Today in Great Lakes History – October 6

1863
1863:   On this day October 5, 1863, the PEWABIC took on her first cargo at Cleveland. She was nearly completed but only able to carry freight. Her owners, Messrs. J. T. Whiting & Co., of Detroit, planned to get in three trips of cargo that fall and then finish her during the winter layup, adding the state rooms and everything designed for the comfort and convenience of passengers.

1870
1870:   The schooner E. FITZGERALD was launched at the Fitzgerald & Leighton yard at Port Huron, MI. She measured 135 feet long, 26 feet wide, and 11 feet deep.

1873
1873:   JOHN A. MCDOUGALL (wooden schooner barge; 151 feet; 415 gross tons) was launched at Wenona, MI. She was built at the Ballentine yard in only five weeks.

1875
1875:   MERCHANT (iron propeller passenger-package freight steamer; 200 feet; 750 tons; built in 1862 at Buffalo, NY) was carrying lumber on Lake Michigan when she stranded on Racine Reef near Racine, WI. The vessel caught fire and was gutted before she could be refloated. She had stranded on that same reef twice previously. She was the first iron cargo ship built on the lakes and the first one lost.

1889
1889:   PHILO SCOVILLE (three-masted wooden schooner; 140 feet; 323 tons; built in 1863 at Cleveland, OH) was sailing from Collingwood, ON, for Chicago, IL, when a storm drove her into the shallows and wrecked her near Tobermory, ON. Her captain died while trying to get ashore through the rocks. The Canadian Lifesaving Service saved the rest of the crew. The vessel was initially expected to be recovered, but she broke up by October 10.

1893
1893:   DAVID STEWART (three-masted wooden schooner; 171 feet; 545 gross tons; built in 1867 at Cleveland, OH) foundered in a gale off Pigeon Bay on Lake Erie. Her crew clung to the frozen rigging for 14 hours until saved by the fish tug LOUISE of Sandusky, OH. The STEWART was carrying iron ore at the time of her loss.

1910
1910:   The wooden freighter MUSKEGON, formerly the PEERLESS, was damaged by a fire at Michigan City, IN, and became a total loss.

1958
1958:   SHIERCLIFFE HALL hit bottom in the St. Marys River and was intentionally grounded off Lime Island with substantial damage. The ship was refloated and repaired at Collingwood, ON.

1966
1966:   EMSSTEIN and OLYMPIC PEARL collided south of St. Clair, MI, and the former had to be beached before it capsized. This West German freighter made 19 trips to the Great Lakes from 1959–1967 and arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, for scrapping as d.) VIOLETTA on May 28, 1978. The latter, on her first trip to the Great Lakes, had bow damage and was also repaired. This ship arrived at Alang, India, for scrapping as b.) AL TAHSEEN on May 6, 1985.

1972
1972:   The bow section of the barge PRESQUE ISLE arrived Erie, PA, under tow of the tugs MARYLAND and LAURENCE C. TURNER. The total cost to construct the tug/barge 1,000-footer was approximately $35 million.

1972:   ALGORAIL hit the pier inbound at Holland, MI, with a cargo of salt and settled on the bottom about 12 feet off the dock with a gash in the port bow. The vessel was refloated in 24 hours and headed to Thunder Bay, ON, for repairs.

1980
1980:   The LAC DES ILES grounded in the Detroit River just below Grassy Island as the result of a faulty steering mechanism. She freed herself a few hours later. The damage caused by the grounding ended her career. She was scrapped at Port Colborne, ON, in 1985.

1981
1981:   The Roech self-unloader ERINDALE’s bow was damaged when she hit the Allanburg Bridge abutment running downbound in the Welland Canal. Built in 1915 as a.) W.F. WHITE, she was renamed b.) ERINDALE in 1976.

1982
1982:   CONTINENTAL PIONEER made eight trips through the Seaway from 1960–1964. As c.) AGRILIA, a fire broke out in the vessel’s accommodation area about 20 miles north of Porto Praia, Cape Verde, on this date in 1982, and the heavily damaged ship was abandoned before it drifted aground in position 15.06 N, 23.30 W.

1986
1986:   Herb Fraser & Associates completed repairs on the ALGOSOO at the Welland Dock. She had suffered a serious fire at her winter mooring on the west wall above Lock 8 at Port Colborne, ON, on March 7, 1986.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Jody Aho, 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.