Hay Scows: Work Horses of the Upper St. Lawrence River
Schooner Northern Light is shown at getting underway at the Foster farm in Dexter for a short voyage to Sackets Harbor. Originally owned by Captain William Shelley Sr., she was used to transport baled hay fro surrounding farms as well fancy peas and beaded in the area to the seed houses at Chaumont. she was later owned by Dexter Dibble of Sackets Harbor and was operated by his sons, Spencer and Sam. While loading gravel at Calf Island in November, 1916, she broke loose from her mooring. She piled up on the bar of the south harbor on Galloo Island. A year later, during a sudden storm, she floated over the bar into the harbor and sank. Photo courtesy of the late Robert Brennan of Sackets Harbor. The Hay Scow: Workhorse of the St. Lawrence River By Richard F. Palmer Poking its way through the backwaters of Lake Ontario and the Upper St. Lawrence River well into the 20th century was a fleet of little schooner-rigged vessels that played a very important role in commerce along the