The wooden-hulled, double-decked, sidewheel, passenger and package freight steamer Manitoba was built of oak back in 1871 at the village of Port Robinson, Ontario. Manitoba was 173 feet in length, 25 feet in the beam across the hull but some 45 feet over the guards, and 11 feet in depth. Her tonnage was originally recorded as 338 Gross and 236 Net. She was powered by an engine which boasted a cylinder of 45 inches diameter and a stroke of 108 inches. It would appear that steam was provided by two boilers, probably fired with wood.

Manitoba was first registered at St. Catharines on August 19, 1871, but she did not receive a registration number until many years later. In 1874 the registered owner was William Beatty of Thorold, Ontario. Beatty, along with his sons James H. and John D., and his nephew Henry, operated J. & H. Beatty and Company, better known as “The Beatty Line” of Sarnia. This company provided passenger and freight service from Sarnia and Collingwood via way ports to Fort William and Duluth.

Manitoba was a handsome vessel and was typical of steamers of her era. Her hull was very graceful, with a straight stem, a counter stern, and a sweeping sheer to her decks. Her main deck was closed in back to the paddleboxes and was open from there aft, with minimal protection afforded to the fantail area by a closed taffrail. Freight was carried on the forward section of the main deck, as well as in the hold, and was loaded and unloaded via large sideports. The after portion of the main deck was given over to passenger and crew accommodations, but the main passenger quarters were located in a long deckhouse on the promenade deck. Light was admitted to this upper cabin by means of a long clerestory, as well as by a multitude of windows featuring pseudo-Gothic, pointed-arch tops.

The promenade around the passenger cabin on the upper deck was protected by an open mesh rail, but was interrupted by the paddleboxes, which were extremely large and which soared high over even the boat deck. Manitoba was propelled by large-diameter radial sidewheels, the smaller and more efficient feathering paddlewheel not yet being in vogue. The sidewheels were set further aft on Manitoba than on many steamers of the period. The paddleboxes were very intricately worked and decorated, and the ship’s name appeared in large and fancy letters across the main deck portion of the boxes.

On the boat deck, far forward and immediately above the forward end of the passenger cabin, was located Manitoba‘s octagonal “birdcage” pilothouse, complete with carved finial sprouting from its domed top. There was no cabin behind the pilothouse for the master’s quarters, nor was there any sort of cabin structure on the boat deck at all except for the pilothouse itself.

The steamer’s single mast, a tall fidded (two-part) spar fitted with a prominent gaff and equipped to carry auxiliary sail, rose immediately abaft the pilothouse and was delicately raked.

Manitoba‘s two stacks, relatively tall but thin, and slightly raked, were carried athwartship and rose from the boat deck forward of the paddleboxes. Four lifeboats were carried on the boat deck, and they were worked from radial davits; there were two boats on each side, one forward and one aft of the paddlebox. Right aft was set an extremely tall flagstaff. The walking beam was not housed in any manner, and it protruded high above the boat deck, its aft connecting rod turning the cranks on the wheel shaft, as the engine was located forward of the wheels.

The steamer’s hull was originally painted black up to the line of the main deck. Her superstructure and cabins were painted white, and her stacks were red with black tops. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing what colours were applied to the paddlebox designs, but it would seem evident that Manitoba was quite a colourful ship.

After her completion, Manitoba made four trips in 1871 from Collingwood to Lake Superior. A press report of May 2, 1872, stated that “the steamers Manitoba, Cumberland and Francis Smith are to form a line between Windsor and Lake Superior. They are being fitted up in good shape. ” In fact, at the beginning of the 1872 season, Manitoba commenced operation on the main Beatty Line route from Sarnia to the Canadian Lakehead. She may well have run “in conjunction” with Cumberland and Francis Smith, but the Beattys had no ownership interest in either of those steamers as far as can be ascertained.

Her first full year of service saw Manitoba involved in a serious grounding. On Thursday, July 11, 1872, the steamer stranded on a reef near Michipicoten Island on Lake Superior, the rocky outcropping not appearing on navigation charts of the day. Unable to communicate her plight to anyone, Manitoba remained hung up on the reef for two days, until she was spotted by the sidewheeler Cumberland. This steamer came to Manitoba‘s aid, first removing 75 passengers from the stranded ship, and then pulling Manitoba off the rocks. Manitoba had sustained considerable damage, and she was temporarily beached again so that her condition could be assessed and temporary repairs made. She then was refloated and proceeded to Detroit for the necessary repairs.

Cumberland, although somewhat larger than Manitoba, operated normally between Collingwood and Port Arthur by the Toronto and Lake Superior Navigation Company Ltd., Toronto, of which F. W. Cumberland was manager. Cumberland began her life with Manitoba. Both ships were completed in 1871 in the same shipyard at Port Robinson. Manitoba, however, was a far more successful ship. Cumberland enjoyed but a very short career, for she stranded to a total loss on Rock of Ages Reef, near Isle Royale in Lake Superior, on Tuesday, July 24, 1877.

Once she was fully repaired from the damage which she sustained in her grounding, Manitoba went back into service for Beatty’s Lake Superior Line. She made history on Saturday, August 16th, 1873, when, under the command of Capt. J. B. Symes, she had the honour of being the first large steamer to enter the harbour at Fort William, Ontario. A bar across the mouth of the Kaministiquia River had previously forced steamers calling at Fort William to anchor outside and transfer their passengers and cargo to lighters for removal ashore. On this auspicious occasion, however, Manitoba entered the harbour and tied up alongside the dock of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Manitoba operated without major incident until Thursday, August 26, 1875.

Of the three Beatty Line vessels, Manitoba, Quebec, and Ontario, it is interesting to note that Manitoba was the only sidewheeler, the others being propellers.

Manitoba carried on in the Beatty Line’s service, but her days became numbered when the Northwest Transportation Company launched its most famous steamer, the beautiful big United Empire, in the autumn of 1882. United Empire‘s first full season of service for the Beattys was 1883. and that was the year that Manitoba passed out of the fleet’s operations.

The ship carried on under other owners and other names (Carmona and Pittsburg) and new refittings and new duties.

On Sunday, August 30th, 1903, however, Pittsburg was severely damaged by fire while lying at the Queen’s Dock at Sandwich (Windsor), Ontario. The tug Home Rule attempted to extinguish the fire, but to no avail. The crew of Pittsburg escaped the ship without loss of life, and the cause of the conflagration was never determined. The steamer was damaged beyond repair, and her remains were finally dismantled at Port Dalhousie during the 1904 season.

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“Ed. Note: Both Ye Ed. and the Secretary of T. M. H. S. worked many long hours over this feature in an effort to make it the definitive history of MANITOBA/ CARMONA/PITTSBURG. We are greatly indebted to member Ronald F. Beaupre of Port Elgin, Ontario, for his assistance in finding answers to many of our questions, and for providing us with many excellent photos of the steamer.

The more we learn about this vessel, however, the more questions are raised, and if any of our members are able to shed light on any of the “loose ends” of her history, we should be most pleased to hear from them.”

Source Toronto Marine Historical Society’s Scanner newsletter, Vol. 18, No. 4 (January 1986).