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History
United States
Name	Niagara
Owner	Charles M. Reed (1845-185?)
Operator	Reed's Line (1846-185?) Collingwood Line (1855-56)
Builder	Bidwell & Banta, Buffalo, NY
Launched	6 June 1845
Completed	1845
Fate	Caught fire and sank, September 24, 1856
General characteristics
Class and type	Passenger-cargo steamboat
Tons burthen	1099
Length	230 ft.
Beam	34 ft.
Depth of hold	14 ft.
Installed power	1 × vertical beam
Propulsion	Sidewheels
Niagara (steamer)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of WisconsinShow map of the United States
Location	One mile off Belgium, Wisconsin
Coordinates	43°14′18″N 87°50′43″W / 43.23833°N 87.84528°W / 43.23833; -87.84528
Built	1845
MPS	Great Lakes Shipwreck Sites of Wisconsin MPS
NRHP reference No.	96001456
Added to NRHP	December 16, 1996

The Niagara was a 245-foot (75 m) long sidewheel palace steamer launched in 1845. It carried passengers and cargo around the North American Great Lakes. It was owned by the Collingwood Line.

On September 23, 1856, the Niagara left Sheboygan, Wisconsin, headed for Port Washington, Wisconsin, on Lake Michigan, carrying 170 passengers and a heavy load of cargo. Fire broke out in the area of the engine room at around 6:00 pm, and the steam engines and the paddlewheels soon stopped. The steamer, which was 4–5 miles offshore, quickly became engulfed in flames and smoke. Efforts to use the fire hose were unsuccessful. The passengers panicked while trying to board the lifeboats, capsizing all but one of them. Many jumped overboard into the water, which was reported to be too cold for anyone to survive in it. Several ships in the area rushed to the scene and rescued most of the passengers. The captain and most of the crew survived, but more than 60 on board perished, making it one of Wisconsin's deadliest transportation disasters. Among those lost was John B. Macy, a former member of the United States Congress.

It was reported at the time that the fire was caused by an incendiary. The Captain insisted the fire could not have started in the engine room, because it was fireproof, and blamed combustible cargo stored below. It appears that the cause of the fire was never definitively established.

The wreck of the Niagara lies in 55 feet (17 m) of water one mile (1.6 km) off Belgium, Wisconsin.

References

1. "Marine Disasters and Shipwrecks Milwaukee Letter N - Milwaukee County Wisconsin".
2. "Telegraphic Intelligence". The Charleston Mercury. 1856-09-27. p. 2.
3. "Particulars of the Burning of the Niagara". The Daily Ohio Statesman. 1856-09-27. p. 3.
4. "The Burning of the Steamer Niagara". The Daily Ohio Statesman. 1856-09-30. p. 3.
5. "Dreadful Lake Disaster! 100 Lives Lost!". The Daily Ohio Statesman. 1856-09-26. p. 3.
6. "Burning of Steamer Niagara - One Hundred Lives Lost". The Sun (Baltimore, MD). 1856-09-26. p. 1.
7. "The Burning of the Streamer Niagara -- Further Particulars". The Sun (Baltimore, MD). 1856-09-30. p. 1.
8. "The Burning of the Niagara -- Fifty or Sixty Lives Lost". The Sun (Baltimore, MD). 1856-09-27. p. 1.
9. "Maritime Trails account of the Niagara disaster". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-07-10.

• This article incorporates text from John B. Macy

• "Port Washington, WI (Off Shore) Steamer NIAGARA Burns, Sep 1856 | GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods". Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2009-06-10.

v t e National Register of Historic Places in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin
Historic districts	Columbia Historic District (Cedarburg, Wisconsin) Green Bay Road Historic District (Thiensville, Wisconsin) Hamilton Historic District (Cedarburg, Wisconsin) Main Street Historic District (Thiensville, Wisconsin) Port Washington Downtown Historic District Washington Avenue Historic District (Cedarburg, Wisconsin)
Belgium	PS Niagara
Cedarburg	Cedarburg Mill Concordia Mill Covered Bridge (Cedarburg, Wisconsin) Hilgen and Wittenberg Woolen Mill Wayside House
Grafton	Cedarburg Woolen Co. Worsted Mill Grafton Flour Mill Milwaukee Falls Lime Company Northerner (schooner)
Mequon	Bigelow School (Mequon, Wisconsin) Jonathan Clark House Isham Day House SS J.M. Allmendinger William F. Jahn Farmstead Mequon Town Hall and Fire Station Complex Edwin J. Nieman Sr. House O'Brien-Peuschel Farmstead John Reichert Farmhouse Frank Vocke Octagonal Barn Jacob Voigt House Island City (schooner)
Port Washington	Harry W. Bolens House Edward Dodge House (Port Washington, Wisconsin) Hoffman House Hotel Old Ozaukee County Courthouse Port Washington Fire Engine House Port Washington Light Station Port Washington North Breakwater Light St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church (Port Washington, Wisconsin) Tennie and Laura (schooner) SS Senator
Saukville	Payne Hotel
Waubeka	Kendall Cabinet Shop Stony Hill School (Waubeka, Wisconsin)
See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin and List of National Historic Landmarks in Wisconsin

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1856
Shipwrecks	7 Jan: Tejuca 30 Jan: Cazador 31 Jan: Pallada January (unknown date): Pacific 10 Jan: E. K. Collins 28 Aug: Isaac Allerton 5 Sep: Arabia 24 Sep: Niagara 28 Sep: Coromandel 24 Oct: Toledo 7 Nov: Eleanor Lancaster Unknown date: Sea Witch
Other incidents	5 Jan: USCS Benjamin Peirce January (unknown date): HMS Hecate 10 Jun: HMS Belleisle 2 Sep: Ellan Vannin Unknown date: RMS Persia
1855 1857

• 1845 ships
• 1856 in the United States
• Great Lakes ships
• Maritime incidents in September 1856
• Paddle steamers
• Passenger ships of the United States
• Ship fires
• Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan
• Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin
• Steamships of the United States
• Transportation disasters in Wisconsin
• National Register of Historic Places in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin
• Ships built in Buffalo, New York
• Wreck diving sites