Ironton ferry in 2013. [Roger LeLievre]
The five-minute ferry crossing saves about 30 minutes of drive time around a narrow part of Lake Charlevoix. A ferry service has existed between these two points since 1878. The original ferry could carry a single wagon and its team of horses.
The Charlevoix has no rudders and is guided by two cables running 25 feet below the surface to allow other boats to pass by. The vessel can carry four automobiles at a time.
In 1936, Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” profiled Sam Alexander, the man who had travelled 15,000 miles while never being 1,000 feet away from his own home. Alexander worked the service from 1890 to 1941.
Interestingly, the Charlevoix is the youngest active hull built by the Johnston yard, which dates back to 1859 as a marine boiler fabricator. Johnston began building ships to complement the boiler business in 1897. A tragic fire in June 1916 prompted the end of shipbuilding.
The Charlevoix came a decade after the boiler company formally ended shipbuilding operations as a special project. Johnston’s bid came in lower than others and so they were awarded the work.
In total, Johnston Brothers built 71 documented hulls. The Charlevoix is 1 of 11 that still exist in some capacity. Most notable is the former fish tug H. J. Dornbos which was built in 1901 for the Verduin family and today is on the National Register of Historic Places as the New York State Canal tug Urger.
Samuel Hankinson
