ST. CLAIR (wooden propeller freighter with some passenger accommodations, 127 feet, 326 gross tons, built in 1867 at Algonac, Michigan) had 14 crew and 18 passengers aboard along with a cargo of flour, feed and deck loads of cattle as she sailed on Lake Superior. At 02:00, she caught fire about five miles off shore from 14 Mile Point. She was a wood burner and had a history of shipboard fires. The fire spread so quickly that only one boat could be launched, and being overloaded, it capsized. The cries of those left on the vessel, along with the bellowing of the cattle, were heart-rending. Only six survived in the one lifeboat since the cold water took its toll on those who clung to it. Eventually, they righted the boat and paddled to shore, leaving the ST. CLAIR burned to the waterline.
1891
W.A. MOORE (wood propeller tug, 119 feet, 212 gross tons, built in 1865 at Detroit, Michigan) burned to a total loss at Cleveland, Ohio.
1917
The bulk carrier WILLIAM S. MACK collided with the passenger freighter MANITOBA in fog off Whitefish Point and had to be beached. It was subsequently refloated and repaired. The ship was renamed HOME SMITH on October 10, 1917, and last sailed as ALGORAIL (i) in 1963 before being scrapped at Toronto.
1967
The NEW YORK NEWS (iii) and the saltwater ship NORDGLIMT collided off Escoumins, Quebec, with only minor damage.
1973
WILLIAM R. ROESCH, renamed b.) DAVID Z. NORTON in 1995, loaded her first cargo at Superior, Wisconsin, where she took on 18,828 tons of iron ore bound for Jones & Laughlin’s Cuyahoga River plant at Cleveland.
1988
The BENJAMIN F. FAIRLESS and her fleet mate IRVING S. OLDS passed through the Panama Canal under tow of the German tug OSA RAVENSTURM. The pair was on a 14,000-mile journey to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, arriving there on November 8, 1988, for scrapping by Sing Cheng Yung Iron & Steel Co. Ltd.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
COQUETTE (one-mast wooden scow-sloop, 90 feet, 140 tons, built in 1858 at Perry, Ohio, as a schooner) capsized in a storm on Lake Michigan and was lost with her crew of four. She had originally been built for the U.S. government.
1911
JOHN MITCHELL (wooden propeller bulk freighter, 420 feet, 4,468 gross tons, built in 1907 at St. Clair, Michigan) was carrying wheat off Whitefish Point on Lake Superior when she was rammed broadside by the coal-laden steel steamer WILLIAM HENRY MACK (steel propeller bulk freighter, 354 feet, 3781 gross tons, built in 1903 at Cleveland, Ohio). The MACK tried to keep her bow in the hole, but the MITCHELL still sank in 7 minutes. Quick work saved most of her crew and all seven passengers. Three of the 34 onboard were lost. The MACK got most of the blame for the accident. The MITCHELL’s wreck was discovered upside down on the bottom in 1972. (Note: Bowling Green’s database gives the date of this accident as July 19, 1911, and Dave Swayze’s Shipwreck database gives the date as July 10, 1911.)
1930
YORKTON was beached with only the top of the pilothouse above water after a head-on collision in fog on Whitefish Bay with the MANTADOC. The ship was later salvaged and repaired at Collingwood.
1938
RAHANE ran aground on a shoal in the American Narrows of the St. Lawrence while downbound with steel, package freight and grain. Some cargo was removed by the lighter COBOURG, and the ship was refloated with major bottom damage. The vessel last sailed on the lakes as A.A. HUDSON before departing for saltwater service in the fall of 1965.
1979
Captain Thomas Small had his license for Master of Steam and Motor Vessel of any gross tonnage renewed at the St. Ignace Coast Guard Station. Captain Small, a retired Pittsburgh Steamship employee and 106 years of age, was the oldest person to be licensed, and the issue number of his license is the highest ever issued by the Coast Guard: 14-17 (14th masters license and 17th license as a pilot, mate, or master).
1998
The ALGOWEST was rededicated at Port Weller Dry Docks. The $20-million conversion of the ship to a self-unloader from a bulk carrier was completed by 400 shipbuilders at Port Weller Dry Docks during the previous eight months. Renamed in 2001, she sailed for Algoma as b.) PETER R. CRESSWELL before being scrapped in Turkey in 2014.
2005
Noted marine photographer Paul Wiening passed away at his residence in Port Washington, Wisconsin.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, 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.
The PERSIA, a 150-foot passenger/package freight vessel, was launched at Melancthon Simpson’s shipyard at St. Catharines, Ontario. She was built at a cost of $37,000. She lasted until the 1920s when she was converted to a barge and then abandoned.
1888
The two-mast wooden schooner JOHN TIBBETS was carrying coal on Lake Erie when she foundered in the shallows near Clear Creek, 7 miles west of Port Rowan, Ontario, and then broke up in the storm waves. Her crew made it to shore in the yawl. She was built in 1863 at Clayton, New York, on the hull of the Canadian schooner PERSEVERANCE, which was originally built in 1855.
1903
MONTEZUMA (three-mast wooden schooner-barge, 341 feet, 2,722 gross tons) was launched at the John Davidson shipyard (Hull #102) in West Bay City, Michigan. She was one of the largest wooden vessels ever built. It was later stated in the press that the reason Davidson’s last large vessels took so long to build was the difficulty in obtaining the required large oak timbers and their expense. As steel went down in price, wood went up, and Davidson’s last hulls cost as much as comparably-sized steel ones. At the time of launching this vessel, the Davidson shipyard announced that it would not build any more wooden freight vessels.
1915
CHOCTAW, en route from Cleveland to Duluth with a cargo of coal, sank following a collision with the WAHCONDAH in foggy Lake Huron. All on board were saved.
1940
WILLIAM F. STIFEL ran aground in the St. Clair River near Port Lambton and was struck by the ALBERT E. HEEKIN.
1943
The new MacArthur Lock was formally opened to traffic. The first boat to lock through during the ceremonies was the upbound CARL D. BRADLEY under the command of Captain F.F. Pearse. There were 250 dignitaries and passengers aboard the Bradley during the lockage. The first downbound vessel was the new LEON FRASER of the Pittsburgh Steamship fleet.
1962
The EDWARD L. RYERSON carried a record cargo of 24,445 tons of iron ore through the newly opened Rock Cut Channel. The new channel increased allowable depths by 26 inches to 25 feet 7 inches.
1964
CHEMBARGE NO. 4, formerly a) JUDGE KENEFICK and b) H.J. McMANUS, was towed out into Lake Huron by ATOMIC and ABURG and scuttled in deep water about 16 miles off Goderich after sulphuric acid began leaking into the bilges of the recently-converted tanker barge.
1979
The INDIANA HARBOR was christened.
2007
CANADIAN NAVIGATOR lost power and went aground in mud off Courtright, and six tugs were needed to pull the ship free.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, 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.
CITY OF OSWEGO (wooden propeller passenger-package freight vessel, 138 feet, 357 tons, built in 1852 at Buffalo, New York) collided with the steamer AMERICA and sank off Willoughby, Ohio, a few miles east of Cleveland. 15 lives were lost. This was CITY OF OSWEGO’s first season of operation.
1871
ADVANCE (wooden scow-schooner, 49 tons, built in 1847 at Fairport, Ohio) was bound for Detroit from Cleveland with a load of coal. She and the steamer U.S. GRANT collided near South Bass Island (Put-in-Bay) in Lake Erie, and ADVANCE sank. Her crew escaped in the yawl.
1889
T.H. ORTON (wooden barge, 262 gross tons, built in 1873 at Buffalo, New York) anchored off Marblehead, Ohio, on Lake Erie to ride out a storm. She dragged her anchors and was driven ashore where she was declared a total wreck. She was recovered and just two years later, at the same place, this incident was repeated.
1909
The ore-laden JOHN B. COWLE (i) was struck amidships by the ISAAC M. SCOTT off Whitefish Point, Lake Superior, and sank with the reported loss of 11 lives.
1917
GEORGE N. ORR was wrecked at Savage Point in the Strait of Northumberland, Prince Edward Island, on her way to New York City and wartime saltwater service. The vessel had been cut in two and towed from the lakes to be rejoined at Montreal.
1958
Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd.’s FRANK A. SHERMAN entered service, departing Port Weller Dry Docks for Duluth and a load of iron ore on its maiden voyage.
1969
The deep-sea tug MISSISSIPPI arrived at Bilbao, Spain, with the lakers DONNACONA (ii) and BEN E. TATE for scrapping.
1973
The H.M. GRIFFITH (Hull #203) was launched at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards for Canada Steamship Lines. Rebuilt with a new cargo section in 2000, renamed b.) RT. HON. PAUL J. MARTIN.
1977
The BELLE RIVER, renamed b.) WALTER J. MCCARTHY JR. in 1990, was christened as American Steamship’s first thousand-footer and the first thousand-footer built at Bay Shipbuilding.
The stern section of the former canaller BIRCHTON was raised at Halifax after the two parts, which had been created for use as pontoons in the construction of offshore drilling platforms, sank at the dock.
1978
The keel for Hull #909 was laid at Toledo, Ohio, after Interlake Steamship and Republic Steel signed a 25-year haulage contract. Hull #909 was to be named WILLIAM J. DELANCEY and renamed PAUL R. TREGURTHA in 1990.
1985
MONTY PYTHON drifted aground in the St. Lawrence off La Ronde while loading scrap at Montreal and had to be lightered to P.S. BARGE NO. 1 before floating free on July 18. This saltwater vessel was sold for scrap before the year was out and arrived at Dalian, China, on November 3, 1985, to be dismantled. MONTY PYTHON first visited the Great Lakes as a) MONTE ZALAMA in 1970, returning as b) MONTY PYTHON after being renamed in 1985.
1986
When ENDERS M. VOORHEES was chained together with her sisters, A.H. FERBERT and IRVING S. OLDS, a severe thunderstorm struck Duluth, Minnesota, pushing the trio across St. Louis Bay, eventually grounding them near Superior, Wisconsin. It was discovered that the force of the storm had pulled the bollards out of the Hallett Dock No. 5, thus releasing the ships.
2005
The DAY PECKINPAUGH, under tow of the tug BENJAMIN ELLIOT, departed the lakes through the New York State Barge Canal to Lockport, New York, for a new life as a traveling history museum.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, 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.
The rebuilt BOSCOBEL was launched at the Peshtigo Company yard at Algonac, Michigan. Originally built in 1867 as a passenger-package freight propeller vessel, she burned and sank near Ft. Gratiot in 1869. The wreck was raised, but no work was done until January 1876, when she was completely rebuilt as a schooner-barge at Algonac. She sank again in the ice on Lake Erie in 1895 and was again raised and rebuilt. She lasted until 1909 when she sank in the middle of Lake Huron during a storm.
The Port Huron Weekly Times listed the following vessels as being idle at Marine City, Michigan: steam barges BAY CITY, D.W. POWERS and GERMANIA; steamer GLADYS; schooners TAILOR and C. SPADEMAN; and barges MARINE CITY and ST. JOSEPH.
The Detroit Tribune reported that “the captain of a well-known Oswego vessel, on his last trip to Oswego, found that the receipts of the trip exceeded the expenses in the neighborhood of $250, and stowed $210 of the amount away in a drawer of his desk on the schooner. The money remained there some days before the captain felt the necessity of using a portion of it, and when he opened the drawer to take out the required amount, he found that a family of mice had filed a pre-emption claim and domiciled themselves within the recess, using the greenbacks with the utmost freedom to render their newly chosen quarters absolutely comfortable. A package containing $60 was gnawed into scraps the size of the tip of the little finger, while only enough of the larger package containing $150 remained to enable the astonished seaman to determine the numbers of the bills so that the money can be refunded to him by the United States Treasury Department. The captain made an affidavit of the facts and forwarded it and the remnants of the greenbacks to Washington with the view of recovering the full value of the money destroyed. He is now on the way to Oswego with his vessel, and no doubt frequently ruminates over the adage, “The best-laid schemes of mice and men…”
1941
The first COLLINGDOC was inbound with coal for the Thames River when it struck a mine off Southend, England, and sank. There were at least two casualties. The hull was later refloated and sunk along with another ship, believed to be the PONTO, as part of the Churchill Barriers off Scapa Flow in the northern United Kingdom. In time, sand has blown in and covered much of the hull, with only the cement-encased pilothouse visible at the last report.
1974
The LIGHTSHIP 103 (HURON) was opened to visitors at the city’s Pine Grove Park along the St. Clair River.
1978
OLAU GORM, best remembered as one of four freighters that had to spend the winter of 1964–1965 on the Great Lakes due to ice closing the Seaway, ran aground as f) FAST BREEZE in the Red Sea. The ship was en route from Piraeus, Greece, to Gizan, Saudi Arabia, and was refloated with severe damage on July 16. It was soon sold to Pakistani shipbreakers and was broken up at Gadani Beach in 1979.
1982
Algoma’s straight-deck bulk freighter ALGOWEST was christened at Collingwood. She was converted to a self-unloader in 1998 and renamed b.) PETER R. CRESSWELL in 2001. The vessel was scrapped in Turkey in 2016.
1983
SASKATCHEWAN PIONEER (Hull #258) was launched at Govan, Scotland, by Govan Shipbuilders Ltd. for Pioneer Shipping Ltd. (Misener Transportation Ltd., manager). Renamed b.) LADY HAMILTON in 1995. Purchased by Voyageur Marine Transport in 2006, she now sails as KAMINISTIQUA.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
T.H. ORTON (wooden barge, 262 gross tons, built in 1873 at Buffalo, New York) anchored off Marblehead, Ohio, on Lake Erie to ride out a storm. She dragged her anchors and was driven ashore where she was declared a total wreck. She may have been recovered. Just two years earlier, this vessel went through a similar incident at the same spot.
ATHABASCA and PONTIAC collided head-on in the Sugar Island Channel of the St. Marys River, and the latter settled on the bottom. The former arrived at Sault Ste. Marie with wreckage draped across her bow. Both ships were repaired and returned to service.
1908
MENTOR (wooden propeller tug, 53 feet, 23 gross tons, built in 1882 at Saugatuck, Michigan) burned south of Chicago, Illinois. No lives were lost. Her original name was HATTIE A. FOX.
1931
The bulk canaller TEAKBAY hit a rock in the Brockville Narrows of the St. Lawrence and went aground while en route from Sandusky to Quebec City with coal. It was refloated but was listing and in need of repairs.
1964
DANIEL PIERCE, a former Great Lakes tanker, ran aground at Guanica, Puerto Rico. The ship was leaking sulphuric acid into the bilges, mixing with salt water. The town was evacuated due to the potential for an explosion. The hull was condemned and eventually scrapped.
1966
The Israeli freighter ELAT, on her second trip to the Great Lakes, and LEMOYNE were in a collision near Lock 2 of the Welland Canal with only minor damage. ELAT arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for scrapping by September 7, 1982, while LEMOYNE was broken up at Santander, Spain, in 1969.
1970
While upbound in the St. Lawrence River for Saginaw, Michigan, with a load of pig iron from Sorel, Quebec, the EASTCLIFFE HALL of 1954 grounded in mud near Chrysler Shoal six miles above Massena, New York, at 03:00 but was able to free herself. A few hours later, approaching Cornwall, Ontario, she struck a submerged object and sank within a few minutes in 70 feet of water only 650 feet from the point of impact. The submerged object was believed to be an old aid to navigation light stand. Nine lives were lost. Divers determined that her back was broken in two places. After salvaging part of the cargo, her cabins were leveled and her hull was filled.
1980
The AMERICAN REPUBLIC (Hull #724) was launched by the Bay Shipbuilding Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, for the American Steamship Co. She was renamed b) GREAT REPUBLIC in 2011.
1988
The JOHN T. HUTCHINSON and tow mate CONSUMERS POWER passed through the Panama Canal heading for the cutter’s torch in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
1993
CALCITE II lost steering and ran aground in the Amherstburg Channel of the Detroit River. The ship was lightered, released with the help of the tugs PATRICIA HOEY, OREGON and STORMONT and, after unloading at Ecorse, headed for Toledo to be repaired.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Dave Wobser, Mike Nicholls, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
An argument between Captain James Bradley and Mate John Reed started while the schooner ROBERT EMMETT was docked at Erie, Pennsylvania, unloading iron ore. They were still shouting at each other as the ship sailed out of the harbor. In short order, the ship turned around and anchored in the harbor. At 03:00 the following morning, Reed rowed ashore, went directly to the police station and charged that Capt. Bradley had assaulted him with a knife. At dawn, as the police were on their way to question Capt. Bradley, they found him stepping ashore from the deck of a tug, fuming that Reed had stolen the ship’s only small boat. Bradley and Reed were at each other again, and the police arrested both men. Bradley then filed charges against Reed for mutiny, assault and theft of the ship’s boat. The case went to court the very next day. Justice of the Peace Foster saw his courtroom packed with curious sailors and skippers. Reed and Bradley were both still fuming and after listening to just a little testimony, Foster found both men guilty, fined them both and ordered both to pay court costs. The matter didn’t end there, since Reed later had to get a court order to get his personal belongings off the EMMETT. There is no record of what the disagreement was that started this whole mess.
1885
The iron side-wheel steamer DARIUS COLE (201 feet, 538 gross tons) was launched at the Globe Iron Works (Hull #10) in Cleveland, Ohio. During her career, she had two other names: b.) HURON 1906–1921, and c.) COLONIAL 1921–1925. She burned off Barcelona, New York, on Lake Erie on September 1, 1925, while on an excursion. The hull was beached and later towed to Dunkirk, New York, for scrapping.
The rail car ferry LANSDOWNE and the CLARION were in a collision on the Detroit River.
1895
CIBOLA caught fire and burned at the dock at Lewiston, New York, with the loss of one life. The hull was towed to Toronto and used in a fill project.
1911
The CHICAGO TRADER was launched as a.) THE HARVESTER (Hull #391) at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co. for the Wisconsin Steel Co.
1934
The ANN ARBOR NO. 4 collided with the steamer N.F. LEOPOLD in a heavy fog.
1943
GEORGE M. HUMPHREY sank off Old Point Mackinac Light following a collision with the D.M. CLEMSON. The ship was salvaged in 1944 and rebuilt at Sturgeon Bay as b) CAPTAIN JOHN ROEN in 1945 and became c) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1948 and d) CONSUMERS POWER in 1958.
1946
The NORISLE (Hull #136) was launched at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for the Dominion & Owen Sound Transportation Co. Ltd.
1961
The d.) WALTER A. STERLING, now f.) LEE A. TREGURTHA), entered service on the Great Lakes for Cleveland Cliffs Steamship Co. after conversion from a T3 tanker. The next day, on July 16, 1961, the PIONEER CHALLENGER, later MIDDLETOWN and AMERICAN VICTORY, entered service for the Pioneer Steamship Co. (Hutchinson & Co., manager).
1977
The ore-laden CADILLAC went aground in the St. Marys River after missing a turn in fog. It was released the next day with the help of three tugs.
1986
The CSL self-unloader MANITOULIN went aground at Sandusky off Cedar Point after losing power. The ship was released with the help of tugs.
1991
The Spanish, 1975-built, 7,311-gross-ton, ocean motor bulk carrier MILANOS, anchored in the Detroit River since July 2, began the long slow trip home. Auxiliar de Transporte Maritimos, the ship’s owners, decided it would be cheaper to tow the crippled ship home for repairs rather than have the repairs performed locally. The ship’s engine had seized after the crankshaft broke. She departed Detroit bound for Montreal under tow of Malcolm Marine’s tug MALCOLM and McKeil’s tug ARGUE MARTIN. The tow passed down the Seaway on July 19.
1998
LITA hit the knuckle at the Eisenhower Lock and sustained damage to the starboard side. The vessel later hit the bottom of the channel near the Snell Lock, but there was no additional damage. The ship was en route from Toledo to Algeria. The 11,121-gross-ton saltwater vessel was still in service as of 2012.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Jody Aho, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Lake Huron Lore Society, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
