Identification & Vessel Details

  • Name: Nagaho, originally launched as F.R. Buell (1888); renamed in 1920
  • Official Number: 120720
  • Built: 1888 as a Tug/Barge; converted to a propeller bulk-freight vessel
  • Type: Wooden Hull with steel reinforcement, operated as an unrigged bulk freighter on the Great Lakes (manitouislandsarchives.org)

Final Incident – October 27, 1922

Final Disposition

  • Declared: Constructive Total Loss; documentation issued following the incident
  • Salvage: No records of salvage or recovery attempts; vessel remains underwater near the sinking site
  • Legacy: The wreck remains a lesser-known wreck on Lake Ontario, with limited follow-up from marine archaeological surveys

Research Opportunities

  • Exact Wreck Coordinates
    • Fisheries or marine charts from Lake Ontario may document the wreck position near Port Collins
  • Sea-worthiness & Repairs
    • Port Colborne shipping logs and charter permits could indicate conditions on approach and decisions made to continue
  • Crew Information & Rescue
    • Local newspapers (Niagara Falls Review, Port Colborne Observer) after October 1922 might list crew names or quotes
  • Insurance & Technical Surveys
    • Marine insurance assessments will clarify structural failure origin and salvage evaluations
  • Divers & Archaeological Records
    • Dive registries and underwater archaeology reports may exist but remain unpublished or under local heritage authority management

Summary

The Barge Nagaho, formerly F.R. Buell, Foundered on October 27, 1922, after suffering storm damage en route from Buffalo to Montreal. Although she managed to limp near shore, she sank near Port Collins, Ontario. Fortunately, no lives were lost. The vessel was Abandoned by November and remains a subdued wreck near the Lake Ontario shoreline. Additional archival investigation—focused on regional newspapers, marine insurance records, and diver or archaeological logs—would help locate her remains and clarify the final hours of the Nagaho.