Niagara Scow
Shipwreck upstream of Niagara Falls
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Key Takeaways
- The Niagara Scow (also called the Old Scow or Iron Scow ) is the unofficial name of the wreck of a small scow that brought two men perilously close to plunging over the Horseshoe Falls, the largest of the Niagara Falls, in 1918.
- 1918 event On August 6, 1918, Gustave F.
- When tugboat Captain John Wallace brought the Hassayampa over to bring the scow back to shore, it broke loose and began floating downriver rapidly towards the falls.
- Regardless, the boat got caught on a rock shoal 838 yards (766 m) from the edge of the falls, leaving the two Niagara Falls Power Company employees stranded in the middle of the raging torrents of water.
The Niagara Scow (also called the Old Scow or Iron Scow) is the unofficial name of the wreck of a small scow that brought two men perilously close to plunging over the Horseshoe Falls, the largest of the Niagara Falls, in 1918. The wreck can still be seen, upstream of the falls.
1918 event
On August 6, 1918, Gustave F. Lofberg and Frank Harris were aboard the Great Lakes Dredge and Docks Company scow dredging up sand banks from the Niagara River upstream of the waterfall. When tugboat Captain John Wallace brought the Hassayampa over to bring the scow back to shore, it broke loose and began floating downriver rapidly towards the falls.
There are conflicting reports whether Lofberg and Harris were able to release the false bottom of the scow to dump their load of sand and silt. Regardless, the boat got caught on a rock shoal 838 yards (766 m) from the edge of the falls, leaving the two Niagara Falls Power Company employees stranded in the middle of the raging torrents of water. Later reports suggest that Lofberg had tied a rope between himself and the scow as a safety precaution lest he fall overboard while the scow was still beached, while Harris tied one between himself and a free barrel.
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