1872
1872: The wooden steam barge MARY MILLS was launched at P. Lester’s yard at Marysville, Michigan.
1872: GRACE DORMER (wooden propeller passenger and package freight ferry, 71 feet, 66 gross tons, built in 1868 at Buffalo, New York) had just finished loading a cargo of fish at St. James, Beaver Island, when she caught fire and burned. One life was lost. The vessel was rebuilt and lasted until she burned at the boneyard at Grand Island, New York, in 1925.
1943
1943: The J.H. HILLMAN JR. (Hull #524), the 14th of 16 Maritime-class ships being built for Great Lakes Service, was launched at the Great Lakes Engineering yard at Ashtabula, Ohio. After having the stern of the CANADIAN EXPLORER, ex-CABOT of 1965, attached, her forward section later sailed as ALGOMA TRANSFER.
1943: FRANK ARMSTRONG departed light from Ashtabula, Ohio, on her maiden voyage in command of Captain H. Chesley Inches, bound for Superior, Wisconsin, to load iron ore.
1954
1954: CLIFFS VICTORY successfully completed her sea trials.
1954: PATERSON (i) entered service with 440,000 bushels of wheat from Port Arthur, Ontario. She was scrapped at Thunder Bay, Ontario, in 1985.
1964
1964: The A. & J. FAITH, idle at Cleveland and under arrest, was struck by the MIKAGESAN MARU when the latter was caught by a wind gust. The former sustained $5,000 in damage. This ship was sold and renamed c) SANTA SOFIA at Cleveland in August 1964. It arrived for scrapping at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as d) COSMOS MARINER in August 1970. The latter, a Japanese freighter that made 6 trips to the Great Lakes from 1962 to 1966, was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as b) UNION SINGAPORE in 1979.
1972
1972: U.S. Steel’s ROGER BLOUGH was moved out of the dry dock at Lorain, Ohio.
1983
1983: The JOHN B. AIRD was christened at Thunder Bay, Ontario, for Algoma Central Marine, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. She was scrapped overseas in 2017 as JOHN B.
Data from: Skip Gillham, Jody Aho, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. Compiled by Roger LeLievre.
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- J.H. Hillman Jr. in Wilson Transit Co. colors. Tom Manse collection
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- Frank Armstrong. Peter B. Worden collection/MHSD
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- Paterson in 1972. Know Your Ships collection
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- John B. Aird in the Welland Canal in 2004. Roger LeLievre collection