SS Hosmer Propeller - Nelson, BC
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T0SHEA
N 49° 29.992 W 117° 16.747
11U E 479789 N 5483063
This ship's prop, off the SS Hosmer Tugboat, remains at the old Nelson Museum building at the corner of Anderson Street and Nelson Avenue, which are actually Highway 6 as it passes through town.
Waymark Code: WMHK18
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 07/17/2013
Views: 5
This prop was manufactured by William Kennedy & Co. Ltd, of Owen Sound, Ontario. It propelled the SS Hosmer Tugboat from 1909 until 1934, when the tug burned to the waterline for the second and final time.
The Hosmer, built in Nelson in 1909, was a wooden hulled CPR tug which operated on Kootenay Lake until 1930, primarily pulling barges up and down the West Arm of Kootenay Lake. It was sold to be used as a houseboat in 1934.
This prop was eventually salvaged from the wreck and donated to the Nelson Museum, arriving there in August of 1984. The museum has since moved to the Vernon & Ward Street corner, downtown, but this prop, too large for the new digs, remains here on display.
The Hosmer's history.
The Hosmer was built 1909 in Nelson by J.M. Bulger for the CPR. It was the largest tug for the CPR barge service on Kootenay Lake. It worked from Procter to Kootenay Landing from 1909 to 1930, when the rail line was completed between Procter and Kootenay Landing. The Hosmer went through two major rebuilds, first in 1918-19, and again in 1925 after it burnt to the waterline. Rebuilt then by John Stobo with an additional deck to improve visibility from wheelhouse, the Hosmer was relaunched on October 2. The rebuild recycled used doors, windows, and the searchlight from the tug Castlegar, and installed a new boiler.
It was sold to Bob Moon in 1934 for $762 for use as a houseboat at Bealby Point. Shortly after it was moved, it burned to the waterline. The boiler is still visible today, and the hull can be seen from shore during low water levels in the spring.