Tug "Russell" was once a familiar sight in Oswego

[For several years, historian and writer Richard Palmer has been sharing his articles with us. This month he sent this short piece and considering how important it is to capture all the maritime history that relates to the St. Lawrence River, we are pleased to include this in our August 2026 issue. Thanks Dick, for sharing so much of your maritime knowledge with us.]

Tug Russell was once a familiar sight in Oswego

A frequent visitor to Oswego and St. Lawrence River ports was the tugboat Joseph L Russell, which primarily transported lumber. She was built at Windsor, Ontario by W. Lane in 1888.

She was 121 feet long, 26 feet wide, had a depth of nine feet, and was registered at 348 gross tons She was built as the passenger and package steamer Lakeside and was renamed Joseph L. Russell in 1920.

The Oswego Daily Palladium of June 15, 1923 noted:

Speaking of old steamers still plying Lake Ontario, what about the tug 'Joseph L. Russell,' of Toronto, formerly the 'Lakeside,' which makes Oswego a regular port of call? The 'Lakeside' was bought in 1880 and is still playing the game under the name of 'Joseph L. Russell,' her owner, who operates a large feet of barges on Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

The 'Russell,' or 'Lakeside' as she is better known on the upper end of the lake, was a popular carrier between Toronto and Port Dalhousie for a number of years. She was built at Windsor in 1880, and brought to Toronto to compete with the 'Empress of India' in the passenger trade.

On March 24, 1905, her sea-cocks were opened and she sank below Lock 2 of the old Welland Canal. She was raised and crossed the lakes three days later; and kept doing it for years. Three years ago, she was bought by the Joseph L. Russell Company of Toronto, trimmed of some of her upper works, refitted, and renamed the 'Russell.'

There is little about her now to remind one of the pleasure steamer she once was, for she is now a fine, staunch tug, used in wrecking and construction work.

Captain Harry Finn, is in command of her.

The Russell company also owns another boat, the ‘Erie Belle,’ which stops occasionally at Oswego. The ‘Erie Belle’ was once a square rigger that sailed the Lake. She was built at Port Burwell in 1873. After lying at Chippewa rotting in idleness for more than ten years, she was taken over by the Russell company in 1908 and cut down to serve as a tool-scow.

According to Toronto marine historian Jay N. Bascom, the Lakeside was purchased in July, 1920 by John E. Russell of Toronto, who rebuilt her into a tug and renamed her. Numerous alterations were made during that process. In March 1929, she became a part of the newly formed Sinmac Lines Limited of Montreal, which was involved in the wrecking business. The Russell was refitted again during the summer of 1929.

On November 15, 1929, she was under the command of Capt. Harry Finn, a well-known skipper who had been her master during most of the years she’d been owned by the Russell firm. She was sailing from Montreal to Toronto, towing a barge laden with lumber from British Columbia. Out on the open lake, she encountered a heavy storm off Point Petre (in Prince Edward County) and began to take on water. Her pumps were unable to keep up with the water and she soon became waterlogged and foundered south of Colborne, ON. The crew left the sinking tug in the lifeboat and managed to get safely ashore. Meanwhile the barge, called the Augustus, went adrift on the lake until she was picked up by the Canada Steamship Lines Ltd. canal package-freight steamer Calgarian and was brought safely to Toronto.

Thus ended the sailing days of the tug Russell.

By Richard Palmer

Richard Palmer is a retired newspaper editor and reporter, and he was well known for his weekly historical columns for the “Oswego Palladium-Times,” called "On the Waterfront." His first article for TI Life was written in January 2015, and since then, he has shared dozens and dozens of articles and more.