Laid down in Winnipeg during the summer of 1882, the Spray measured 125 feet stem to stern, 26 feet in beam, and displaced around 250 gross tons. It was commissioned by the Northwest Navigation Company with its design and construction work supervised by shipwright Peter Girard. On 11 August 1882, the wood hull was cristened by a female delegate in attendance and the steam barge launched into the Red River. Within two days, and laden with freight, it was towed by the steamer Marquette to Colville Landing (along the slough by East Selkirk), from which it was to be towed onward by Princess all the way to Grand Rapids. Further details about its fate and Registry status are as of yet not determined.
“Signals,” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 12 August 1882, page 6.
“The steamer Marquette [...],” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 14 August 1882, page 8.
“News in a nutshell [Canadian],” Winnipeg Daily Sun, 17 August 1882, page 1.
Colville Landing, Red River Heritage North.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 12 February 2022
