By The Schuylkill River & Urban Waters Research Corps Archive team
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Three Girls Drowned: In June 1901, a group of six men and women took a rowboat on to the Delaware River. The skiff's owner was not on the expedition, but at least one of the men was a member of the Federal Boat Club, from whence they departed. Apparently the three women and one of the men on board did not know how to swim. When the skiff capsized, the two other men managed to keep themselves and their male companion afloat long enough for another boater to rescue them. The three girls drowned. ~ Source: Google Books ~ Creator: The Philadelphia Record ~ Date: June 10, 1901Mamie Trainor was unlucky: Another report of the June 1901 accident focused on Mamie Trainor, a Philadelphia resident who frequently visited the Essington waterfront for recreational purposes. The article mentions the difficulty in recovering the bodies from the river due to the strong current. ~ Source: Google Books ~ Creator: The Philadelphia Record ~ Date: June 12, 1901Eight Missing After Tug Sinks in Delaware River: A tugboat transporting two oil barges from a Gulf refinery plant in Girard Point, PA to Bridgeton, NJ sunk in the Delaware River near Essington. The cause of the accident was not known. A tugboat from the Gibbstown DuPont plant rescued the Captain and first mate. The engineer, his daughter, and six other crew members drowned. The oil barges were recovered undamaged. Multiple newspapers reported the incident. ~ Source: Google Books ~ Creator: Painesville TelegraphThe Telegraph-HeraldReading Eagle ~ Date: April 1937Upset on the Delaware ~ Source: Google Books ~ Creator: The Philadelphia Record ~ Date: August 22, 1897
Strong currents and unseen objects beneath the river's surface pose threats to both recreational and commercial boaters, with potential lethal consequences. Boats have sunk quickly, leaving even strong swimmers at risk of drowning in the river's strong current. For information on oil spills caused by damaged oil barges, see Oil Spills.
