Today in Great Lakes History – August 30

1873
1873:   CAMBRIDGE (three-masted wooden schooner; 162 feet; 445 tons; built in 1868 at Detroit, MI) was bound from Marquette, MI, for Cleveland, OH, with a load of iron ore. In rough seas, she was thrown onto the rocky shore near Marquette, where she broke up. No lives were lost.

1892
1892:   The 2-year-old steel bulk carrier WESTERN RESERVE foundered about 60 miles above Whitefish Point with the loss of 26 lives. There was only one survivor.

1893
1893:   CENTURION (steel propeller freighter; 350 feet; 3,401 gross tons) was launched by F.W. Wheeler (Hull #100) at West Bay City, MI. The name was a pun to celebrate the ship as Frank Wheeler’s 100th hull.

1900
1900:   Thousands of people gathered at the Jenks Shipbuilding Co. near the Grand Trunk Bridge on the Black River in Port Huron, MI, to watch the launching of the large steel steamer CAPTAIN THOMAS WILSON. Superintendent Andrews gave the word, and the blows were struck simultaneously at the bow and stern. The vessel slowly started quivering slightly from deck to keel, and then with a mighty rush, slid sideways into the river. Her stern stuck in the mud. Mrs. Thomas Wilson christened the ship.

1903
1903:   The H.G. DALTON entered service for Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Transportation Co. She would later be renamed b.) COURSEULLES in 1916, c.) GLENDOCHART in 1922, d.) CHATSWORTH in 1927, e.) BAYLEAF in 1942, and f.) MANCOX in 1951.

1903:   PITTSBURGH burned at the dock in Sandwich, ON. The oak-hulled passenger and freight paddlewheeler had been built in 1871 as MANITOBA. The hull was towed to Port Dalhousie, ON, for scrapping later in 1904.

1942
1942:   The A.H. FERBERT, just a day old, ran aground in the St. Marys River. The vessel returned to the builder’s yard in River Rouge, MI, for repairs.

1942:   NEEBING (i), a former bulk canaller that dated from 1903, left the lakes for war service in about 1915. It survived the initial conflict and continued in saltwater service into WII. The ship was torpedoed and sunk on this date as c.) JAN TOMP in the eastern Black Sea en route from Poti, Georgia, to Novorossiysk, Russia.

1952
1952:   The iron-hulled paddle wheeler HAMILTONIAN burned at Hamilton, ON. The cause was believed to have been a carelessly discarded cigarette butt in the women’s washroom. The remains were scrapped at Hamilton in 1953.

1964
1964:   The retired Bradley Transportation steamer CALCITE was awarded the National Safety Council Award of Merit. The CALCITE accumulated a total of 1,394,613 man-hours of continuous operation over 17 years without a disabling, lost-time injury. The CALCITE was the first Great Lakes vessel to ever receive this honor.

1973
1973:   The CHARLES E. WILSON was christened at Bay Shipbuilding Co. for the American Steamship Co. and completed her sea trials on September 6. She was renamed b.) JOHN J. BOLAND in 2000.

1975
1975:   B.A. CANADA came to the Great Lakes beginning in 1966 after early work for British-American tankers between Venezuela and North America. The ship was sold and returned inland under Liberian registry as b.) DIMITRIOS D.M. in 1969 and ran aground in the Panama Canal on this date in 1975. The damaged hull was laid up at Jacksonville, FL, and arrived at Panama City, FL, for scrapping on March 10, 1976.

1985
1985:   The tug CAPTAIN IOANNIS S. departed Quebec City, QC, with MENIHEK LAKE and LEON FALK JR. in tow, bound for Spain to be scrapped.

1988
1988:   The WILLOWGLEN, formerly a.) MESABI, made its first visit to the Twin Ports under that name. She loaded grain at Harvest States in Superior, WI, arriving early in the morning and departing in the early evening the same day. Her last visit to Duluth, MI, before this was in 1981 under the name c.) JOSEPH X. ROBERT.

2001
2001:   MARLY, a Seaway caller in 1981, began flooding in the #2 hold as d.) BISMIHITA’LA and developed a severe list. The crew abandoned the ship, and 25 sailors were picked up by the MURIEL YORK. Three were lost when their lifeboat drifted into the propeller. The ship was 500 miles off Cape Town, South Africa. It was taken in tow by the tug SUHAILI, but the 25-year-old freighter had to be scuttled at sea on September 17, 2001.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, David Swayze, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, James Neumiller, Jody L. Aho, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. Compiled by Roger LeLievre.