The US Brig Niagara, built in Erie during the War of 1812, along with most of the warships that served in the war, was sunk for preservation in Misery Bay, in 1820. Raised in April of 1913, it was reconstructed by local shipbuilder William Paasch for the occasion of the centennial celebration of the Battle of Lake Erie. The reconstructed ship then sat for more than two decades at the foot of State street, until rescued as a Works Progress Administration project by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This second reconstruction effort stalled though in the postwar era, hampered by the lack of funds caused by the after-effects of the Great Depression. Eventually it was finished in time for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie in 1963. After the celebration the ship sat in a concrete cradle at the foot of State Street, a neglected old naval icon. In the mid-1980s the Flagship Niagara League, with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, begun the task of making Niagara sail again. After years of determined work, the Niagara, entirely reconstructed by noted ship designer Melbourne Smith, was re-launched on September 10, 1988, the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie. Today the ship sails with a crew of 30-40 professional and trained volunteer crew, and with the financial support of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and the Flagship Niagara League. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 11, 1973, and was designated the official state ship of Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1988.
When the Niagara was raised from Misery Bay for the centennial of the Battle of Lake Erie its keel was found to be in good enough condition for the brig to be rebuilt. Efforts to rebuild the Niagara were hampered by the lack of original plans. The restored Niagara was launched on June 7, 1913, complete with a new bowsprit, rigging and reproduction cannons supplied by the Boston Navy Yard. From mid-July to mid-September the Niagara was towed to various ports on the Great Lakes by the USS Wolverine — the Navy's first iron-hulled warship. Returning to Erie on September 21, and cribbed up just out of the water, ownership of the Niagara was transferred to the City of Erie in 1917, where it remained docked, deteriorating.
The City of Erie transferred ownership of the Niagara to the newly formed USS Niagara Foundation in 1929, which was tasked with acquiring and restoring the ship and making it the centerpiece of a museum. The onset of the Great Depression forced the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to take ownership, through the Flagship Niagara Commission, two years later. $50,000 was made available for another restoration in 1931, but by 1938 the state stopped its funding, leaving the restoration unfinished.
The Niagara was transferred to the Pennsylvania Historical Commission, predecessor of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and became a project for the Works Progress Administration. The Historical Commission contracted Howard I. Chapelle to draw up plans for another restoration of the Niagara, based on other period ships that were built by Noah Brown, like the Saratoga. According to Chapelle, very little of the original Niagara remained, as parts of it had been sold as souvenirs, and the 1913 reconstruction was not accurate to the period.
The hull of the Niagara was launched in October 1943 without any masts, spars, or rigging. It was placed in a concrete cradle in 1951. Discovery of dry rot throughout every part of the Niagara made it clear that a complete reconstruction would eventually be needed. Funds were appropriated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to make the Niagara presentable for the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Lake Erie in 1963, with the addition of rigging and cannons.
In 1981 the Flagship Niagara League was formed with intent of reconstructing the Niagara, so that it would be a working ship, instead of an outdoor museum piece. The organization was eventually incorporated a non-profit organization associated with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Melbourne Smith was hired in 1986 by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to head the reconstruction. The decay of the Niagara was so bad that it was dismantled and ultimately destroyed, with various timbers salvaged and used in non-structural areas of the ship. The destruction of the old ship, and use of new wood, often lends the Niagara to be considered a replica. While the first Niagara was built hurriedly, the new Niagara was built out of properly seasoned and preserved yellow pine and Douglas fir.
The new Niagara was launched on September 10, 1988, but was not completed until July 18, 1990, when its sea trials were held. The Pennsylvania General Assembly designated the Niagara as the official flagship of Pennsylvania on April 29, 1988, and described its purpose as being a sailing ambassador for Pennsylvania. In March 2008 the yellow pine mainmast was replaced with one of Douglas fir.
The Niagara is one of two remaining vessels that served in the War of 1812, the second being the USS Constitution. The United States Coast Guard certified the Niagara as a Sailing School Vessel in August 2005. For safety reasons, the Niagara was equipped with modern equipment such as auxiliary diesel engines, lifeboats, radar, LORAN and radio.
The Niagara was also depicted on a commemorative Pennsylvania license plate. In 2009 the Flagship Niagara League assumed day-to-day management of the Niagara, after a decision by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to cut $250,000 to fill a budget deficit. The Niagara was used to depict the whaleship Essex in an episode of the Public Broadcasting Service documentary series American Experience.
US Brig Niagara's specifications:
Class: Brig
Launched:1813
Rebuilt In: 1913, 1933, 1988
Length: 198 feet overall, 111 feet at the waterline
Beam: 31 feet
Draft: 10 feet, 6 inches
Displacement: 295 tons
Foremast: 113 feet, 4 inches above waterline
Mainmast: 118 feet, 4 inches above waterline
Crew: Approximately 155
Armament: (1813) Eighteen 32 pounder carronades; two 12 pounder long guns
Armament: (1997) two 32 pounder carronades, two 12 pounder long guns
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| US Brig Niagara, Presque Isle (1938) |
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| US Brig Niagara, at the foot of State Street (1960s) |
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| Erie mayor Louis J. Tullio (center) congratulating Melbourne Smith (left) on the reconstruction of the Niagara. |
