1871
1871: R.J. CARNEY (wooden barge; 150 feet; 397 gross tons) was launched at Saginaw, MI.
1872
1872: The 203-foot wooden schooner KATE WINSLOW was launched at J. Davidson’s yard in East Saginaw, MI.
1882
1882: The steamer ASIA sank in a storm off Byng Inlet, ON, on Georgian Bay. Over 100 people lost their lives, with only two — a man and a woman — rescued. ASIA was built in St. Catharines, ON, in 1873 and was bound from Collingwood, ON, to the French River and Sault Ste. Marie, ON.
1885
1885: Captain Albert Edgar Goodrich died at the age of 59 at his residence in Chicago, IL. He was a pioneer steamboat man and founded the Goodrich Transportation Co., famous for its passenger-package freight steamers on Lake Michigan.
1907
1907: The J.J. SULLIVAN (Hull #439) was launched at Cleveland, OH, by the American Ship Building Co. for the Superior Steamship Co. (Hutchinson & Co., manager). The vessel was renamed b.) CLARENCE B. RANDALL in 1963. She was scrapped at Windsor, ON, in 1988.
1960
1960: The Bahamas-registered vessel ITHAKA stranded 10 miles east of Churchill, MB, in Hudson Bay after the rudder broke and the anchors failed to hold in a storm. The ship had served on the Great Lakes for Hall as a.) FRANK A. AUGSBURY and e.) LAWRENCECLIFFE HALL (i), for Canada Steamship Lines as b.) GRANBY, and for Federal Commerce & Navigation as f.) FEDERAL PIONEER.
1962
1962: The HORACE S. WILKINSON was involved in a collision with the Canadian freighter CAROL LAKE in the Welland Canal. Rather than repair the WILKINSON, Wilson Marine had her towed to Superior, WI, for conversion to a barge. The cabin superstructure, engine, boilers, and auxiliary machinery were removed. The stern was squared off and notched to receive a tug. The WILKINSON was renamed WILTRANCO I and re-entered service in 1963 as a tug/barge combination with a crew of 10, pushed by the tug FRANCIS A. SMALL of 1966.
1963
1963: The BENJAMIN F. FAIRLESS, under the command of Captain Earl C. Bauman, received a National Safety Council Award of Merit for operating 1,001,248 consecutive man-hours without a lost-time accident. This accomplishment required 15 years, 600 round trips, and 1,200 passages through the Soo Locks.
1965
1965: FORT WILLIAM, which recently entered service as a package freight carrier for Canada Steamship Lines, capsized at Pier 65 in Montreal, QC. There was an ensuing fire when part of the cargo of powdered carbide formed an explosive gas, and five were killed. The vessel was refloated on November 22, 1965, repaired, and returned to service as b.) STEPHEN B. ROMAN.
1970
1970: The barge AFT, the forward part of the former STEEL KING (ii), arrived at Ramey’s Bend in Port Colborne, ON, under tow of the tug HERBERT A. for dismantling. The barge had been part of a tandem tow with the dipper dredge KING COAL, but the latter broke loose in a Lake Erie storm and sank.
1998
1998: The Cypriot-flagged STRANGE ATTRACTOR first came through the Seaway in 1989 as a.) LANTAU TRADER. It returned under the new name in 1996 and lost power on this date in 1998 while leaving the Upper Beauharnois Lock. The vessel had to be towed to the tie-up wall by OCEAN GOLF and SALVAGE MONARCH and was soon able to resume the voyage. STRANGE ATTRACTOR continued Great Lakes trading through 2003. It arrived for scrapping at Aliaga, Turkey, as d.) ORIENT FUZHOU on August 7, 2009.
Data from: Skip Gillham, Clive Reddin, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, James Neumiller, 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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- Fort William fire newspaper clipping. Roger LeLievre Collection
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- Lawrencecliffe Hall (i). Peter B. Worden Collection, MHSD
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- Horace S. Wilkinson. Peter B. Worden Collection, MHSD
