New Brunswick Anchor | Art in the Heart of STC

Details

Westchester Street & St. Paul Street | Shickluna Shipyards | 1982

Description

The New Brunswick Anchor belonged to the New Brunswick, the ship that was long considered one of the missing “treasure ships” of the Great Lakes. It was August 1858, when the barque New Brunswick was heavy with a cargo of oak and black walnut timbers. The ship was sailing along the Lake Erie shore when the waves became too much causing the New Brunswick to founder in 40 feet of water. In 1980 the anchor was finally retrieved from the bottom of Lake Erie and was donated to the City of St. Catharines in 1982.

New Brunswick Anchor is a part of the City of St. Catharines Civic Art Collection.

Shipbuilding in St. Catharines 1845

St. Catharines became an important part of the shipping industry due to the building of the Welland Canals and its location between two Great lakes. Louis Shickluna, a shipbuilder who emigrated to St. Catharines from Malta, began working as a builder in the Russell Armington shipyard, located at the 6th Lock of the first Welland Canal. Shickluna bought the yard in 1845 and began constructing and repairing ships establishing himself as a premier shipbuilder. Shickluna Shipyards had an international reputation for building some of the biggest and best vessels of its time. The Shickluna Shipyards build and serviced more than 200 vessels in almost 40 years of business.