ALBANY (wooden brig; 110 tons; built in 1835 at Oswego, NY) was carrying merchandise and passengers when she went aground in a storm and was wrecked just a few miles from Mackinaw City, MI.
1869
SEA GULL (wooden schooner; 83 tons; built in 1845 at Milan, OH) was carrying lumber in a storm on Lake Michigan. She was driven ashore and wrecked south of Grand Haven, MI. The wreck was pulled off the beach a few days later but was declared a constructive loss, stripped, and abandoned. She was owned by Captain Henry Smith of Grand Haven.
1881
The steam barge C.H. GREEN was launched at East Saginaw, MI, for Mason, Green & Corning of Saginaw, MI. She was schooner rigged and spent her first year as a tow barge. The following winter, her engine and boiler were installed. She measured 197 feet long, 33 feet wide, and 13 feet deep and weighed 920 tons. She cost $70,000.
1888
The ST. CLAIR (three-masted wooden schooner; 156 feet; 296 gross tons; built in 1859 at Montreal, QC, as a bark) was carrying coal in a storm on Lake Huron as part of a five-barge tow of the tug CHAMPION. She broke loose and came to anchor off Harbor Beach, MI. The anchor dragged, and she sank near the mouth of the harbor. The crew was rescued by the U.S. Life-Saving Service. However, this rescue soon turned ill-fated. All were taken in a surfboat, and the boat was rowed 23 miles to Port Sanilac, MI. 100 yards from shore, just a half mile from Port Sanilac, the surfboat capsized with the loss of five lives. The wreck of the ST. CLAIR was later lightered, raised, and towed out into the lake and re-sunk.
1918
The Canadian bulk carrier GALE STAPLES was blown ashore at Point au Sable about eight miles west of Grand Marais, MI. All on board were saved, but the wooden vessel, best known as b.) CALEDONIA, broke up.
1942
The former CANADIAN ROVER, Hull #67 from the Collingwood, ON, shipyard, was torpedoed and sunk as d.) TOSEI MARU in the Pacific east of Japan by USS NAUTILUS.
1946
KINDERSLEY, loaded with 2,074 tons of excess munitions, was scuttled in the deep waters of the Atlantic. The former CSL freighter had been on saltwater to assist in the war effort.
1974
Dismantling commenced on the KINSMAN INDEPENDENT, the former a.) WILLIAM B. KERR of 1907, at Santander, Spain.
1976
CHICAGO TRADER, formerly a.) THE HARVESTER of 1911, was laid up at the Frog Pond in Toledo, OH.
1984
ANNEMARIE KRUGER arrived at Finike, Turkey, as e.) BANKO with engine damage and was laid up. The ship, a frequent Seaway visitor in the 1960s, was sold for scrap and arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, under tow on August 3, 1986, to be dismantled.
1986
The HERBERT C. JACKSON rescued Carl Ward and his nephew after they had been adrift on lower Lake Michigan for 80 hours.
1997
The CITY OF MIDLAND 41 was towed out of Ludington, MI, to be converted to a barge, the present-day PERE MARQUETTE 41.
1998
The tank barge SALTY DOG NO. 1 broke tow from the tug DOUG MCKEIL and went aground off Anticosti Island the next day. The vessel was released, and it operated until scrapping at Port Colborne, ON, in 2005.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Jody Aho, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
The 183-foot, three-masted wooden schooner QUEEN CITY was launched at West Bay City, MI.
1887
The Port Huron Times reported the following shipwrecks from a severe storm that swept the lakes on October 2–3, 1887: The schooner CITY OF GREEN BAY, lost near South Haven, MI; schooner barge CHARLES L. HUTCHINSON, lost near Buffalo, NY; steam barge ALBION and consort schooner barge ARK, ashore near Grindstone City, MI; three-masted schooner EBENEZER, ashore near Holland, MI; wooden package freighter CALIFORNIA, sunk in the Straits of Mackinac; schooner HOLMES, ashore at Middle Island on Lake Huron; schooner GARIBALDI, ashore near Port Elgin, ON, on Lake Huron; barge MAYFLOWER, disabled near Grand Haven, MI; schooner D.S. AUSTIN, ashore at Point Clark, ON; and schooner HENRY W HOAG, ashore at Erie, PA.
1888
OLIVER CROMWELL (wooden schooner barge; 138 feet; 291 tons; built in 1853 at Buffalo, NY) was being towed by the steamer LOWELL in a storm on Lake Huron when she broke her towline. She rode out most of the storm at anchor, but then she snapped her anchor chains and was driven ashore at Harbor Beach, MI, where she broke up.
1891
WINSLOW ran aground in fog while inbound at Duluth, MI. The hole in the wooden hull was patched, and the ship was released and able to be docked. The vessel caught fire while unloading the next day and was destroyed.
1901
M.M. DRAKE (wooden propeller freighter; 201 feet; 1,102 gross tons; built in 1882 at Buffalo, NY) and her consort MICHIGAN (three-masted wooden schooner barge; 213 feet; 1,057 gross tons; built in 1874 at Detroit, MI) were loaded with iron ore while sailing in a strong gale on Lake Superior. The MICHIGAN began to leak, and the DRAKE came around to take off her crew, but the two vessels collided. Both sank off Vermilion Point. One life was lost. As the vessels sank, the passing steamers NORTHERN WAVE and CRESCENT CITY stood by and rescued the crews.
1905
On her maiden trip, the PETER WHITE grounded outside the breakwall at Lackawanna, NY. After lightering 200 tons, she proceeded to the Lackawanna Steel mill where the remainder of the cargo was unloaded.
1938
The first WINDOC was struck when Bridge 20, a railway bridge across the Welland Canal, was lowered prematurely and removed the stack, spar, and lifeboats of the N.M. Paterson steamer.
1943
On her maiden voyage, E.G. GRACE cleared Lorain, OH, bound for Superior, WI, to load iron ore.
1953
A collision occurred between PIONEER and WALLSCHIFF on the St. Clair River, and the latter, a West German visitor to the Great Lakes, rolled on its side and settled in shallow water. One crew member perished. PIONEER, a Cleveland-Cliffs steamer, was repaired for further service and later scrapped at Genoa, Italy, in 1961. WALLSCHIFF, on her first and only trip to the Great Lakes, was refloated and departed for permanent repairs overseas in 1954. The vessel was still sailing as g.) GOLDEN MERCURY in 2011.
1954
The PERE MARQUETTE 21 sailed into Ludington, MI, on the second maiden voyage of her career.
1956
The sandsucker AMERICAN last operated and laid up at Manitowoc, WI. She was scrapped in South Chicago, IL, in 1984.
1969
TADOUSSAC (Hull #192) departed Collingwood, ON, on her maiden voyage for Canada Steamship Lines to load iron ore at Fort William, ON.
1973
A head-on collision in fog off Gull Island on Lake Michigan between the T2 tanker MARATHONIAN and Norwegian freighter ROLWI left both ships with massive bow damage. The former had begun Seaway service as f.) MARATHON in 1960 and was repaired at South Chicago, IL. It disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle as h.) SYLVIA L. OSSA in October 1976. ROLWI, a Norwegian salty, was also repaired and returned inland as b.) DOBERG in 1974 and c.) LORFRI in 1976. It arrived at Alang, India, for scrapping as e.) PEROZAN on February 6, 1996.
1976
Upper Lakes Shipping’s new self-unloader CANADIAN OLYMPIC was christened at St. Catharines, ON. Her name honored the Olympic Games that were held in Montreal, QC, that year.
1979
The ELTON HOYT 2ND unloaded her last cargo as a straight-decker at the Ashtabula & Buffalo Dock in Ashtabula, OH.
1988
JOHN T. HUTCHINSON and CONSUMERS POWER arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where dismantling began on October 14 by Li Chong Steel & Iron Works Co. Ltd.
1992
The Canadian coastal freighter SIR JOHN CROSBIE was built in St. Catharines, ON, by Port Weller Dry Docks in 1962. It sank in the Gulf of Mexico off the west coast of Florida as c.) HOLSTEN on this date in 1992, but all on board were rescued.
1993
HOCHELAGA of 1949 departed Toronto, ON, in tow of the McKeil tugs GLENBROOK and KAY COLE for Montreal, QC, and then to the cutter’s torch.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Jody Aho, Max Hanley, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
The barges BELLE CASH and GEO W. HANNAFORD, owned by Captain Cash of East China Township, MI, were driven ashore on Long Point in Lake Erie.
1887
EBENEZER (three-masted wooden schooner barge; 103 feet; 158 gross tons; built in 1847 at Buffalo, NY) was driven ashore off the breakwater at Holland, MI, during a storm. She had sprung a leak in the terrific storm, lost her deck load of shingles, and struck the pier while trying to get into the harbor. She broke in two but was later raised and rebuilt. She lasted until 1903.
CITY OF GREEN BAY (three-masted wooden schooner; 145 feet; 346 gross tons; built in 1872 at Green Bay, WI) was carrying iron ore from Escanaba, MI, to St. Joseph, MI, on Lake Michigan and having difficulty in a strong westerly gale. She sprang a leak and anchored four miles from South Haven, MI, and put up distress signals. The wind and waves were so bad that the crew could not safely abandon the vessel. She slipped her anchor and was driven on to a bar at Evergreen Point just 500 feet from shore. The crew scrambled up the rigging as the vessel sank. South Haven’s U.S. Life-Saving Service crew tried to get a breeches buoy out to the wreck, but their line broke repeatedly. So much wreckage was in the surf that it fouled their surfboat. Soon the masts went by the board, and the crew members were in the churning seas. Six died. Only Seaman A.T. Slater made it to shore. The ineffective efforts of the Life-Saving crew resulted in Keeper Barney Alonzo Cross being relieved of his command of the station.
ARK (three-masted, iron-strapped wooden scow schooner barge; 177 feet; 512 tons; built in 1875 at Port Dalhousie, ON) was in tow of the steam barge ALBION (wooden propeller; 134 feet; 297 gross tons; built in 1862; at Brockville, ON) on Lake Huron when a terrific storm struck. Both vessels were loaded with lumber and were driven ashore near Grindstone City, MI. The U.S. Life-Saving Service rescued the crews. The ALBION was pounded to pieces the next day, and the ARK was declared a total loss. However, the latter was later recovered and was sailing again within the month.
1900
The steel freighter CAPTAIN THOMAS WILSON left Port Huron, MI, on her maiden voyage for Marquette, MI, where she loaded 6,200 tons of iron ore for Cleveland, OH.
1907
The wooden tug PHILADELPHIA dated from 1869 and briefly served in the Algoma fleet. It was wrecked at Gros Cap on Lake Superior on this date in 1907.
1911
The wooden freighter A.L. HOPKINS had cleared Bayfield, WI, the previous day with a full load of lumber and foundered in a storm on this date in 1911 near Michigan Island on Lake Superior. Buoyed by the cargo, the hull floated a few more days before it disappeared. All 15 on board were picked up by the ALVA C. DINKEY.
1928
The steel bulk carrier M.J. BARTELME ran aground at Cana Island on Lake Michigan. The bottom was ripped open, and the ship was abandoned. It was dismantled on site in 1929.
1941
The CITY OF FLINT 32, eastbound from Milwaukee, WI, collided with the PERE MARQUETTE 22 westbound. The PERE MARQUETTE 22 headed directly for Manitowoc, WI, for repairs while the CITY OF FLINT 32 continued to Ludington, MI, where she discharged her cargo and then headed for the shipyard in Manitowoc.
1943
The E.G. GRACE was delivered to the Interlake Steamship Co. of Cleveland, OH. The GRACE was part of a government program designed to upgrade and increase the capacity of the U.S. Great Lakes fleet during World War II. In order to help finance the building of new ships, the USMC authorized a program that would allow existing fleets to obtain new boats by trading in their older boats to the government for credit. As partial payment for each new vessel, a fleet owner surrendered the equivalent tonnage of their existing and/or obsolete vessels, along with some cash, to the Maritime Commission.
1953
The superstructure of the idle passenger steamer PUT-IN-BAY was burned off in Lake St. Clair, and the remains of the iron hull were later dismantled at River Rouge, MI.
1963
The Liberian Liberty ship TRIKERI, on her only trip to the Great Lakes, swung sideways in the Welland Canal near Welland, ON, blocked the waterway, and delayed traffic for four hours. The ship arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for scrapping as e.) DAHLIA on December 27, 1967.
A fire broke out in the cargo hold of the FRED CHRISTIANSEN while downbound at Sault Ste. Marie, MI. The stubborn blaze took four hours to put out and was believed to have been caused by some of the grain igniting, as it was close to a steam line. The Norwegian freighter began Seaway trading in 1959 and returned as b.) HERA in 1964. It arrived at Pasajes, Spain, under this name for scrapping on May 30, 1974.
1969
JOSEPH H. ran aground at Île du Bic in the St. Lawrence while en route from Milwaukee, WI, to Russia with a cargo of rawhides. The Liberian-flagged vessel sustained heavy bottom damage. It was refloated on October 6, taken to Lévis, QC, and subsequently broken up there for scrap. The ship was operating under her fifth name and had first come through the Seaway as a.) GRANADA in 1959.
1980
POLYDORA first came inland for four trips as a.) FERNFIORD in 1963 and returned under her new name in 1964 on charter to Canadian Pacific Steamships. The ship had been at Marina di Carrara, Italy, and under arrest as d) GEORGIOS B., when it sailed overnight without permission. A fire in the engine room broke out the next day and, while taken in tow, the ship foundered east of Tavolara Island, Sardinia, on this date in 1980.
1999
MANCHESTER MERCURIO traded through the Seaway in a container shuttle service beginning in 1971. It was abandoned by the crew and sank off the coast of Morocco as f.) PHOENIX II on this date in 1999.
2000
The tug KETA V. usually operated on the St. Lawrence for Verreault Navigation but came to the Great Lakes with barges for Windsor, ON, in 1993. It ran aground and sank near Liverpool, NS, on this date in 2000, but all on board got away safely on life rafts.
Contributors & Sources
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.
BRITISH LION (three-masted wooden bark; 128 feet; 293 tons; built in 1862 at Kingston, ON) was carrying coal from Black River, OH, to Brockville, ON. She was driven ashore at Long Point in Lake Erie by a storm and wrecked. She was the first bark on the lakes to be wire-rigged, and she was built for the Great Lakes-Liverpool trade.
1883
JAMES DAVIDSON (wooden propeller bulk freighter; 231 feet; 1,456 gross tons; built in 1874 at West Bay City, MI) was carrying coal and towing the barge MIDDLESEX in a storm on Lake Huron. She was driven onto a reef near Thunder Bay Island and ripped up her bottom. The barge was rescued by the tug V. SWAIN. No lives were lost. Financially, the DAVIDSON was the most extensive loss on the lakes in the 1883 season. She was valued at $65,000 and insured for $45,000. Her coal cargo was valued at $8,000.
1887
ORIENT (wooden propeller tug; 60 feet; 37 gross tons; built in 1874 at Buffalo, NY) foundered three miles west of Point Pelee on Lake Erie in a storm. She was seen going down by the schooners LISGAR and GLENFORD, but neither was able to help. All six on the ORIENT were lost. She was out of Marine City, MI.
1904
CONGRESS burned at the dock at South Manitou Island in Lake Michigan while loading lumber. The ship was towed away, abandoned, burned to the waterline, and sank.
1940
The Ludington Daily News reported that “The Pere Marquette car ferries handled approximately 95,000 freight cars last year [1939].”
1966
ROBERT J. PAISLEY ran aground in heavy weather off Michigan City, IN. The ship was released the next day but went to Sarnia, ON, with hull damage and was laid up.
1972
As a result of the collision between the PARKER EVANS and the SIDNEY E. SMITH JR. four months earlier, alternate one-way traffic between the Black River Buoy and Buoys 1 and 2 in Lake Huron was agreed upon by the shipping companies.
1974
The JAMES E. FERRIS’ last trip before scrapping was from Duluth, MN, with a split load of 261,000 bushels of wheat for Buffalo, NY.
1976
TEXACO BRAVE (Hull #779) was launched by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Shimonoseki, Japan, for Texaco Canada Ltd. of Don Mills, ON. The tanker was later renamed b.) LE BRAVE in 1987, c.) IMPERIAL ST LAWRENCE in 1997, and d.) ALGOEAST in 1998.
1979
The ST. LAWRENCE NAVIGATOR arrived at Port Weller Dry Docks in St. Catharines, ON, where she was lengthened to the Seaway maximum length of 730 feet overall. A new bow and cargo section was installed, including a bow thruster, and was assigned as Hull #66. Her new maximum tonnage totals measured 18,788 gross tons, 12,830 net tons, and 32,279 deadweight tons. She was renamed c.) CANADIAN NAVIGATOR in 1980 and ALGOMA NAVIGATOR in 2012. She was also converted to a self-unloader in 1997.
1980
Bethlehem’s ARTHUR B. HOMER was laid up for the last time at Erie, PA.
1982
The BENJAMIN F. FAIRLESS laid up for the last time in Duluth, MN. She was towed out of Duluth on her way to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for scrapping on June 17, 1988.
1991
The JIIMAAN, a twin-screw ro-ro cargo-passenger ferry built to Ice Class 1D standards, had its keel laid at Port Weller Drydocks Ltd. in St. Catharines, ON (Hull# 76).
2008
MERKUR BAY came through the Seaway in 1984. It hit a rock as m.) NEW ORIENTAL on this date in 2008 in heavy weather off Tuy An, Vietnam, and settled on the bottom with a large hole in the bow. The crew abandoned the ship on October 18 when it showed signs of sinking. It was en route from Thailand to China with iron ore and was a total loss.
Contributors & Sources
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.
GRACE GREENWOOD (three-masted wooden schooner; 124 feet; 306 tons; built in 1853 at Oswego, NY) was carrying iron ore from Escanaba, MI, to Michigan City, IN, when she foundered in a storm while coming into St. Joseph, MI, for shelter. No lives were lost. She was the first vessel built by George Rogers, and her launch was initially sabotaged by someone jamming a file into the ways.
1877
TIOGA (wooden propeller bulk freighter; 549 tons; built in 1862 at Cleveland, OH) was towing two barges in a storm on Lake Erie when she caught fire. The high winds fanned the flames. Her crew escaped to the barges and were later picked up by the steamer BADGER STATE. The burned-out hulk of TIOGA sank the next day in 30 feet of water off Point Pelee. This was her first year of service as a bulk freighter; she had been built as a passenger steamer and was converted in 1877.
1889
BESSEMER (wooden propeller bulk freighter; 178 feet; 436 gross tons; built in 1875 at St. Clair, MI) was carrying iron ore along with her consort SCHUYLKILL (wooden schooner; 152 feet; 472 gross tons; built in 1873 at Buffalo, NY) in Lake Superior. They were struck by a rapidly rising gale and ran for the Portage Ship Canal. It became obvious that BESSEMER was sinking. The two collided and went onto a reef at the mouth of the canal, and they both broke up quickly. The crews were able to jump onto the breakwater. The wrecks partly blocked the canal until they were dynamited the next September.
1900
The lumber hooker SWALLOW was involved in a collision in the early morning hours and ended up ashore near Cherry Beach off Toronto, ON. A week later, she was lightered and freed and then taken to Detroit, MI, for repairs. She foundered in a storm one year later on October 18, 1901.
1904
CONGRESS (wooden propeller bulk freighter; 267 feet; 1,484 gross tons; built in 1867 at Cleveland, OH, as the passenger vessel NEBRASKA) was seeking shelter at South Manitou Island on Lake Michigan when she caught fire. The fire spread quickly. To prevent it from destroying the dock, a courageous tug skipper got a line on the CONGRESS and towed her out on the lake, where she burned for 13 hours and then sank in 26 fathoms of water. No lives were lost.
HUNTER, a wooden passenger and freight steamer, was destroyed by a fire at Grand Marais, MI. There were no injuries.
1907
The ARTHUR H. HAWGOOD (Hull #76) was launched at West Bay City, MI, by the West Bay City Ship Building Co. for the Neptune Steamship Co. (Hawgood, manager) of Cleveland, OH. She was renamed b.) JOSEPH BLOCK in 1911 and c.) GEORGE M. STEINBRENNER in 1969 before being scrapped at Ramey’s Bend at Port Colborne, ON, in 1980.
1932
JOHN J. BOLAND JR., en route from Toledo, OH, to Hamilton, ON, with coal, took on water and sank after the cargo shifted. Four lives were lost when the vessel went down about 10 miles off Barcelona, NY.
1941
MONDOC (i) stranded off the east coast of Trinidad on her first trip on the bauxite run. The crew took to the lifeboats and was saved.
1954
The GEORGE M. HUMPHREY was christened at Lorain, OH. The HUMPHREY successfully completed her sea trials on October 6 and carried 191,214 tons of iron ore in nine trips before laying up for the season.
1962
HUTCHCLIFFE HALL was in collision with steamer RICHARD V. LINDABURY on a foggy day off Grosse Pointe Farms, MI, in Lake St. Clair. The canaller suffered a 12-foot gash on her port side forward of her after-cabins and sank. She was raised on October 7 and taken to Port Weller Dry Docks in St. Catharines, ON, for repairs.
1964
DENMARK HILL went aground off the Porkkala Lighthouse in the Baltic Sea en route from Nicaro, Cuba, for Porkkala, Finland. The vessel was refloated on October 7 with considerable bottom damage.
1965
Upbound with a load of limestone on Lake Superior, the PETER A.B. WIDENER reported broken steering gear and possible damage to the steering mechanism and screw after encountering gale force winds and high waves near Isle Royale. Fleetmates HENRY PHIPPS and HENRY H. ROGERS responded to the vessel and dumped oil on the 10-foot seas to calm them. The USCGC WOODRUSH arrived from Duluth, MN, and towed the vessel to Duluth.
1967
While outbound on the Saginaw River after discharging a load of limestone at Saginaw, MI, the J.F. SCHOELLKOPF JR.’s steering failed, which caused her to hit the west side of the I-75 Zilwaukee Bridge. The SCHOELLKOPF JR. incurred little damage, but the southbound lanes of the bridge were out of service for several days until repairs were completed.
1972
The ARTHUR B. HOMER, loaded with ore, was in a head-on collision with the unloaded Greek saltie NAVISHIPPER at Buoy 83 in the Detroit River’s Fighting Island Channel. NAVISHIPPER reportedly had no licensed pilot aboard at the time, a violation of maritime law. There were no injuries, but the HOMER suffered extensive bow damage up to and including part of her pilothouse. The former was repaired, operated through 1980, and was scrapped at Port Colborne, ON, in 1987. The latter was also repaired and eventually towed into Cádiz, Spain, for scrapping as f.) CRYSTAL on December 2, 1981, after the tailshaft fractured on November 25, 1981.
1988
ENERCHEM REFINER struck the #1 East Outer Light while upbound in the Detroit River and received major damage that was repaired at Lauzon, QC.
1997
While passing White Shoal Light on her way to Charlevoix, MI, the MEDUSA CHALLENGER was hit by a waterspout. The only damage reported was a spotlight on the pilothouse bridge wing lifted out of its support and crew bikes stored on deck rising vertically. The 1906-built boat was also reported to have been vibrating in an unusual manner. Another boat in the area reported wind gusts of almost 100 mph in the brief storm. That day, the eastern portion of the Upper Peninsula was hit with a violent storm that blew down trees a foot in diameter.
1999
MONTE AYALA, a Seaway caller in 1975, began to leak in the #1 hold and then list while anchored at St. Brieuc Bay while inbound for Brest, France, as d.) JUNIOR M. The cargo of ammonium nitrate was unloaded. The ship was arrested, abandoned by the owners, auctioned off for scrap, and arrived at Aliaga, Turkey, on August 21, 2000.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, John Decator, Jody Aho, Russ Plumb, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
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
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
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
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
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
The wooden freighter MUSKEGON, formerly the PEERLESS, was damaged by a fire at Michigan City, IN, and became a total loss.
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
Contributors & Sources
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.
In a severe gale, rain, and hail storm, the 247-ton schooner OSPREY approached Oswego, NY. As she was about to enter the harbor, the vessel struck the east pier broadside. Her masts and rigging were carried away, and she started to sink. Captain John Parsons got his wife and child out of the cabin to try to escape to the pier. His wife was washed overboard and drowned. Captain Parsons held on to his child, but another wave struck the wreck and swept the child into the water. George Crine, the mate, was also swept overboard. Those three were lost, but the next wave swung the wreck about with her bowsprit over the pier, and the captain and the six remaining crewmen scrambled to safety. The entire town and harbor mourned those deaths and held a dockside service two days later with many prayers and all flags at half-mast. Donations were accepted for the surviving sailors, as they escaped with only the clothes on their backs.
1871
GEM (wooden schooner; 120 feet; 325 tons; built in 1853 at Buffalo, NY) was sailing upbound in a storm on Lake Erie with a load of coal. She began to leak and was run to shore in an effort to save her. However, she went down before reaching shoal water and settled with six feet of water over her decks.
1873
PULASKI was launched at the Archibald Muir yard on the Black River in Port Huron, MI. She was 136 feet long, 26 feet wide, and 11 feet deep and measured 349 gross tons. She was a three-masted “full canaller” painted white, and her private signal was a red “M” on a white ground bordered with blue. Her sails were made by Mr. D. Robeson of Port Huron.
1886
The Port Huron Times reported that “The old side-wheel ferry SARNIA, which was a familiar sight at this crossing [Port Huron, MI-Sarnia, ON] for so many years, and which is said to have earned enough money in her time to sheet her with silver, the hull of which has been for some years back used as a barge by the Marine City Salt Company, has closed her career. She was last week scuttled near the Marine City Salt Works wharf.”
1896
BLACK RIVER, a lake bulk freighter, was built as a steel barge in 1897 by F.W. Wheeler & Co. She was launched as a.) SIR ISAAC LOTHIAN BELL (Hull# 118).
1902
ANN MARIA hit a sandbar approaching Kincardine, ON, while inbound with a cargo of coal and broke up as a total loss. Four crew and a volunteer rescuer were reported lost.
1903
ADVENTURE (wooden propeller bulk freighter; 108 feet; 142 gross tons; built in 1875 at Detroit, MI, as a schooner) caught fire while tied to the Kelleys Island Line & Transport Co. dock. The blaze spread so quickly that those on board barely escaped. She was towed from Kelleys Island out into Lake Erie by the tug SMITH to save the dock and the adjacent schooner ANDERSON.
1917
GEORGE A. GRAHAM was wrecked off Manitoulin Island in Georgian Bay when the cargo shifted when turning in a storm. The ship ran for the safety of South Bay but stranded on the rocks. All on board were saved, but the ship was a total loss.
1919
The wooden steamer HELEN TAYLOR was damaged by a fire in the pilothouse near Hessel, MI, but was repaired.
1923
The ANN ARBOR NO. 4 went back into service after being overhauled and having new cabins built on her main deck.
1926
The WILLIAM MCLAUCHLAN (Hull #793) was launched at Lorain, OH, by the American Ship Building Co. for the Interlake Steamship Co. of Cleveland, OH. She was renamed b.) SAMUEL MATHER in 1966, c.) JOAN M. MCCULLOUGH in 1975, and d.) BIRCHGLEN in 1982 before being scrapped at Sydney, NS, in 1988.
1937
M&F DREDGE NO. 14, Hull #39 from the Collingwood, ON, shipyard, foundered in the St. Lawrence off Batiscan, QC, as b.) D.M. DREDGE NO. 14.
1939
E.G. MATHIOTT collided with the steamer CORVUS on the St. Clair River. Damage to the CORVUS totaled $37,647.70.
1956
The consort barge DELKOTE of the Hindman fleet was adrift for nine hours in a Lake Superior storm with 13 on board and waves up to 20 feet. The ship had broken loose of the GEORGE HINDMAN but was picked up by the CAPTAIN C.D. SECORD.
1958
WALTER E. WATSON, under the command of Captain Ralph Fenton, rescued the sailing vessel TAMARA on Lake Huron.
1962
HUTCHCLIFFE HALL was raised and taken to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs. She had sunk after a collision a few days earlier.
1968
NORMAN P. CLEMENT was damaged in a grounding off Britt, ON. The Canadian boat was towed to Collingwood, ON, for repairs. However, while in dry dock, an explosion occurred on October 16 that injured 11 workers and further damaged the hull. Rather than repair her, the owners had the CLEMENT towed out into Georgian Bay, where she was intentionally sunk on October 23, 1968.
EDWARD Y. TOWNSEND, under tow for scrapping in Bilbao, Spain, broke in two about 400 miles southeast of St. John’s, NL, and the bow sank. The stern was apparently retrieved and towed into Santander, Spain, for scrapping on October 28.
1973
PAUL THAYER was launched for the Union Commerce Bank Trustee of Cleveland, OH, and managed by the Kinsman Marine Transit Co., also of Cleveland. She was built under Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970 for $12.6 million. She was renamed b.) EARL W. OGLEBAY in 1995, c.) EARL W. in 2006, and d.) MANITOWOC in 2008.
1980
ALGOWOOD was launched at Collingwood, ON, for Algoma Central Marine of Sault Ste. Marie, ON.
1987
MADISON suffered a fire while lying idle at Muskegon, MI, and was badly damaged.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Russ Plumb, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
