest, most comfortable and most efficient means of transportation.
The first steamer to appear on Lake Simcoe was the less-than-successful Sir John Colborne. Many others followed in her wake, so the sight of smoke billowing from a ship’s stack was soon a common one around the lake. These vessels crisscrossed the lake, carrying mail, freight, settlers, and guests for lakeside resorts.
Among these steamships was the ill-fated and short-lived J.C. Morrison.
The J.C. Morrison, named after James Charles Morrison, president of the Ontario, Simcoe and Huron Railway, was built at Bell Ewart in 1854.
She was an impressive vessel, measuring 150 feet long, and her state-of-the-art engines were capable of travelling at 18 miles per hour. Inside, she was richly adorned with fine wood panelling, high-quality fixtures, and even a black walnut grand piano for the entertainment of guests.
Perhaps the attention to detail came at the expense of attention to handling: The J.C. Morrison was notoriously top heavy and only sluggishly answered to the wheel. As a result, she had numerous minor collisions with other vessels when berthing and, to the embarrassment of her owners, the steamship found herself hopelessly stuck while travelling through the Narrows between Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching, forcing her well-heeled passengers to remain on board overnight.
But none of these episodes, no matter how much they left her owners red-faced, compared to what happened on the night of Aug. 4, 1857.
The J.C. Morrison was docked at the Allandale dock that night, with Capt. Bell and several passengers asleep in cabins. Shortly after midnight, fire was discovered aboard.
“A few minutes only elapsed before the flames had reached almost every part of the boat, and it was with the utmost difficulty that those on board escaped,” reported the Northern Advance for Aug. 6. “Indeed, many of them had not time to pick up their stockings and shoes — all individual property, as well as the expensive furniture of the boat being lost.”
To prevent the fire from spreading to the wharf, the J.C. Morrison was cut loose. Unfortunately, the wind carried her to the next wharf. The fire brigade hurried to that dock and managed to send the flaming vessel off before any damage was done.
“She bore away slowly across the bay towards the station,” wrote the Northern Advance, “a complete sheet of flame, sending a deep lurid reflection of light over the whole neighbourhood — grand to the sight, but sad for reflection. In a very short space of time, she grounded on the opposite shore, and burned to the water’s edge, where she remains, a mere spectre of her former elegance and worth.”
The hull eventually sank and came to rest in 10 metres of water, off Centennial Beach.
