The Niagara bouy

To the north-northeast of the main section lies the voracious boiler assembly that supplied steam for the engine. Such boilers consumed about 240 acres of forest each year, enough wood to build 600 mid-size houses. Sitting up higher than a two-story building, the intact boiler measures 26 feet long, 27 feet wide, and 17 ½ feet high. The boiler assembly consists of three return fire tube boilers, each measuring 18 feet 10 inches long by 8 feet diameter, and a single large firebox, 26 feet 8 inches wide, 7 feet 3 inches deep, and 11 feet high. Atop the firebox, two steam chambers extend up an additional 6 feet 6 inches. The Niagara’s two smoke stacks, 3 feet in diameter, formerly passed through the steam chambers but have broken off.

Divers and non-divers alike can visit Harrington Beach State Park outside of Belgium, Wisconsin. A waterfront exhibit overlooks the site where the Niagara burned and features a 3000 lb. anchor salvaged from the wreck and a historic marker that commemorates the vessel and those who lost their lives in its destruction.

You can learn more about the Niagara's history and archeological findings in "The History and Archaeology of the Great Lakes Steamboat Niagara" by John Jensen in the 1999 Spring issue of the Wisconsin Magazine of History.

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