Today in Great Lakes History
3/22
On 22 March 1922,
the Goodrich Transit Company purchased the assets and properties of the
Chicago, Racine and Milwaukee Steamship Company. This sale included two
steamers: ILLINOIS (steel propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 240
foot, 2427 gross tons, built in 1899 at S. Chicago, Illinois) and PILGRIM
(iron propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 209 foot, 1921 gross tons,
built in 1881 at Wyandotte, Michigan).
The GULF MACKENZIE sailed light
March 22, 1977, on her maiden voyage from Sorel to Montreal, Quebec.
The tanker COMET (Hull#705) was
launched March 22, 1913 at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co. for the
Standard Transportation Co. of New York.
THOMAS W LAMONT (Hull#184) was
launched March 22, 1930, at Toledo, Ohio by Toledo Shipbuilding Co. for the
Pittsburgh Steamship Co.
March 22, 1885 - The Goodrich
Steamer MICHIGAN was crushed in heavy ice off Grand Haven, Michigan and sank.
Captain Redmond Prindiville in command, Joseph Russell was the first mate.
On 22 March 1873, TYPO, a
wooden schooner/canaller, was launched at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She cost
$25,000 and was commanded by Captain William Callaway.
On 22 March 1871, Engineer
George Smith and two firemen were badly scalded on the propeller LAKE BREEZE
when a steam pipe they were working on blew away from the side of the boiler.
They were getting the engines ready for the new shipping season.
On 22 March 1938, CITY OF
BUFFALO (steel side-wheeler passenger/package freight vessel, 340 foot, 2940
gross tons, built in 1896 at Wyandotte, Michigan) caught fire during
preparations for the Spring season while at her winter moorings at the East
Ninth Street dock in Cleveland, Ohio. She was totally gutted. The hulk was
towed to Detroit for conversion to a freighter, but this failed to
materialize. She was cut up for scrap there in 1940.
On 22 March 1987, the
pilothouse of the 1901, steamer ALTADOC, which was used as a gift shop and
2-room hotel near Copper
Harbor,
Michigan, was destroyed by
fire.
3/21
The c.) CHEMICAL MAR
of 1966, sustained severe damage when sulfuric acid leaked into the pump room
while discharging her cargo at the island of Curacao on March 21, 1982.
Flooding occurred later and the vessel was declared a constructive total
loss. She was scrapped at
Brownsville,
Texas
in 1983. From 1979 until 1981, CHEMICAL MAR was named b.) COASTAL TRANSPORT
for the Hall Corp. of
Canada. She never entered the Lakes under that name.
CLIFFS VICTORY was floated from
the drydock on March 21, 1951, three months and two days after she entered the
dock, and was rechristened b.) CLIFFS VICTORY.
MARLHILL was launched on March
21, 1908, as a.) HARRY A BERWIND (Hull#40) at Ecorse, Michigan by Great Lakes
Engineering Works for G. A. Tomlinson of Duluth, Minnesota.
The GEORGE F BAKER was sold to
the Kinsman Marine Transit Co., Cleveland, Ohio on March 21, 1965, and was
renamed b) HENRY STEINBRENNER.
On 21 March 1874, the two
schooners NORTH STAR and EVENING STAR were launched at Crosthwaite's shipyard
in East Saginaw,
Michigan. They were both
owned by John Kelderhouse of
Buffalo,
New York.
On 21 March 1853, GENERAL SCOTT
(wooden side-wheeler, 105 foot, 64 tons, built in 1852 at Saginaw, Michigan)
was tied up to her dock on the Saginaw River when she was crushed beyond
repair by ice that flowed down the river during the Spring breakup. One
newspaper report said that while the vessel was being cleaned up for the new
navigation season, a seacock was left open and she sank before the spring
breakup.
3/20
On 20 March 1885,
MICHIGAN (Hull#48), (iron propeller passenger-package freight steamer, 215
foot, 1183 tons) of the Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railroad was sunk by
ice off Grand Haven, Michigan.
The sidewheeler NEW YORK was
sold Canadian in 1877, hopefully at a bargain price because when she was
hauled out on the ways on 20 March 1878, at Rathburn's yard in
Kingston,
Ontario to have her
boiler removed, her decayed hull fell apart and could not be repaired. Her
remains were burned to clear the ways.
On 20 March 1883, the E H
MILLER of Alpena,
Michigan (wooden
propeller tug, 62 foot, 30 gross tons, built in 1874, at
East Saginaw,
Michigan
) was renamed RALPH. She was abandoned in 1920
3/19
The W R
STAFFORD (Wooden propeller bulk freighter, 184 foot, 744 gross tons, built in
1886 at W. Bay City, Michigan) was freed from the ice at 2:00 a.m. on 19 March
1903, by the Goodrich Line’s
ATLANTA.
When the STAFFORD
was freed, the ice then closed around the
ATLANTA and imprisoned her
for several hours. Both vessels struggled all night and finally reached Grand
Haven, Michigan at 5:00 a.m.. They left for
Chicago
later that day in spite of the fact that an ice floe 2 miles wide, 14 miles
long and 20 feet deep was off shore.
ALGONTARIO was launched
March 19, 1960, as a.) RUHR ORE (Hull#536) at Hamburg, Germany by
Schlieker-Werft Shipyard..
INDIANA
HARBOR (Hull#719) was
launched March 19, 1979, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Corp.
CITY OF GREEN BAY was launched
March 19, 1927, as a.) WABASH (Hull#177) at Toledo, Ohio by Toledo Ship
Building Co., for the Wabash Railway Co.
ALFRED CYTACKI was launched
March 19, 1932, as a.) LAKESHELL (Hull#1426) at Newcastle-on-Tyne, England by
Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd..
On 19 March 1886, the PICKUP
(wooden passenger/package freight steamer, 80 foot, 136 gross tons, built in
1883, at Marine City, Michigan was renamed LUCILE. She lasted until she sank
off the Maumee River Light, Toledo, Ohio, Lake Erie, on August 8, 1906.
3/18
On 18 March
1906, the Goodrich Line’s
ATLANTA
(wooden propeller passenger/package freight steamer, 200 foot, 1129 gross
tons, built in 1891 at Cleveland, Ohio) was sailing from Sheboygan, Wisconsin
for Milwaukee. When she was 14 miles south of Sheboygan, fire was discovered
in the aft hold and quickly spread to the engine room. She ran out of steam,
making the fire pumps inoperable. There were 65 persons aboard and Capt. Mc
Cauley gave the order to abandon. The fish tug TESSLER came to help and only
one life was lost. As the TESSLER was steaming to port, the Goodrich Line’s
GEORGIA
came into view ant took on all of the survivors. The hull of the ATLANTA was
beached by the TESSLER. Later the burned hull was purchased by D. O. Smith of
Port Washington
ARSENE SIMARD (Hull#404) was
launched March 18, 1972 at Sorel, Quebec by Marine Industries Ltd., for Branch
Lines Ltd.
PERE MARQUETTE 21 (Hull#209)
was launched March 18, 1924, at Manitowoc, Wisconsin by Manitowoc Shipbuilding
Co. She was christened by Mrs. C.C. West, wife of the president of Manitowoc
Shipbuilding Co.
The straight deck bulk carrier
SYLVANIA
(Hull#613)
was launched March 18,
1905, at West Bay City, Michigan by West Bay City Ship Building Co., for the
Tomlinson Fleet Corp.
On 18 March 1890, CITY OF
CHICAGO (steel sidewheeler, 211 foor, 1073 gross tons) was launched at
West Bay City,
Michigan
by F.W. Wheeler & Co. (Hull#68)
for the Graham & Morton Line.. CITY OF CHICAGO was lengthened to 226 foot at
Wheeler's yard one year later (1891). She was again lengthened in 1905-06,
this time to 254 foot. On the same day (18 March 1890) and at the same yard
the 3-mast wooden schooner A C TUXBURY was stern launched.
On 18 March 1928, M T GREENE
(wooden propeller freighter, 155 foot, 524 gross tons, built in 1887 at
Gibraltar, Michigan) burned to a total loss near Brigdeburg, Ontario on the
Niagara River.
3/17
On 17 March
1995, a fire started on the AMERICAN MARINER’s self-unloading conveyor belt
from welding being done on the vessel at the Toledo Ship & Repair Company in
Toledo, Ohio. About $100,000 in damage was done. The
Toledo
fire department had the blaze out in half an hour.
The tanker LAKESHELL reportedly
leaked over 21,000 gallons of Bunker C oil into the St. Lawrence River on
March 17, 1982, after suffering a crack in her cargo compartment caused by
striking an ice floe.
GEORGE R FINK was launched
March 17, 1923, as a.) WORRELL CLARKSON (Hull#174) at Toledo, Ohio by Toledo
Ship Building Co., for the Kinsman Transit Co.
The PATERSON suffered
considerable stern damage during the weekend of March 17-18, 1973, during a
gale when the MONDOC tore loose from her winter moorings at Goderich, Ontario
and struck her.
On 17 March 1916, CITY OF
MIDLAND (wooden propeller passenger-package freighter, 176 foot, 974 tons,
built in 1890, at Owen Sound, Ontario) burned at the Grand Trunk Railway dock
at Collingwood, Ontario, while fitting out for the coming season. No lives
were lost.
3/16
On 16 March
1901, ARGO (steel passenger/package freight propeller, 173 foot, 1089 gross
tons) was launched at the Craig Ship Building Company (Hull #81) at Toledo,
Ohio, for the A. Booth Company. She left the Lakes in 1917, and was last
recorded in 1938, out of
Brest,
France.
BUFFALO
(Hull#721)
was launched March 16,
1978, at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin by Bay Shipbuilding Corp., for the American
Steamship Co.
On 16 March 1883, the Port
Huron Times announced that the passenger and package freight steamer
PICKUP would be built in
Marine City,
Michigan and would run
on the St. Clair River between Port Huron and Algonac. The machinery from the
burned steamer CARRIE H BLOOD was to be installed in her. In fact, her
construction was completed that year and she went into service in September
1883. Her dimensions were 80 foot x 19 foot x 7 foot, 137 gross tons, 107 net
tons.
The Niagara Harbor & Dock
Company, a shipbuilding firm, was incorporated on 16 March 1831, at
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
On 16 March 1886, the tug
MOCKING BIRD was sold by Mr. D. N. Runnels to Mr. James Reid of St. Ignace,
Michigan. Mr. Runnels received the tug JAMES L REID as partial payment.
Data from: Joe
Barr, Dave Swayze, Steve Haverty, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell
II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series. This is a small sample,
the books includes many other vessels with a much more detailed history.
