Over the years there were a lot of boats used in the process of getting wood to the Grand Falls Mill. Here is a preliminary listing of most of the large boats used over the years. It doesn’t include smaller river boats, small boats, Gander River Boats, or the numerous barges that were used, because there is little information and there were so many of them.
Note: I don’t have a clue how many Russel winch boats were owned by the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company. These tough steel boats were handy and versatile and they also could be fairly easily loaded into the back of a logging truck and portaged from pond to pond, lake, river etc. Therefore any one of these boats could have been on several different bodies of water. I have records of about a half a dozen of them that were left in the woods after they were of no further use.
Besides the vessels listed below, the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company also built two very large schooners and purchased a surplus naval trawler between 1918-1922. The schooners (Sordello and Bella Scott) were both built at Botwood in an effort to mitigate shipping shortages, the trawler was bought in 1920 for ice breaking and to tow booms of pulpwood from parts of Notre Dame Bay.
Pictures of some of the boats can be found here: https://wordpress.com/post/anglonewfoundlanddevelopmentcompany.wordpress.com/5370
If anybody has additional photos, please contact me.
| Name of Vessel | Where Used | Approximate Dates | Material | Notes |
| “Annie” AKA the Alligator. | Red Indian Lake-Millertown | 1900-1920’s | Wood | West and Peachy Steam Warping Tug. Assembled at Millertown in kit form by representatives from the builders. Machinery removed and put into another tug of same design at Rogerson Lake Circa 1930. Miller may have had a similar vessel at Glenwood. Miller had one boat of 6 tons at Glenwood. The Annie was often referred to as “The Alligator” she was later used mainly in working the booms at the mouth of Victoria and the Exploits Dam. She was also reportedly used as a skidder using her winches to haul wood from land. |
| Unknown Steam Launch | Red Indian Lake | 1900-01 | Wood | Steam powered open launch built and used by Lewis Miller Company. Seen in pictures. |
| “Henry M” | Red Indian Lake-Millertown | Prior to 1905 | Wood | Steam paddle side wheeler built to service camps of Lewis Miller and Newfoundland Timber Estates. Later used by AND Company. Disposition unknown. |
| Unknown Steamer Under Construction | Red Indian Lake-Millertown | 1904-1905- | Wood | Under construction when Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company buys Millertown property. |
| Lady Mary | Red Indian Lake | 1908-09-1920s | Wood | Built by Adam Chaulk for the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company in 1908-09. Large screw propeller steamer. “engined by the Reid Newfoundland Company. Used to supply camps, transport men and to tow booms of pulpwood. Disposition unknown, but was used alongside the Fleetway at some point. May have been condemned around 1922-23. Disposition unknown. Not known if machinery was salvaged to be used in another boat. |
| Fleetway | Red Indian Lake | 1921-1928 | Wood | Built by Adam Chaulk for Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company at Millertown. Largest boat built on Freshwater in Newfoundland. Towed much of the material for the building of Buchans. Was holed by stump or deadhead around the Winter of 1928 and sunk in situ at Red Indian Lake. Remains and boiler can still be seen in low water. |
| Alligator II | Rogerson Lake | 1920’s-1930’s | Wood | Constructed along the lines of the SS. Annie using much of that vessels machinery. Hauled up and left at Rogerson Lake. Remains can still be seen. |
| Unknown Paddle Wheel Steamer-named Alligator | Badger Lakes | 1920’s. (Possibly 1910’s-30’s) | Wood | Built on the lakes disposition unknown. Described as an alligator boat. Powered by a steam engine. |
| Coronation (I) | Exploits River and Rattling Brook Depot | 1937-Circa 1952 | Wood | Used to tow scows and to transport loggers across the Exploits River to Rattling Brook Depot. There was another boat here before this. |
| “Kerosene” | Red Indian Lake | 1940’s or before, before being replaced by the Mary March | Wood | Fire Patrol Boat may have had a different actual name. |
| “Iron Sides” | Pine Falls and Noel Paul Brook-Noel Paul’s Steady, Long Lake | Circa 1928-1963 | Metal | Mentioned by Mr. Doug Reccord who worked at Pine Falls in the late thirties or early forties. Mentioned in Western Star as having an overhaul by mechanic Bill Taylor. It was brought to Long Lake in the 1950s and was still in use in 1963 at which point it was noted to be “at least 35 years old.” noted as warping tug. Disposition is unknown after Long Lake. |
| Henry S (Crowe) | South Twin Lake | Circa 1947 | Wood | Built by Andrew Manual. 40 foot wooden tow boat with a Caterpillar Engine (same power as a D8). Scrapped circa 1957 and engines brought to Millertown for future use. Engines were cut out of her. Remains of one or both of these boats may be present at South Twin. |
| Sir Vincent (Jones) | South Twin Lake | Circa 1947 | Wood | Same as above
Note: Prior to these boats there was a large open boat with a fairly powerful 50 or 60 horsepower engine used on the Twin Lakes. |
| Frances H (I) | Gander Lake | April 1948 | Wood | |
| Unknown wooden tug/tow boat | Crooked Lake-Badger Lake | Completed April 1949 | Wood | Equipped with a 4400 Caterpillar Marine Diesel Engine, built at South Twin Lake Depot by Andrew Manual. |
| Wooden Towboat | Gull Lake (Near South Twin) | 1948 | Wood | Burned in accident, large enough to tow dory as tender. Operated by Walter Fudge. |
| “Transportation Boat” | South Twin Lake | Built 1948 | Wood | Built by Andrew Manual |
| Unknown Boat | Sandy Lake | 1948 | Probably wood | Andrew Manual was to install a towing winch and a Russel Engine on the boat at Sandy Lake, Western Star April 23, 1948
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| Unknown Motorboat | Miguel Lake | 1948 and Before | Wood | Also used to tow scow. Western Star July 1948. |
| Unknown Large Tow Boat | Terra Nova Lake | June 1949 | Wood | Built at Gambo by James Genge. Over 40 feet long with a 53 hp engine. (Western Star) |
| New All Steel Boat | Black Pond?-Millertown Division | 1951 | Steel | Western Star 1951-02-16. Replaced “old wooden tow boat which had been in operation in the area.” Possibly one of the Russel boats mentioned below. |
| Coronation II | Exploits River-Rattling Brook Depot | 1952/3- | Wood | Possibly built by Walter Forward, replaced earlier vessel with same name. Used between Bishop’s Falls and Rattling Brook Depot. |
| Fleetway II | Red Indian Lake | 1955-1980’s | Metal | Russel Tug Boat. 42 feet long, 17tons gt. Was still registered with a Company in St. John’s in 2003. |
| Mary March | Red Indian Lake and area | 1950’s-1960’s | Wood | Wooden fire patrol boat, built at Millertown also used on larger lakes in area. |
| Frances H II | Gander Lake | 1950’s-60’s | Wood | Used to supply AND Co’s two woods camps on Gander Lake. Wooden supply boat used. Have picture. |
| Lady Northcott | Gander and Victoria Lakes | 1950’s- | Unknown | Moved from Gander Lake to Victoria. Picture somewhere in Advertiser circa 1958-59. Picture shows the boat being transported in the back of a dump truck. Larger tug with cab. |
| Exploits | Exploits River and Grand Falls Mill Pond | 1950’s-1995 | Metal |
Russel Winch boat. Another identical boat Victoria was also used here, it may also have been used on Victoria Lake. |
| “Maizie M” | Long Lake | 1950’s-60’s | Wood | 38 Foot Motor Boat Burned in accident 1959 or 60 when gas fumes were ignited by spark from igniter wire. Was replaced by similar wooden tug which was pulled up and may still be there. |
| Miss Dixie | Terra Nova and Bishop’s Falls | 1950’s-60’s | Possibly Metal | “Transferred to Bishop’s Falls to replace the steel boat that was moved to Burnt Pond for the Drive” There is a picture of a Russel Type boat at Terra Nova around this time. |
| Shanawdithit | Red Indian Lake | Circa 1970’s-1980’s | Steel | Ville Class Russel Tug Boat built during WW2. Not known when it came to Millertown |
| Miss Millertown | Red Indian lake | Was on Red Indian in 1960’s. | Steel | Same as above |
| Unknown Russel Winch Boat | Badger Lake | 1950’s | Steel | Reported to have been used. Replaced earlier wooden boat built in 1949. Possibly used later because they stopped using this system from circa 1956-1967. |
| Unknown Russel Winch Boat | Neyles Bridge, Indian Arm Pond | 1951?-1961 | Steel | May be one of the other boats listed here, moved after operations here ended in 1962. |
| Unknown Russel Winch Boat | West Lake | 1950-1960’s | Steel | Still at location, Standard Russel Winch Boat. Used on west branch Drive towing wood on West lake and Leonard’s Lake. There is also a picture of a Russel Boat at Cripple Back Lake, possibly same boat as this was on the same system. Bought by AND Co in 1950. |
| Unknown Russel Winch Boat | Near Rogerson Lake | Steel | ||
| Unknown Russel Winch boat without cab | Near Rogerson Lake | Steel | Still in location, no cab, engine in place, clearly marked as Russell boat. | |
| Unknown steel boom boat no cab | Grand Falls Mill-Exploits river | 1974-1994? | Steel | Was near river in 2006 has since disappeared. Possibly built by DF Barnes in St. John’s. it appears that at least two similar boats were used in the construction of Goodyear’s dam in the mid-1970s to move concrete into place. |
An investigation of aerial photographs from the 1970s suggests that there were at least two Russel type steel boats at Pamehoc Lake, this is in addition to a 25-foot trap skiff type boat and at least four smaller wooden boats. I’m not sure if these steel boats are ones that are recorded here somewhere already, or what happened to them.
The number of smaller wooden boats-bateaus, Gander Bay Boats, skiffs and rodneys; is much higher than originally estimated. Around the Main Noel Paul Dam I know of at least four bateau type boats left after 1964. I’d multiply that number at least a couple of times for that river; although some of these boats would be rotted away to nothing by now. For all the bodies of water, the number must be in the hundreds. As I keep saying, there was no shortage of two things in the woods-wood to build boats, and people that could build them, especially since many loggers came from well-known boat building areas.
A few additions from the early years would be the Number 5 motor boat and the motor boat Eva on the Badger Lakes; and to note that the alligator boat used on Badger Lake, was actually formally named the SS Alligator.
Anglo Newfoundland Development Company 