1866
1866: CHICORA [Built-1864 Confederate States of America as LET-HER-B by C. William Miller & sons at Liverpool, Great Britain. Renamed: CHICORA-1864 Confederate States Of America, CHICORA-1866 C-53588, and WARRENKO-1920 C-53588] Built as blockade runner, with no superstructure, two fore & aft stacks, two raking masts. Turned over to Chicora Co. on December 17, 1863; cleared for Hamilton, Bermuda, on March 29, 1864, to operate Bermuda-Wilmington-Charleston. Laid up at Halifax, N.S., after war; first registered there on February 1, 1866.
1871
1871: On 01 February 1871, the SKYLARK (wooden propeller steamer, 90 tons, built in 1857) was purchased by the Goodrich Transportation Company from Thomas L. Parker for $6,000.
1883
1883: The steamer R. J. GORDON was sold to M. K. Muir of Detroit on 1 February 1883.
1886
1886: On 1 February 1886, Captain Henry Hackett died in Amherstburg, Ontario, at the age of 65. He and his brother, J. H. Hackett, organized the Northwestern Transportation Company in 1869.
2-1-1866
18CHICORA [Built-1864 Confederate States of America as LET-HER-B by C. William Miller & sons at Liverpool, Great Britain. Renamed: CHICORA-1864 Confederate States Of America, CHICORA-1866 C-53588, and WARRENKO-1920 C-53588] Built as blockade runner, with no superstructure, two fore & aft stacks, two raking masts. Turned over to Chicora Co. on December 17, 1863; cleared for Hamilton, Bermuda, on March 29, 1864, to operate Bermuda-Wilmington-Charleston. Laid up at Halifax, N.S., after war; first registered there on February 1, 1866.
1904
1904: In 1904, ANN ARBOR NO. 1 found the rest of the ferry fleet stuck in the ice outside Manitowoc. She made several attempts to break them loose, she became stuck there herself with the others for 29 days.
1908
1908: FRED PABST [Built-1890 US-120794 by Wolf and Davidson at Milwaukee, Wisconsin] First enrollment issued at Milwaukee, WI, May 24, 1890.Sunk in collision with propeller LAKE SHORE, October 11, 1907, in rapids of St. Clair River off Point Edward, Ontario, near Canadian shore; vessel upbound with coal at time of sinking; no lives lost. Raised by Reid Wrecking Co., February 1, 1908, and towed into Sarnia, Ontario. Plans for conversion to lighter in 1910 failed to materialize and hull was allowed to sink. Raised in fall, 1920, and converted to floating dry dock for Wolverine Dry Dock Co., at Port Huron, MI.
1917
1917: ANN ARBOR NO 6 (later ARTHUR K. ATKINSON) arrived Frankfort, Michigan, on her maiden voyage.
1926
1926: EDWARD Y TOWNSEND [Built-1906 US-203449 by Superior Ship Building Co. at Superior, Wisconsin] Aground because of low water, Buffalo, NY, February 1 through 6, 1926.
1933
1933: NYACK [Built 1878 US-130125 by Union Dry Dock Co. at Buffalo, New York] After lying in bone yard at Sturgeon Bay, WI, for a considerable period, was abandoned on February 1, 1933.
1955
1955: LADY GREY [Built-1906 C-122014 by Vickers, Sons & Maxim LTD. Barrow-in-Furness, Great Britain] Sunk in ice by collision with ferry CITY OF LEVIS, February 1, 1955, in St. Lawrence River six miles east of Quebec, off Beauport Bank.
1966
1966: The Liberty ship IOANNIS DASKALELIS came through the Seaway for one trip in 1962. It was abandoned in heavy weather as d) ROCKPORT on the Pacific and taken in tow. The vessel slowly sank about 600 miles from Midway Island on February 5. ROCKPORT was enroute from Vancouver to Japan and three dramatic photos of the ship sliding beneath the surface appeared in a number of newspapers.
1969
1969: The third LUKSEFJELL [Built-1952 IMO-5214448] to visit the Great Lakes was anchored at Constanza, Romania, as b) AKROTIRI when there was an explosion in the engine room. A roaring fire spread throughout the midships accommodation area and the blaze claimed the lives of 21 of the 25 crewmembers on board. The hull was sold to Romanian shipbreakers and broken up in 1970.
1972
1972: In 1972, ENDERS M. VOORHEES locked through the Poe Lock downbound, closing the Soo Locks for the season.
1974
1974: AMETHYST ran aground off River Douro, on the northeast coast of Portugal, while inbound for Leixos with maize from New Orleans. The vessel had been anchored waiting to enter the river when heavy weather swept the area. The vessel dragged anchor, stranded and, on February 6, broke in two as a total loss. It first came through the Seaway in 1971.
1981
1981: The former ANDERS ROGENAES and MEDICINE HAT came inland in 1964. It ran aground as h) YANMAR at Guayaquil, Ecuador, while outbound for Port Limon, Costa Rica. An onboard crankcase explosion followed on February 23. The vessel was a total loss and sold for scrapping at Brownsville, Texas. Work began on dismantling the ship at that location on June 12, 1981
1990.
1990: On February 1, 1990, the U.S.C.G.C. MESQUITE was officially decommissioned.
2021
2021: On this day in 2021, ROGER BLOUGH caught fire at Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay. The blaze heavily damaged the aft end where the unloading conveyor is located. The Blough was one of the boats tied up during the slowdown in 2020 because of the pandemic. Moved to Conneaut, Ohio, November 22, by tug for continued layup and possible eventual scrapping.
Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Father Dowling Collection, Brian Bernard, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.
