Northern Belle (1875 ship)

For other ships with the same name, see Northern Belle (disambiguation).

History
Name	Northern Belle
Owner	Georgian Bay Navigation Company
Completed	1875
Out of service	1898-11-10
Fate	Overwhelmed by an internal fire in Byng Inlet, Georgian Bay
Notes	Formerly Gladys
General characteristics
Type	Passenger/cargo ship
Tonnage	513 GRT
Length	129 ft (39 m)
Beam	23 ft (7.0 m)
Draft	10 ft (3.0 m)

Northern Belle was a steamship that provided service in Ontario, Canada, from 1875 to her accidental destruction by fire in 1898.[1][2][3]

Shortly after she was launched, as Gladys, in Marine City, Michigan, she was purchased by the Georgian Bay Navigation Company, which renamed her Northern Belle.[1]

She burned shortly after arriving in Byng Inlet, the mouth of the Magnetawan River, on November 7, 1898.[1] The fire burst out unexpectedly and her captain, C. Jacques, barely had time to beach her. There were no deaths, but not only was her cargo lost, her crew and passengers lost all their possessions.

Her wreck became a popular site for recreational divers.[1]

References

1. Fred Holmes (2008-07-16). "Remembering the Northern Belle - Byng Inlet's favourite vessel" (PDF). Parry Sound North Star. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
2. "Northern Belle (Propeller), C71111, fire, 7 Nov 1898". Maritime History of the Great Lakes. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
3. "Steamboat Mail On Georgian Bay, the North Channel, and Lake Superior" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-09-06. By 1878, a complex series of steamer alliances, corporate alignments, and business realignments resulted in the formation of the Great Northern Transit Company. The company's ships worked the routes from Collingwood to Parry Sound, French River, Byng Inlet, Killarney and the Sault. Much of this company's business was delivering supplies and mail to the lumber camps and small communities along the shore on the Northern Belle and the Waubuno which occasionally ran trips along the southern shore to Meaford and Owen Sound.