VOLUME XXVII NO. 5 FOR GREAT LAKES MUSEUMS, ASSOCIATIONS AND HISTORIANS SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010

Annual Conference looks at rich ASSOCIATION NEWS The Association held its annual history of Great Lakes region business meeting at the University of Wisconsin-Superior in Superior, Wis. on Sept. 10, 2010. In addition to a discussion of future strategic initiatives, there were also updates the Mackinac Custom House records projects and improvements to the Association’s web site. PRESIDENT’S REPORT In her annual report, President Laura Jacobs noted that institutional and individual members of the Association have been struggling with the economic slump. However, she also reported that many are still managing to do amazing work despite those conditions. Jacobs also reported that the board of directors has begun a strategic planning process to discern how the Association can best serve members in the future, She also recognized a number of members for their long- time dedication to the Association, An illustrated history of the Christopher Columbus , the world’s only whaleback passenger steamer, was one of the programs at the 2010 AGLMH Conference (UW-Superior Maritime Collection photo). including Henry Barkhausen and C. Patrick Labadie. Recent shipwreck discoveries, historic 19th century freighter L.R. Doty . The Bob Graham, John Polacsek, and Great Lakes vessels, the region’s naval wreck was discovered in 300 feet of Ed Warner were also thanked for history, and wreck preservation were water near Milwaukee. their support and quiet leadership among presentation topics for the Brendon Baillod, one of the team throughout the year. Jacobs also speakers program portion of the 2010 members, presented a program on the noted the retirement of Fred Annual Conference of the Association history of the ship and its discovery. Neuschel, long-time chair of the for Great Lakes Maritime History. The Doty was built in 1893 at West Research & Publications Committee, FREIGHTER L.R. DOTY Bay City, Michigan by F.W. Wheeler this past year and the able job that & Co. for the Cuyahoga Transit Co. of Steve Brisson has done replacing In June, a team of divers and maritime Cleveland, Ohio. The 291-foot wooden him. Finally, Ron Bloomfield and historians announced the discovery of Bob O’Donnell were thanked for the Lake Michigan wreck site of the Continued on Page 3 helping with for this year’s annual conference. STRATEGIC PLANNING Moir wins 2010 Barkhausen Award Following the president’s report, Three individuals whose research and Maritime History was presented to Laura Jacobs lead a brief discussion service have furthered the goals of the Michael Moir, an archivist at the York of some strategic initiatives for the Association for Great Lakes Maritime University Libraries in Toronto, where board of directors to consider. history were honored during the 2010 he is also head of the Clara Thomas At the 2010 mid-year meeting, the Annual Dinner which was held in the Archives and Special Collections. board was asked to submit a list of University of Wisconsin Superior’s Moir’s paper was entitled “Harbour what they saw as the Association’s Yellow Jacket Union. Commissioners, Civil Engineers, and organizational strengths and weak - BARKHAUSEN AWARD the Large-Scale Manipulation of nesses, as well as its opportunities Nature on Toronto’s Waterfront, 1883- and threats. During the business The 2010 Henry N. Barkhausen Award for Original Research in Great Lakes Continued on Page 12 Continued on Page 13 PAGE 2 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010 Roundtables look at preservation and research using ship’s papers The challenge of preserving historic repainting of the keeper dwellings, buildings and vessels, and researching storage barns and the 54-foot light 20 th century maritime history using tower. The Association for Great Lakes Maritime ship’s papers were the focus of the The focus in 2009 was on the repair of History is an international organization of roundtables of the 2010 Annual institutions, museums, societies, and individuals interior and exterior brick work and interested in preserving and interpreting the Conference of the Association for the concrete foundation of the light maritime history of the Great Lakes. Great Lakes Maritime History. tower, and the exterior masonry and Membership includes a subscription to this LIGHT STATION RESTORATION brick work of the fog signal building. newsletter and the opportunity to participate Repairs were also completed to the During the annual Museum Directors in Association activities. In addition to its pump house, oil storage building, and Roundtable, Lee Radzak, manager of newsletter, the Association also sponsors an two wooden storage barns. The lead annual meeting, and encourages research, the the Split Rock Lighthouse Historic contractor on many of the building exchange of information, and the publication of Site, discussed the many challenges projects was Anderson & Hammack materials on Great Lakes maritime history. involved with a three-year restoration Construction of Superior, Wis. Individual membership is $40 per year. of the Lake Superior landmark, and a Institutional membership is $60 per year. celebration of its centennial in 2010. Those projects employed a number of innovative restoration techniques. To become a member or for a brochure In addition to its iconic lighthouse, Among those techniques was the use containing more information about the the Split Rock Lighthouse Historic Association, write to: of dry ice blasting in place of soda Site consists of several other historic blasting. After seeing the aftermath Association for Great Lakes Maritime History structures. Those structures include of soda blasting in a previous project, P.O. Box 484 a fog signal building, hoist & derrick, Bowling Green, OH 43402 Radzak recommended the use of dry oil storage building, pump house, ice blasting since it leaves less residue, boathouse, tramway, and three light ASSOCIATION OFFICERS can be used on metal and wood, and keeper dwellings, each with a President removes rust scaling without detached storage barn. Laura Jacobs, Archivist removing old paint. UniversityofWisconsin-Superior The light station was decommissioned The blasting contractor used a dry ice JimDanHillLibrary-MaritimeCollection by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1969. The blasting technique developed by Cold Vice President State of Minnesota acquired the site Jet LLC of Loveland, Ohio. Other Bob Graham, Archivist from the federal government in 1971, innovative techniques used on the HistoricalCollectionsoftheGreatLakes and assigned responsibility for the project included the application of Secretary station’s historic preservation and titanium putty to repair holes in cast Ed Warner, IndividualMember interpretation to the Minnesota iron components. One of the most Historical Society in 1976. Treasurer dangerous parts of the Split Rock John Polacsek, IndividualMember Because of its lakefront location, project was the replacement of seven The AGLMH Newsletter (ISSN 1081-4744) water and moisture are continually quarts of highly, toxic mercury from is published bi-monthly by the Association for damaging the site’s many buildings. the vat on which the lighthouse’s Great Lakes Maritime History. The submittal Repairing that damage and finding Fresnel lens floats. of articles, news, photos, drawings, research ways to prevent it have been the focus The mercury replacement process, requests, letters, etc. relating to the maritime of three major restoration projects at along with most work involving the history of the Great Lakes region is welcomed Split Rock since the early 1980s. from members and non-members. All items will light tower, had to be completed in a be considered for publication and should be Prior restoration work also addressed narrow window between April 1 and sent to the editor: the presence of lead paint in many the beginning of the visitor season on Bob O’Donnell structures, and restored the interior May 15. During that time period and 521 Wesley Avenue and exterior woodwork in several for a few weeks into June, the tower Green Bay, WI 54302 buildings. Planning for the current was encapsulated in scaffolding so Home Tel.: 920-469-3460 three-year project, which was the E-mail: [email protected] that its metal top could be cleaned largest ever undertaken at Split Rock and repainted, and each of the light’s The Association for Great Lakes Maritime History is incorporated as a nonstock, nonprofit corporation Historic Site, started in 2007. 27 curved windows removed and under the laws of the State of Wisconsin. The U.S. their brass frames stored and resealed. Internal Revenue Service has ruled the Association The Collaborative Design Group Inc. to be under Sections 507(a)(l) and 170(6)(l)(A)(v) of Minneapolis provided planning The project also required creamery – EIN 39-1484960. services for the project, which was one brick with a special radius to be of several historic preservation efforts crafted for use in restoring Split For more news and information, around the state that were funded by Rock’s light tower. Bricks also had to visit the Association Web Site $5.7 million in bonding authority be produced in three different shades approved the Minnesota legislature to match the original appearance of www.aglmh.net in 2006. In 2008, work at Split Rock the structures at the light station. focused on masonry repair and Continued on Page 11 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER PAGE 3

were off Milwaukee when the wind intention of taking divers to it since L.R. Doty wreck began to pick up out of the northeast the technology to safely visit deep Continued from Page 1 and the seas began to build. wrecks was still not commonplace in the early 1990s. Eventually, however, By 4 p.m. snow and sleet began to vessel was named after the general he did make a trip to the site and obscure visibility and the waves had manager of the Cuyahoga Transit Co., imaged it with a fish finder, revealing built to over 20 feet. The Doty and Lucius Ramsey Doty. a large object on the bottom. Jeannette were several miles north of The freighter was one of the last of the Milwaukee by 5 p.m., when suddenly However, due to the depth and the giant wooden lake steamers, as steel the towline between them broke. distance from shore, the site was of hulls were quickly replacing wood in little further interest to him. Brendon Captain D.B. Cadotte of the Jeanette the construction of large bulk carriers Baillod learned of the deep snag in the th reported that the Doty continued to at the end of the 19 century. The mid-1990s and researched possible steam off to the north and was soon Doty was one of six nearly identical identities for the large object on the lost from sight. The schooner-barge sister ships that were built in West bottom. Several vessels had been lost crew scrambled to set canvas in what Bay City, a group that included the in deep water south of Milwaukee was later said to be one of the worst steamers William F. Sauber , C.F. over the years, including the steamers storms on the Great Lakes in 30 years. Bielman , Tampa , Iosco and Uganda . R.G. Peters , Monitor , Thomas Smith Built of white oak with steel arches All across the region, ships were and Lac La Belle . wrecked and many lives were lost. embedded in the sides of her hull to Beginning in 2000, mixed gas diving The schooner Barbarian was driven provide needed stability, the Doty had began to gain popularity in the Great on the break wall at Milwaukee and a cargo capacity of over 2,000 gross Lakes, and soon technical divers wrecked. The Olive Jeanette , for its tons. The ship had nine deck hatches, began safely visiting shipwrecks in part, was to endure one of the most and was built with a tall fore-mast, on over 200 feet of water. By the end of harrowing ordeals in Great Lakes which it could set canvas, if necessary. the decade, mixed gas diving using history before being rescued adrift helium and rebreather technology The Doty was powered by three off Chicago. cylinder triple-expansion steam pushed technical diving well beyond engines built by Frontier Iron Works Nothing was known of the fate of the the 400-foot mark. Doty until the morning of October 26 of Detroit, Mich. that generated 1,000 At about this time, Milwaukee charter when the tug Prodigy located a debris horsepower. It was also fitted with captain Jitka Hanakova, a technical field floating 25 miles off Kenosha. two Scotch boilers built by Wickes diving enthusiast, began working The debris consisted of a stem post, Bros. of Saginaw, Mich. that could with historians and wreck hunters a large amount of wood trim, a cabin generate steam pressure of 167 psi. to visit deep water wrecks in Lake door, hatch covers and other items The ship was also equipped with a Michigan. In 2008, she worked with bearing the brown colors of the Doty . steam power system for her deck Baillod on the wreck of the Robert C. winches, but had neither electric There was a great deal of conjecture Pringle which was found in about 300 lights nor wireless communications. in marine circles as to how a relatively feet of water off Sheboygan. new vessel could have foundered When her fitting out was completed, The two later discussed the Butchie with the loss of all 17 men aboard. the Doty immediately entered the B. ’s deep water snag in 1991, and In the years that followed the Doty ’s iron ore and coal trade making trips Hanakova relocated the site by doing loss, the ship faded into history as one between Cleveland and the ports of an extensive search around the area of the many thousands of Great Lakes Duluth, Superior, Marquette, and based on LORAN coordinates. That vessels to be wrecked during the 19th Escanaba. On these runs, the ship process was complicated by the fact century. also towed the 242-foot, four-masted that LORAN coordinates had a non- schooner-barge Olive Jeanette . When In the 1960s, there was considerable standard error when converted to not hauling iron ore or coal, the two interest in locating shipwreck sites in latitude and longitude. would carry cargoes of grain between the region spurred by the advent of On June 16, 2010, a team of technical various Great Lakes ports. scuba diving. Many sport divers also divers arrived on the site to try and began to search for wrecks with Over the years, the Doty successfully determine the identity of the object on remote sensing equipment. Occasional weathered many severe storms, and the bottom. A sonar outline of it was rumors of the discovery of the Doty had relatively few mishaps for a created, and markers dropped. The surfaced but all proved to be false. vessel of her day. The ship was, by process revealed that whatever was all accounts, a relatively sturdy vessel In August 1991, the commercial fish on the bottom was at least 200 feet when it sailed out of South Chicago tug Butchie B. was gill netting chubs long. After carefully hooking the in fair weather on the afternoon of out of Milwaukee when her captain wreck with a grapple, John Janzen, Monday, Oct. 24, 1898. pulled alongside the LenDer , a dive John Scoles and Tracy Xelowski began Loaded with 107,000 bushels of corn, boat operated by Milwaukee charter the long, cold dive to the bottom. captain Jerry Guyer. The tug reported the Doty and the Jeanette were bound Approximately 40 minutes into the that it had snagged its nets on a deep for Midland, Ont. before proceeding dive, a red lift bag shot up the grapple obstruction over 20 miles from shore to Lake Superior for a cargo of iron line to the surface. Since no one had in about 300 feet of water. ore bound for Cleveland. On Monday, expected any messages from the the pair headed uneventfully up the Guyer, who was also the owner of divers, there was immediate concern. Wisconsin shore of Lake Michigan. the Pirates Cove Dive Shop, became Continued on next page On Tuesday, around 1 p.m. the ships interested in the site, but had no PAGE 4 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010

Accidents at extreme depth, although steam engines powering a single four- to the Goodrich Transit Line, which uncommon, are usually fatal. The note bladed propeller. Part of the required operated it for a total of 30 years. A read “all divers ok . . . up in 80 min - vessel speed would also be the result third deck was added to the ship’s utes . . . huge wooden steamship.” of the whaleback’s distinctive hull superstructure during the winter of shape with rounded tops over which 1899-1900. According to Baillod, this is when the waves broke with considerably less team knew that it had found the grave At some point between 1906 and force than a conventional hull. of the long lost L.R. Doty . To confirm 1909, the livery of the Columbus was that conclusion, Janzen and Scoles The contract between the parties also changed to a black hull with yellow shot about 40 minutes of hi-definition required rapid loading and unloading accents. Following the capsizing of the video of the wreck, some of which is of passengers. McDougall predicted steamer Eastland with the loss of over now on-line (go to www.youtube.com that the Columbus would be able to 800 lives in 1915, officials ordered and search for “L.R. Doty”). embark 5,000 people in five minutes, the Columbus and other passenger and disembark the same number in vessels to undergo stability testing. The video was made possible, in part, even less time. by the invasion of the Great Lakes by For its test, 7,500 sandbags (each bag Quagga mussels. Ten years ago, there The hull framing for the whaleback simulating one passenger) were piled would have been little or no ambient was completed on Sept. 13, 1892. The on one side the ship, and tugboats light at the depth where the Doty lies. rounded hull top was then added, began pulling in the same direction. However, the wreck is now covered followed by six turrets, which were Even with that force, the Columbus with mussels which appear to have substantially larger than those listed only 12 degrees. However, the filtered much of the zooplankton employed on freighter versions whaleback did have three accidents from the surrounding waters. of whalebacks. during its sailing career. The most serious was on June 30, 1917 when Both visibility and natural light have After the Columbus was launched on the ship had a collision with a water increased to the point where divers Dec. 3, 1892, two superstructure decks tower on the Milwaukee River. reported that, at 300 feet, the ambient were mounted on the turrets along light is now nearly bright enough to the centerline of her hull. The turrets The Columbus was maneuvering film without lights. Visibility on the afforded passengers access to the away from her dock with assistance of deck of the Doty itself, however, is ship’s two internal decks, one in the tugs when the river current caught it, only about 40 feet and the site has turrets and one in the hull below. spinning the ship sideways. The bow very strong surface currents. Electric lighting was used throughout of the Columbus then sheared off two legs of the Yahr-Lang Drug Co.’s Future plans of the team include the the ship and its grand saloon. The water tower causing it to topple onto possible nomination of the L.R. Doty promenade deck contained several the steamer and flood its decks with for inclusion in the National Register fountains and a large aquarium filled about 25,000 gallons of water. of Historic Places. There is also talk of with Great Lakes fish. The cabins and producing a short documentary. public spaces were fitted out with In the process, 16 passengers were marble, oak paneling, velvet carpets, killed, the ship’s pilot house was WHALEBACK etched glass windows, and leather severely damaged, and the whaleback CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS furniture. There were also shops and was put out of service for the rest of An illustrated history of the passenger restaurants on board. the year. The Columbus was taken whaleback Christopher Columbus McDougall set up a holding company, out of service for the final time in was the subject of a presentation by the Columbian Whaleback Steamship 1933, and was scrapped in 1936 in Al Miller. The Columbus was built Co. of Duluth, to own and operate the Manitowoc, Wis. by Alexander McDougall’s American Columbus . Painted all white, the ship GREAT LAKES NAVAL MILITIAS Steel Barge Co. shipyard in Superior, was commissioned on May 13, 1893. Wis., not far from the site of the 2010 “The Corn Belt Navy: The Great Lakes An estimated 7,000 passengers were AGLMH Conference. Naval Militias: 1895-1955” was the carried on its maiden voyage from title of an illustrated presentation by The World’s Fair Steamship Co. downtown Chicago to Jackson Park, Bob O’Donnell. His program looked contracted with Capt. McDougall the site of the Columbian Exposition’s at a little known part of the naval for a ship to transport passengers Beaux Arts “White City.” heritage of the Great Lakes region. between downtown Chicago and the For the six months of the Exposition, World Columbia Exposition of 1893 At the close of the Civil War, the U.S. the Columbus made multiple round on the city’s south side. He closed the Navy was one of the largest naval trips daily. By the time the event deal on the Christopher Columbus fighting forces in the world with 6,000 closed, it’s been estimated that the on Aug. 26, 1892 with a promise to officers and 45,000 enlisted personnel whaleback transported between 1.7 complete work on the vessel in three manning over 600 vessels. By the and 2 million people. Although its months at an estimated cost of 1870s, however, most of those ships performance exceeded expectations, $360,000. had been abandoned or scrapped, and McDougall was unable to interest any those that remained in naval service The contract specifications also called Great Lakes passenger lines in the were considered antiquated by world for the 362-foot Columbus to be able whaleback design. standards. to make the six-mile run from its dock After the Columbian Exposition, the downtown to the exposition grounds The U.S.S. Michigan was the sole U.S. Columbus entered excursion service, in 20 minutes. To achieve that speed, naval vessel in the Great Lakes region primarily between Milwaukee and the ship’s propulsion system consisted even through the provisions of the Chicago. In 1899, the ship was leased of two reciprocating triple-expansion SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER PAGE 5

Rush-Bagot Treaty of 1817 allowed the Navy Theodore Roosevelt during were used to heat the Broadhead the U.S. and Great Britain to maintain a summer training voyage from Naval Armory near Detroit’s Belle Isle. three warships each there. Inspired by Mackinac Island to Detroit. On Oct. 22, 1929, the aged ship sank the “New Navy Movement” of the alongside her moorings, and was 1880s, however, the presence of the The militia was conducting training struck from the Navy List in 1930. exercises in Lake Huron when some U.S. Navy on the Great Lakes grew to Another Great Lakes naval militia include a fleet that numbered nearly of its officers proposed to Roosevelt th that a new ship be assigned to their vessel with a storied past was the twenty warships during the late 19 wooden-hulled screw steamer U.S.S. and early 20 th centuries. unit to alleviate the congestion aboard the Michigan . Upon returning to Essex . Built in the Boston Navy Yard The goal of the New Navy Movement Washington, Roosevelt made some in 1876, the 185-foot vessel was was to create a modern Navy capable inquiries and determined that the decommissioned in 1889. The ship of protecting the nation’s overseas U.S.S. Yantic was available. was re-commissioned in 1893 for use interests. One of the challenges, to as a training ship, and assigned to the that goal however, was finding Built in 1864, the 179-foot vessel saw Ohio Naval Militia in 1904. action during the Civil War, and later enough qualified individuals to man When underway, the Essex was the new ships. Up until the Civil War, served in the waters of Asia, South America and the West Indies. In 1898, manned by a crew of over 150 officers the U.S. Navy had depended on a and enlisted personnel. In 1917, it was strong national merchant marine to 150 volunteers boarded the Yantic in Boston and sailed it to Detroit where reassigned to the Ninth Naval District supply needed officers and enlisted where it was used to train Naval personnel in wartime. it was assigned to the First Battalion of the Michigan Naval Militia. Reserve personnel until 1926. The ship However, Confederate commerce was then assigned to Duluth where it raiders had led many U.S. shipping In 1907, the First Battalion acquired a was used as a Naval Reserve station companies to flag their vessels in new training ship, and the Yantic was until 1930 when it was struck from other countries during the war. At the sent north to Houghton-Hancock, the Navy List. Mich. to serve the Second Battalion of war’s end, many of those companies In addition to training aboard the continued the practice since foreign the Michigan Naval Militia. There, the ship was used for weekly drills of U.S.S. Michigan , the Naval Brigade seaman worked for significantly less of the National Guard of Ohio, as it wages than American mariners. militia members, and the battalion’s annual two-week summer cruise. was officially known, also acquired To meet its wartime personnel needs, the former U.S. Revenue Cutter Congressional supporters of the New In the years that followed, the Yantic Andrew Johnson in 1897. Built in Navy Movement and leading naval was significantly altered. Her rigging Buffalo in 1865, the 172-foot vessel officers proposed a national naval for sail was all but eliminated, and required a crew of 40 officers and reserve in 1887. Unable to secure the ship was given new engines that men. It was sold about a year later. allowed her to attain cruising speeds passage of legislation in Congress, As the crisis with Spain over Cuba supporters convinced several state of up to 12 knots. Several small boats were also added to her complement deepened in the late 1890s, the U.S. legislatures to pass laws creating Navy recognized that combat state naval militias. of training equipment, including a 28’ steam cutter, a 28’ sailing launch, two operations in the Caribbean would In the Great Lakes region, naval 26’ whale boats, two 24’ cutters and a be severely restricted without a large militias were established in New York 16’ dinghy. number of auxiliary warships. The (1889), Pennsylvania (1892), Michigan Navy scrambled to convert existing (1893) Illinois (1893), Ohio (1896), The Yantic and its fleet of small craft vessels into cruisers and gunboats, Minnesota (1903), and Wisconsin were often used during the early and find crews for them. (1906). Most state militias initially 1900s when the ships of the various state naval militias in the Great Lakes The U.S.S. Yosemite , a merchant ship focused on training for harbor and built in 1829, was one of nine ships coastal defense. In the 1890s, militia region gathered at Lake Michigan’s South Manitou Island for summer acquired by the Navy in 1898 for use training was added to the duties of as armed auxiliary cruisers. The ship’s the U.S.S. Michigan . maneuvers and gunnery practice. With the U.S. entry into World War I, crew of 300 officers and enlisted ranks Although her iron hull showed little the Civil War-era vessel was put back was made up entirely of members of sign of age after 50 years of service, into federal service and transferred to the Michigan Naval Militia. the Navy rebuilt the Michigan in the Great Lakes Naval Station. That same year, the Navy purchased 1897 to better serve in its new role a large civilian yacht that had built as a training vessel. In 1903, the ship At the end of the war, the Yantic was struck from the Navy list and ordered in 1897 and commissioned it as the became part of the newly-established gunboat U.S.S. Dorothea . In 1901, the Ninth Naval District headquartered at sold. However, the venerable vessel was withdrawn from the sale list in vessel was transferred to the Illinois Lake Bluff, Ill. at the site of the new Naval Militia. The ship was used for Great Lakes Naval Station. 1919 and re-assigned to duty as a training ship for a Naval Reserve unit training until 1909 when it was then In addition to training on board the in Cleveland. In 1926, the ship was transferred to the Ohio Naval Militia. Michigan , several of the region’s decommissioned and transferred back The Dorothea was recalled to federal naval militias sought to acquire their to the State of Michigan for use as a service at the start of World War I. own training vessels. In 1897, the training vessel. The gunboat U.S.S. Hawk started out Michigan Naval Militia made its as a 145-foot civilian yacht that had case to then Assistant Secretary of The Yantic ’s last years were spent at dock in Detroit where her boilers Continued on next page PAGE 6 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010 been built in Scotland in 1891. The Dubuque and Nashville returned to 1916. By the end of the 1920s, most yacht was purchased by the Navy in federal service just before the start of members of the state naval militias 1898 and, after seeing action off Cuba, World War I. Following the war, both had transferred to the Naval Reserve. it was decommissioned at the end of were decommissioned. The Dubuque , Several of the militias, however, still the Spanish-American War. In 1900, however, was re-commissioned in exist today in non-military roles. the Hawk was re-commissioned for 1922 for use as a Naval Reserve Although their history was eclipsed use by the Ohio Naval Militia. training vessel based in Detroit. by that of the Naval Reserve which When underway the Hawk required The Minnesota Naval Militia’s first had an active presence on the Great a complement of 47 officers and training vessel was the U.S.S. Gopher . Lakes from the 1920s to the 1960s, the enlisted personnel, and was armed Launched in 1871 as the U.S. Revenue region’s state naval militias involved with 3-pounder and a 21-pounder Cutter Fern , the 160-foot vessel was hundreds of citizen-sailors from all guns. In 1909, it was transferred to transferred to the U.S. Navy in 1891. walks of life. Those volunteers played the New York Naval Militia and then After service in the Spanish-American a critical role in the modernization of decommissioned in 1919. The Hawk War, the ship was decommissioned at the Navy and its role in the Spanish- was re-commissioned in 1922 for use the war’s end. American War and World War I. as a Naval Reserve training vessel, In 1905, after two years of repair work PRESERVING THE U.S.S. ESSEX and finally sold for scrap in 1940. in Detroit, the ship was returned to Dr. Ann Merriman and Christopher Following Spanish-American War, service as the U.S.S. Gopher and Olson, both of Maritime Heritage several former Spanish naval vessels transferred to Duluth where it was Minnesota, presented an overview of were transferred to Great Lakes naval manned by a crew of 120 officers and their efforts to develop a preservation militias for training use. One of those men. At the start of World War I, the plan for the remains of the U.S.S. vessels was the U.S.S. Isla de Luzon , vessel was returned to federal service Essex , which now lie on Lake a second-class protected cruiser that at the Great Lakes Naval Station for Superior’s Minnesota Point. was captured by the Navy at the use as a Naval Reserve training ship. Battle of Manila Bay The 185-foot, wooden hulled steamer In 1906, the aging U.S.S. Michigan , was built in the Boston Navy Yard The Isla de Luzon was transferred to was renamed U.S.S. Wolverine and, and commissioned in 1876. After a the Illinois Naval Militia in 1901. The in 1912, it was turned over to the 50-year career on both salt and fresh ship was later transferred to the Ohio Pennsylvania Naval Militia. Manned water, the Essex was assigned in Naval Militia in 1909 where it served by a crew of 88 officers and enlisted 1927 to Duluth where it was used as a as a training vessel until 1918. personnel, the Wolverine served as Naval Reserve station ship until 1930. a militia training vessel for the next In 1906, the New York Naval Militia eleven years. After the Essex was decommissioned, acquired the U.S.S. Sandoval . The it was sold to a local salvage firm that Sandoval was a refurbished Spanish The Wisconsin Naval Militia dates removed everything of value. The hull gunboat that required a crew of 21 back to 1909 when the First Division was then burned as a public spectacle officers and enlisted ranks. Based in of the First Battalion was formed in in 1931. A 56-foot long section of the Charlotte Harbor on Lake Ontario, the Ashland, Wis. The Second Division vessel now lies in the surf zone of ship frequently called at Ogdensburg of the First Battalion was formed in Minnesota Point. and Sackets Harbor, N.Y. during its Bayfield, Wis. in 1913. Upon the entry summer training cruises. of the United States in World War I, Researchers have identified several both battalions were disbanded after reasons to preserve the remains of the The First Battalion of the Michigan their members joined the U.S. Navy. Essex . Among them is the fact that it Naval Militia acquired the U.S.S. Don was the last vessel built by master Juan de Austria in 1907. The cruiser The First Battalion was reformed in shipbuilder Donald McKay who was had been captured at the Battle of 1927 with volunteers from Milwaukee world renown for building clipper Manila Bay. The ship required a and Madison. That same year, the ships that set speed records. crew of over 150 officers and men. Navy assigned two World War I sub chasers, the SC-412 and SC-432 , to In 1854, one of those ships, the Flying In 1909, the U.S.S. Nashville was the militia for training purposes. Each Cloud , set a record for passage from assigned to the Illinois Naval Militia vessel was manned by a crew of 17 New York to San Francisco, a record and based in Chicago. Commissioned officers and men. that stood until 1989. Clipper ships, in 1897, the 233-foot gunboat served however, were only one expression in the North Atlantic Fleet during the Although the role of the state naval of McKay’s shipbuilding skill. His Spanish-American War. militias during the Spanish-American packet ships were also known for War had proved the value of a reserve The Nashville was decommissioned the quality of their construction. force of trained naval volunteers, all in 1905, but re-commissioned in 1907 attempts by Congress in the early In addition, McKay’s East Boston for service on the Great Lakes. While 1900s to create a national Naval shipyard was supplying ships for the underway, the ship required a crew Reserve failed. In 1914, however, British merchant fleet at a time when of 180 officer and enlisted personnel. Congress did pass legislation that that country was considered the In 1911, the U.S.S. Dubuque was placed state naval militias under the pre-eminent shipbuilder in the world. assigned to the Illinois Naval Militia. supervision of the Navy Department. The section of the Essex at Minnesota Built in 1904, the 200-foot gunboat Point is the only known fragment of In 1915, Congress finally authorized was manned by a crew of 198 officers a Donald McKay-built vessel in the creation of the U.S. Naval Reserve and enlisted personnel. Both the world. There may be undiscovered which officially came into being in SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER PAGE 7 remains elsewhere, but researchers A third option entails removing the cities, and leisure travelers similar note that it is the only known physical remains from Minnesota Point, and to today’s cruise ship customers. evidence of his handiwork. transporting it to a display tank at Research has also identified three an outdoor venue in Duluth. Ideally In addition its connection to a famous major market reasons for the decline located on the city’s waterfront, the American shipbuilder, the remains of of Great Lakes cruising industry tank could serve as a permanent the Essex are also the only surviving following World War II. display and possible “dive tank” for fragment of a U.S. Navy vessel built First, automobile travel became easier sports divers. Interpretive displays in the late 19th century, a period of and cheaper for moderate-income detailing the history of the Essex technological stagnation often called passengers. Second, economical air could also be added to the venue. the “Dark Ages” by naval historians. travel to “exotic” destinations became A fourth option entails removing the However, several researchers have readily accessible to higher income remains and displaying them in an noted that unarmored naval ships like passengers. And, thirdly, ports of the indoor wet environment. As with the Essex were not entirely deficient Great Lakes became less “passenger the previous option, the display tank when compared to contemporary friendly” in terms of facilities due to could serve as both a display and foreign designs, and were actually growing industrial use of waterfronts. “dive tank” for divers to explore the well-designed for maintaining a Other factors in the industry’s decline remains of the Essex in a controlled worldwide naval presence. Iron hulls were the high replacement cost of environment. Interpretive displays of the period were at a disadvantage aging Great Lakes vessels due, in part, could also be used at this venue. to wooden hulls due to their tendency to the loss of passenger shipbuilding to quickly foul with marine growth. A fifth option involves the display of capacity in the region. As cruising the remains dry and fully conserved The Essex also belongs to the last class declined in the 1950s and 1960s, many at an outdoor, waterfront setting. This of wooden-hulled ships powered by of the remaining vessels also required option would require that the wreck both sail and auxiliary steam engines increased maintenance; experienced fragment spend an estimated ten that was ordered by the U.S. Navy. increased operating costs for fuel, years in a conservation tank before It was built during the transitional crews and insurance; and were not being displayed. Conservation would period when the Navy relied on attractive to customers due to a lack be time consuming and expensive. steam-powered ironclads for coastal of modern amenities. defense, and wooden-hulled ships, The sixth option involves display of Today, there are a number of physical equipped with sails as their main the remains dry and fully conserved factors that prevent the growth of a propulsion, for worldwide cruising. in an indoor setting. The researchers cruising industry on the Great Lakes, view this option as the most favorable Previous studies of the remains at including limitations on the width option in terms of preservation. They Minnesota Point have led historians and heights of vessels that can pass envision the wreck fragment being to believe that it was part of the through the Welland Canal. The best displayed in a climate-controlled Essex ’s engine room. According docking facilities in the region are also building, and viewable at all angles. to Maritime Heritage Minnesota now reserved for industrial uses, and The venue could also display a model researchers, however, the presence many waterfronts are inaccessible due of the Essex as originally built and of concrete chunks indicates that the to residential and retail development. interpretive labels detailing the ship’s fragment may actually a part of its The seasonal nature of Great Lakes history, construction and significance. boiler room. cruising limits vessels to a six-month To aid in the development of displays A cursory examination of the remains sailing season and requires operators and exhibits on the Essex , Maritime in 2010 showed that its condition had to incur high repositioning costs to Heritage Minnesota researchers are deteriorated significantly from wave, continue generating revenue during continuing their work on a detailed ice, and human interaction; and action the remainder of the year. There are history of the vessel and searching was urgently needed to ensure that also more piloting costs, security for original source material. In the the wreck fragment is not destroyed. regulations, and environmental process, they are also developing a To achieve that goal, researchers at requirements for cruising on inland list of archival sources that may aid Maritime Heritage Minnesota have waters compared to the ocean. future researchers. identified six preservation options. Another factor is the economics of GREAT LAKES The first of those options is to simply modern day cruise vessels, which CRUISING INDUSTRY leave the fragment where it is and generate only 10% of their revenues at regular intervals cover it up with Dr. Richard Stewart of the University from ticket sales. Another 50% of sand dredged from the bottom of the of Wisconsin Superior and co-director revenue is generated by on-board Duluth-Superior harbor. Periodic of the Great Lakes Maritime Research shopping, and the remaining 40% monitoring is then recommended Institute was the keynote speaker for generated by gambling. The need for to make sure the wreck fragment the Association’s 2010 Awards Dinner. gambling, along with labor intensive remains totally covered. His presentation was entitled “Great nature of modern day cruising, makes Lakes Cruising – Past and Future.” it difficult to use that business model A second option would involve the in the Great Lakes region. removal of the remains of the Essex to Historically, there were two major another location in Lake Superior that customer segments for Great Lakes Based on recent studies by the Great is deep enough not to be affected by passenger vessels industry during Lakes Maritime Research Institute and others, there may be some specific wave and ice action but not too far the early and mid-20 th century. They from its current location. included overnight travelers between Continued on next page PAGE 8 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010 cruising opportunities in the region. side. Several years ago, officials of the discovery of large virgin pine logs on They include cross-border travel federal Department of Fisheries and the bottom of Chequamegon Bay in between the U.S. and Canada aboard Oceans determined that Pie Island the early 1990s. He went on to form U.S. or foreign flag vessels, same Light was unsafe and presented an Ashland-based American WetWood country travel between ports on the environmental hazard. LLC to market the wood from those Great Lakes, repositioning voyages, COMMODORE PERRY’S VICTORY logs under the Timeless Timber brand and roll-on-roll-off cruises. name. The 225 th anniversary of the birth of With 50 million potential customers GRAND HAVEN Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was living within fifty miles of the Great COAST GUARD FESTIVAL celebrated at the Perry’s Victory and Lakes, one or more opportunities may International Peace Memorial on Lake The arrival of the U.S. Coast Guard prove profitable. However, a major Erie’s South Bass Island last August. Cutters Neah Bay and Buckthorn , marketing effort will be required to Perry was commander of American and Canadian Coast Guard Ship support a regional cruising industry naval forces on Lake Erie during the Samuel Risley marked the official since recent research has shown that War of 1812. beginning of Grand Haven, Mich.’s potential customers have little or no 2010 Coast Guard Festival in late July. His forces defeated a British squadron understanding of the nature of Following a parade of ships, the Coast in 1813 in the waters off South Bass modern cruising on the Great Lakes. Guard vessels were open for public Island in one of the most decisive tours in Escanaba Park. naval victories in the early history of AROUND THE GREAT LAKES the United States. The Perry’s birth Based in Cleveland, the Neah Bay is celebration included 30-minute tours a 140-foot icebreaking tug that is used of the memorial with a costumed in icebreaking operations throughout SCHOONER DENIS SULLIVAN interpreter portraying the famed the Great Lakes from November thru In addition to celebrating the 10 th naval commander. There were also May, and public safety duties year- anniversary of its launch and serving living history re-enactments of life round. The Buckthorn is a 100-foot as the flagship for the 2010 Great during the War of 1812 and black inland buoy tender based in Sault Ste. Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge powder musket demonstrations. Marie, Mich. which is specially designed to maintain almost 400 Series, the schooner Denis Sullivan INTERNATIONAL aids-to-navigation along the also provided high school students EXPLORATIONS INC. with an opportunity to learn about St. Marys River. Over $8 million in pirate treasure and navigation and science last summer. The Samuel Risley is a 229-foot light artifacts were on display in Duluth The week-long program was part of icebreaker and medium tender based during a “Treasure Adventure” event the youth programs of Michigan in Amherstburg, Ont. The Risley sponsored in August by International Technological University in tends aids-to-navigation in Canadian Explorations Inc. of Ashland, Wis. Houghton, Mich. waters of the Great Lakes during the The two-week event was held at the navigation season. In the winter, it The ten students from three states former LaFarge Cement terminal and breaks ice in both Canadian and U.S. joined the schooner while it traveled coincided with the 2010 Tall Ships waters in an area that stretches from between port calls in Bay City, Mich. Duluth Festival. and Duluth. While on Lake Huron, Port Colborne on Lake Erie to they learned about the science of An investment group headed by local Thunder Bay on Lake Superior. developers Alessandro Giuliani and navigation and then collected water PORT OF LUDINGTON Sandy Hoff purchased the terminal and mud samples from Lake Superior. MARITIME MUSEUM After disembarking in Houghton, the from LaFarge North America for $1.3 students analyzed their samples as million in December 2009. Located The federal government officially part of an environmental engineering next to the city’s Bayfront Festival transferred title to the former U.S. program at the MTU campus. Park, the site is currently zoned Coast Guard Station in Ludington, “waterfront industrial” which limits Mich. to the City of Ludington last PIE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE its use for non-industrial purposes. summer. The transfer process started in 2004, and the building will now be Officials have announced that the Pie The new owners of the property, used to create a museum of the city’s Island Lighthouse near Thunder Bay, which is adjacent to land owned by maritime history to be operated by Ont. was demolished in September. the Duluth Economic Development the Mason County Historical Society. Located on the north side of the Authority, are seeking to have it island, the wooden frame lighthouse re-zoned “commercial waterfront” The centerpiece of the new Port of was built in 1904 and abandoned in to allow for mixed use development. Ludington Maritime Museum will 1953. As part of the demolition, a They envision redeveloping the site be the former pilothouse of the Lake 30-foot radius around the base of the with the same mix of commercial, Michigan car ferry Pere Marquette 22 . structure was mitigated for lead paint residential, retail and hospitality uses Built in 1924 in Manitowoc, Wis., the contamination. as currently found in the city’s Canal 348-foot vessel was home ported in During the 19 th century, Pie Island Park district. Ludington from then until it was retired from service in 1972. was prospected extensively for silver International Explorations Inc. was by companies from both Canada and founded by Scott Mitchen, who has In 2009, several artifacts from the ship the United States. The island is now been involved in wreck exploration were donated to the Historical Society essentially wilderness except for a and treasure hunting for over 30 by a Chicago area junk dealer. Those few summer cottages on its south years. Mitchen is also known for his artifacts included the ship’s bell, a SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER PAGE 9 gyro repeater compass, a steam gauge presentation entitled “Cutting-Edge for a future episode of the History and steering mechanism. Acoustic Sonar Mapping of Ship - Channel’s “Dive Detectives” program. The new Port of Ludington Maritime wrecks in the Great Lakes” and Kevin Entitled Submarine Graveyard , the Museum will also feature a 100-foot Cullen of the Discovery World staff episode was premiered at the recent panorama painting of Pere Marquette presented “Shedding New Light on memorial service. Old Ghost Ships.” Lake in the 1800s, and displays on GRAND HAVEN SOUTH local Coast Guard history. The Mason GREAT LAKES NAVAL PIERHEAD LIGHTHOUSES County Historical Society was assisted MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM in its exhibit planning and design by The U.S. National Park Service The Great Lakes Naval Memorial Lafferty van Heest & Associates, an informed the City of Grand Haven, and Museum in Muskegon, Mich. has AGLMH Associate member. Mich. that its application for title to launched a new educational initiative the Grand Haven South Pierhead DISCOVERY WORLD that seeks to link submarine history Inner and Outer Lighthouses had AT PIER WISCONSIN with underwater exploration. The been approved by the agency’s While its schooner Denis Sullivan initiative uses remotely-operated Midwest regional director. His was away for the Great Lakes United vehicle (ROV) technology for recommendation was then forwarded Tall Ships Challenge Series this past programs for secondary and to the Department of the Interior. post-secondary students. summer, Discovery World at Pier A final decision by the U.S. Secretary Wisconsin in Milwaukee offered The new programming is being led of the Interior is expected before the its shipwreck exploration program by Dr. Mark Gleason who was most end of 2010, and the title transfer aboard the cruise vessel Voyageur. recently with Discovery World at Pier process completed by next summer. In August, the program explored Wisconsin. Prior to his joining its staff, Once Grand Haven acquires title to the Lake Michigan wrecks of the the Naval Memorial and Museum the historic structures, they will be schooner Sumatra , the steamer supported Gleason’s efforts in 2009 operated by the new Grand Haven Sebastopol , and steamer Volunteer . to locate the wreck of the U-97 , a Lighthouse Conservancy. German submarine that was captured The Sumatra was built in 1874 at Built as a fog signal building in 1875, during World War I and later sunk off Black River, Ohio. On Sept. 30, 1896, the South Pierhead Outer Light was the Great Lakes Naval Station near the schooner was bound from Chicago moved to end of the harbor’s break - Chicago in 1921. to Milwaukee with a load of railroad water in 1905. The red, wood frame iron under tow of the steamer B.W. In other news, the Naval Memorial structure was sheathed in corrugated Arnold . After taking on water for and Museum hosted a photography iron in 1922. It’s most recognizable several hours, the ship foundered exhibition on the 100-year history of feature is a V-shaped concrete front with the loss of four crew members the Great Lakes freighter St. Marys facing out into Lake Michigan. The off South Point less than two miles Challenger this fall. The “Centennial: structure gives the appearance of a from Milwaukee Harbor. Steaming Through the American ship’s bow and is designed to protect Built in 1855 in Cleveland, the side- Century.” exhibit was created by the light from storms and ice. photographer Chris Winters. wheel steamer Sebastopol foundered The South Pierhead Inner Light is a during a gale on Lake Michigan on A memorial service for the World War red 51- foot conical structure made of the night of Sept. 18, 1856. The ship II submarine U.S.S. Flier was held at steel plate fabricated by the American came to rest about 500 feet from shore the Great Lakes Naval Memorial and Bridge Co. in 1905. The light’s original near St. Francis, Wis. After the crew Museum in August. The submarine Sixth Order Fresnel Lens was donated took to the life boats, the steamer’s was lost on Aug. 13, 1944 after it hit to the City of Grand Haven when it 60 passengers reportedly had to wait a mine in the South China Sea. Eight was replaced by a plastic lens. until morning to be rescued by a local crew members survived the sinking ELGIN MILITARY MUSEUM Life-Saving Service crew. and escaped capture by the Japanese. The Elgin Military Museum in St. Built in 1888 at Trenton, Mich., the Among them was Alvin Jacobson Thomas, Ont. has announced plans to 270-foot steamer Volunteer was part of Muskegon. The last of the sub’s acquire the submarine HMCS Ojibwa of a large fleet of wooden steamers remaining survivor, Jacobson spent for use as a floating museum in Port laid up in Milwaukee during the early considerable time and effort in recent Burwell, Ont. Officials have estimated 1900s. In 1914, City of Milwaukee years trying to locate its final resting the cost of towing the 297-foot sub ordered it and the other aged vessels spot. Following his death in 2008, to the Lake Erie community and then to be scrapped. Rather than pay the Steve Jacobson, his son, gathered his preparing it for use as a museum ship cost of scrapping, the owner of the father’s research and took part in a to be almost $3 million. Volunteer reportedly took the ship 2009 expedition which was searching out and scuttled it about a mile south for the wreck site of the Flier . The Plans call for the Ojibwa to be docked of the present day South Shore Yacht expedition was led by Mike and alongside a museum to be built on Club. Warren Fletcher of Port Dover, Ont. land owned by the Municipality of Bayham (for more details, see In addition to shipboard exploration The submarine was eventually located www.elginmilitarymuseum.ca). programs, Discovery World also in about 360 feet of water, and its The submarine was built in 1965 and hosted two programs on underwater identity confirmed by the U.S. Navy decommissioned by the Canadian archeology in its digital theater in last February. The Fletchers and YAP Navy in 1998. The vessel has been August. David Thompson of the Films of Toronto have documented moored at a naval base in Dartmouth, Nautilus Marine Group gave a the discovery of the Flier wreck site PAGE 10 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010

Nova Scotia since 2005 when federal the schooner HMS Nancy and three new centre will include a museum, officials announced that it and three American schooners. Following the theater, archive workspace, public sister ships would be scrapped. Battle of Lake Erie, the Nancy was the restrooms and storage space. last remaining British warship on the NORTH TONAWANDA Plans also call for the construction Upper Great Lakes in 1813. Built in HISTORY MUSEUM of earthworks at the Fort Erie site to Detroit in 1879, the schooner had been replicate those used by British forces The North Tonawanda (New York) captured in the spring of 1812. History Museum recently hosted a to lay siege to the fort near the end of program by Bernhard Thuersam, As part of this year’s “Wasaga Under the War of 1812. The first fortifications executive director of the Cape Fear Siege” event, the release of a new at the site were built by British forces Historical Institute in Wilmington, book entitled The Lake Captain 1812 in 1764. was celebrated. Written by Roger N.C. Thuersam is a graduate of During the Revolutionary War, Fort Burgess, the book recounts the story North Tonawanda High School, and Erie was used as a base for British of Capt. Alexander Mackintosh who his presentation was entitled “The regulars, Loyalist rangers and their was the master of the Nancy when Niagara Region and the Southern Iroquois allies. The fort was seized by it was pressed into service by the Confederacy.” American forces during the summer British. He and his uncle, Angus of 1814, and later that year recaptured The program examined how several Mackintosh, served aboard the by the British. The ruins of Fort Erie Confederate agents operating from schooner until it was scuttled on were officially abandoned during the the Clifton House Hotel in Niagara Aug. 15, 1814. Falls, Ont. were involved in a wide 1820s. A replica of the fort was built range of wartime activities ranging POINT BETSIE LIGHTHOUSE as a public works project in the 1930s from blockade running to a plot to A 2010 Governor’s Award for Historic during the Great Depression. free Confederate prisoners of war Preservation was presented to the WEST MICHIGAN imprisoned on Lake Erie’s Johnson’s Friends of the Point Betsie Lighthouse UNDERWATER PRESERVE Island. It also looked at how British for its efforts to preserve and restore The City of Muskegon, Mich. has fears of a U.S. invasion of Canada the lighthouse which is located near gone on record in support of efforts affected the Niagara region during Frankfort, Mich. The lighthouse was to create a new underwater shipwreck the Civil War. built in 1858, and a U.S. Life-Saving preserve in the nearby waters of Lake Service station was later built nearby. GREAT LAKES SEAWAY TRAIL Michigan. As currently proposed, the DISCOVERY CENTER At the turn of the century as many as West Michigan Underwater Preserve Shipwreck explorer Jim Kennard 100 ships per day would pass by the would stretch from a point north of presented two programs at the Great Point Betsie Light as they entered or Holland, Mich. to Big Sable Point Lakes Seaway Trail Discovery Center exited the Manitou Passage on Lake Lighthouse north of Ludington. Michigan. In 2004, the lighthouse was in Sackets Harbor, N.Y. last summer. The preserve would be the thirteenth declared surplus federal property, and The first of those presentations was underwater preserve in Michigan title to the site was later transferred to entitled “Deep Shipwrecks of Lake state waters and its boundaries as Benzie County. Ontario” and included video of the now envisioned would include wreck site of the HMS Ontario , a Over the past seven years, the Friends about a dozen historically-significant Revolutionary War British warship of Point Betsie Lighthouse group has wrecks. Those wrecks include several that Kennard and Dan Scoville raised over $1 million for restoration victims of the Armistice Day Storm of discovered in 2008. of the light to its appearance during 1940, including the 252-foot freighter The second presentation was entitled the mid-1940s, and its fog signal Novadoc and the 380-foot freighter “More Wrecks of Lake Ontario” and building to its appearance in the Anna C. Minch . For more details, looked at the discovery of the wreck 1920s. In addition to the Friends see www.wmup.org. group, the 2010 Governor’s Award sites of the schooner Orcadian , which TUG SPORT SHIPWRECK sank in 1858, and a U.S. Coast Guard also recognized the efforts of Amy The Michigan Lake Divers Association cable boat that sank in 1977. During Ferris, Benzie County Commissioner has placed a new historical marker on the program, Kennard also discussed Mary Pitcher, Mihm Enterprises, Inc., the wreck site of the tug Sport which the search for a Republic RC-3 SeaBee Quinn Evans Architects, Charles J. was lost on Lake Huron in 1920. Built amphibious aircraft that crashed in Clarke, and U.P. Engineers & in 1873, the tug is thought to be one Quebec’s Lac Simon in 1957. Architects, Inc. of the earliest steel-hulled vessels to OLD FORT ERIE NANCY ISLAND HISTORIC SITE have worked on the Great Lakes. The Niagara Parks Systems has The Nancy Island Historic Site and The Sport was purchased in 1913 by received almost $9 million in federal Town of Wasaga Beach, Ont. hosted Capt. Robert Perry Thompson of Port and provincial funding to revitalize their annual “Wasaga under Siege – A Huron, Mich. During a fierce winter three historic sites in the Niagara War of 1812 Experience” on the shores storm on the night of Dec. 13, 1920, region of Ontario for the upcoming of Georgian Bay last July. This year’s the tug was lost about three miles off War of 1812 Bicentennial. event attracted over 200 historical of Lexington, Mich. The new granite re-enactors and 4,000 visitors. Among those sites is Old Fort Erie polymer marker replaces a severely On Aug. 14, 1814, Nancy Island was which will use its share of the funding deteriorated, aluminum marker that the site of a battle between British and to replace a 1933 caretaker’s residence the State of Michigan removed in 1997 American forces that also involved with a modern visitors centre. The after just five years underwater. The replacement marker cost $1,700. SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER PAGE 11

1826 DUNKIRK LIGHTHOUSE The structure is reportedly one of the In addition to the physical challenges of the restoration project, two of the Archeologists have discovered several oldest lighthouses on the Great Lakes, management challenges were keeping 19 th century artifacts at the site of one and was automated in 1978. Its fog the site open to visitors during the of the earliest lighthouses to be built horn was silenced in 1991, and two project and preparing for a season on Lake Erie. In 1826, a 60-foot light keeper’s dwellings at the site were of special events to celebrate the tower was built at Dunkirk, N.Y. to later sold off to private parties. centennial of the lighthouse’s guide ships to traveling to Buffalo and construction in 2010. the western terminus of the Erie Canal WELCOME MEMBER NEWS which had opened a year earlier. The Split Rock Lighthouse Historic Site annually attracts over 120,000 The structure was taken down in the visitors. The staff used the restoration 1850s and moved to another location. INSTITUTIONAL work as an opportunity to do special Covered over with soil, the light’s The Canadian Canoe Museum , 910 programs on the materials used in the exact location was forgotten over the Monaghan Rd., Peterborough, ON K9J construction of the lighthouse and the years. Violent storms recently eroded 5K4; tel. (705) 748-9153; fax: (705) 748- causes of its deterioration. Following the shoreline exposing several bricks 0616; contact: John Summers, general completion of the restoration project, and stones which were part of the manager. the Minnesota Historical Society now structure’s foundation. Last summer, plans to apply for National Historic archeologists excavated the site and Harbor Springs Area Historical Landmark status for the light station found artifacts including porcelain Society , P.O. Box 812, 349 E. Main St., as early as this fall. plates and pottery from the early Harbor Springs, MI 49740; tel. (231) 1800s. 526-9771; e-mail: info@harborspring - In conjunction with the restoration shistory.org; web site: www.harbor - project, the Great Lakes Shipwreck NEW GREAT springshistory.org; contact: Mary Preservation Society recovered a four- LAKES SUBMERSIBLE Cummings, executive director. ton anchor from the schooner-barge Jim Kocourek of Collins, Wis. has INDIVIDUAL Madeira for display at the historic completed work on the Bionic site’s visitor center. The 436-foot vessel Guppy , a 1,400 pound submarine David Balfour , 17058 Sycamore Ct., was one of almost 30 ships lost or which he hopes to use to explore Northville, MI 48168; tel. (248) 347- damaged during the Mataafa Storm Great Lakes shipwrecks. The three- 7499; e-mail: [email protected]. of November 1905 which led to the person submarine is about 16 feet in John Sorensen , 125 E. 7 th Street, construction of Split Rock Lighthouse. length and 4 feet in diameter. It was Duluth, MN 55805; tel. (218) 727-2525; METEOR RESTORATION PROJECT built to dive to 1,000 feet. e-mail: [email protected]. Following the roundtable, during a Built at an estimated cost of over RETURNING MEMBERS tour of the whaleback Meteor , Phil $50,000, the sub’s hull is constructed Kerber, president of the Great Lakes of half-inch thick steel and includes Kathleen McGraw , 18007 Colgate, Shipwreck Preservation Society, an observation dome made of 2.5 inch Dearborn Heights, MI 48125; provided some insight into the acrylic material. The submarine is tel. (313) 791-8452 Society’s efforts, since 2003, to assist powered by fourteen 6-volt batteries. the Superior Public Museums in the With the addition of carbon dioxide Peter Rindlisbacher , 6790 County preservation and restoration of the scrubbing and oxygen generating Road 50, RR5, Harrow, ON N0R 1G0; historic vessel. equipment, it will be able to operate tel. (519) 736-7568; e-mail: underwater for up to 72 hours. [email protected]. Built in 1896, the Meteor has been on display as a museum ship in Superior, Kocourek was assisted in the design ADDRESS CORRECTION Wis. since 1971. For the past seven and construction of his submarine by years, the Preservation Society has members of PSUBS, a nationwide Janet E. Defnet , W180 S8204 Pioneer organized a volunteer work weekend. group of avocational builders of Dr., Muskego, WI 53150. The annual event now draws over 60 submersibles. The sub was on display members of the Society, Lake Superior recently at its annual meeting. For Marine Museum Association, Superior more details, see www.psubs.org. Roundtables Public Museums, and Wisconsin NINE MILE POINT LIGHTHOUSE Continued from Page 1 Underwater Archeology Association. The Department of Fisheries and Pre-project testing also showed that In addition to general housekeeping Ocean recently announced that it was the brick in many of the structures at and cleaning, the volunteers have declaring Canada’s Nine Mile Point the site had unacceptable high levels worked on scrapping and repainting Lighthouse near Kingston, Ont. of moisture. To address the problem, the ship’s upper and lower engine surplus federal property. contractors developed a system of rooms, and other interior spaces In response to that announcement, cotton rope wicks that were installed including the galley, chart room Yeida Miedema, a retired teacher, has in the brick walls to draw out water. and crew’s quarters. They have begun forming a non-profit group to also repaired and repainted window The concrete base of the fog signal frames in the pilot house and repaired preserve the light. Located on Lake building, which last underwent any Erie’s Simcoe Island at the entrance sections of the floor in exhibit spaces type of restoration in 1979, had to be in the former cargo hold. to the St. Lawrence River, Nine Mile chiseled and repaired, and stamped Continued on next page Point Light was built in 1833. metal shingles fabricated for its roof. PAGE 12 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010

The brass in both the pilot house and relationship between a shipmaster influence have been at work since engine rooms have been polished and and the vessel’s owners. He showed 1833. Because of its longevity, and sprayed with clear lacquer, and the how that insight can be gleaned from the dramatic changes it effected to the interior of the unique turret stairway exchanges of letters between fleet city’s waterfront, the Toronto Harbour was repainted. Work has also started managers and captains, confidential Commission is the best known of on restoring the Meteor ’s engines, and letters to ship masters, and sailing these organizations along with its replacing rusted brackets and plates orders. Waterfront Plan of 1912. on exterior stairs and walkways. The Pittsburgh Steamship Co. and its Accounts of its creation by the federal Volunteers have also documented successor, the USS Great Lakes Fleet, government in 1911 have largely display artifacts with digital cameras also generated a number of reports attributed the Harbour Commission’s and documentation forms. The goal which can provide valuable insight considerable development powers to of the Superior Public Museums is into daily life aboard a Great Lakes the ineffectiveness of its predecessor, to ultimately restore the ship to its vessels in the 20 th century. They the Harbour Trust. In particular, its appearance in the 1920s when it was included trip reports, meal reports, critics cited the failure of that body to sailing in the iron ore trade as the job evaluation reports, and weekly stop Toronto’s port from deteriorating Frank D. Rockefeller . reports of hours worked. into a series of ramshackle wharves that discouraged shipping. Currently, the museum ship is buried To fully understand those reports, several feet into the ground and many however, it’s also necessary to review Based on his research, however, Moir interior sections of the vessel have the manuals that determined how shows that port facilities were never been filled with concrete to create they should be prepared. In addition, the focus of either the Harbour Trust floors, walkways and exhibit spaces. in an attempt to implement uniform or its predecessor, the Committee of Consultants recommended, earlier management methods, the U.S. Steel Commissioners. These 19th century this year, that the Meteor be raised Corp. commissioned a number of fleet bodies were occupied primarily with and moved 50 feet north from its manuals for the Pittsburgh Steamship the natural features of the harbor, and current location. Co. and USS Great Lakes Fleet during in particular its preservation as a safe The 380-foot vessel would then be the 1970s and 1980s. and navigable body of water. permanently displayed on concrete, These manuals covered a wide variety Merchants, manufacturers, and civil support piers alongside a reflecting of topics, such as ship loading and engineers struggled to react to natural pool that would help visitors better ballasting, and tried to document changes and manmade abuses of the envision what the whaleback looked marine knowledge and practices that harbor, until rapid industrialization like during its sailing days. Site plans had once come only from firsthand and the increasing involvement of also envision an interpretive center, experience. Other documents, such as municipal and federal governments connected to the ship by a skywalk hull manuals for masters and mates, led to a transition in governance from that explores the shipbuilding history attempted to set standards for ship harbor commission to port authority. of Duluth-Superior. handling rather than relying solely In the process, Toronto’s waterfront RESEARCH ROUNDTABLE on the decisions of the ship’s officers. experienced an almost complete reconfiguration. The 2010 Maritime History Research During the discussion that followed Roundtable featured Al Miller, author Miller’s presentation, it was noted AWARD FOR that ship’s papers from several Great HISTORIC INTERPRETATION of Tin Stackers: The History of the th Pittsburgh Steamship Company . Lakes fleets of the 20 centuries can The 2010 Joyce S. Hayward Award Based on his experience writing the be found in collections of both public for Historic Interpretation was book, Miller discussed the use of and private institutions. They include presented to Kenneth Pott, executive ship’s papers to research 20 th century research institutions like the Historical director of The Heritage Museum and Great Lakes maritime history. Collections of the Great Lakes at Cultural Center in St. Joseph, Mich. Bowling Green State University, and Tin Stackers is a detailed history Prior to joining The Heritage Museum corporate archives, such as those of in 2000, he was the curator of the of a steamship line which, for many Koch Industries Inc. which, after a decades, was the largest and most Michigan Maritime Museum for merger, acquired the archives of the almost twenty years. influential fleet on the Great Lake Reiss Steamship Co. during the 20th century. Drawing on Over a 30-year career, Pott has been company records and interviews with involved in the development of more managers, ship’s captains and sailors, Annual awards than 15 major museum exhibitions. Miller documented corporate efforts Those exhibitions include an award- to assemble and streamline the fleet, Continued from Page 1 winning collaboration with Western and resolve labor conflicts. 1912.” The paper traced the complex Michigan University on a landmark His research also examined how the relationships between nature and traveling exhibit entitled “Fish Today, Pittsburgh Steamship Company came society that marked the development Gone Tomorrow: A Story of the Great to lead the Great Lakes shipping of European settlements along the Lakes Fishing” which documented the industry in operational efficiency, water’s edge in North America. rise and fall of the region’s fishing industry. technological advancement and Moir’s historical study examined employee safety. In his presentation, those relationships within the context Shortly after joining The Heritage Miller noted that a ship’s paperwork of Toronto’s waterfront, where several Museum and Cultural Center, Pott can provide a firsthand look at the commissions of varying structure and began a multi-year project to create a SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER PAGE 13 major exhibition on the interaction of has also lead to several of the wrecks involving approximately 5,000 records French and Native American cultures sites being successfully nominated for from the Mackinac Custom House in the Great Lakes region during the inclusion in the National Register of that are now in the Burton Historical 16th and 17th centuries. The resulting Historic Places. Collection of the Detroit Public “Shared Waters: Natives and French Writing in one of those nominations, Library (see July-August 2010 Newcomers on the Great Lakes” Merryman expressed his philosophy newsletter for more details). exhibition included artifacts from the that “establishing shipwreck sites as About 10,000 digital images have been collections of museums in the United historically significant sites helps created and are being published in States, Canada and France. protect them from potential claimants chronological order on 12-DVD sets. Many of the items on display in and those who would pilfer their To date, 50 sets have been produced “Shared Waters” had never previously artifacts. It is our hope that this site and the Association is just waiting for been put on exhibition outside of their with its artifacts will remain intact for permission from the Detroit Public collecting institutions. Pott’s most divers to enjoy and study for years to Library to begin distributing them at recent exhibition project is entitled come.” a cost of $15 per set. “Working Waterfronts: Planning and The next phase of the project will Preserving the Maritime Traditions of involve creating an index of the St. Joseph and Benton Harbor” and is Business meeting records. Association members who an example of the collaborative and are interested in assisting with the scholarly approach that Pott has Continued from Page 1 indexing should contact John Polacsek become known for. meeting, members began to consider by e-mail at artistofdetroit@ aol.com. Developed in collaboration with how to use that information to craft a vision for future. Specifically, the During the meeting, there was some Western Michigan University’s Public discussion of additional Mackinac History Program, the planning and Association is trying to discern what endeavors should receive its attention, Custom House records and how they exhibit development for the two-year might someday be incorporated into exhibition involved a team of scholars, and what new initiatives it might risk undertaking. the project. Records are thought to be researchers and museum staff. There in the Judge John Steere Collection at was also an advisory committee made During the meeting, there was some the Bayliss Public Library in Sault Ste. up of local government officials, port discussion of asking institutional Marie, Mich., and the J. M. Longyear and harbor authorities, maritime members to designate a liaison person Collection of the Marquette (Mich.) industries, and government agencies. to work with the Association during County Historical Society. the planning process. That input AWARD FOR The Bentley Library at the University HISTORIC PRESERVATION would be helpful since one of the strategic questions is whether the of Michigan in Ann Arbor is also The Association’s 2010 Award for annual conferences should continue thought to have original documents in Historic Preservation was presented as a venue for research, or should we its collection. There are also microfilm this year to Ken Merryman, one of the shift our attention in other directions copies of custom house records at the founding members of the Great Lakes to attract more participation. Clark Historical Library at Central Shipwreck Preservation Society. The Michigan University, and Historical Society is a unique organization Among the other possible initiatives Collections of the Great Lakes at dedicated to both the search for and discussed at the meeting were items Bowling Green State University. preservation of historic shipwrecks. to increase the Association’s visibility for both institutions and individuals. ASSOCIATION WEB SITE Over the past 14 years, Merryman has The upcoming Bicentennial of the War Brendon Baillod, the Association’s worked tirelessly with government of 1812 may be such an opportunity, webmaster, reported on the addition agencies and volunteers to preserve particularly since the North American of several databases to the research several historically significant Lake Society for Oceanic History (NASOH) section of the web site and a virtual Superior shipwrecks, starting with the is holding its 2012 Conference in library of on-line copies of historical schooner S.P. Ely in the early 1990s. Alpena, Mich. publications. The library was created, Working with other Society members, in part, using Google Books. he has also led efforts to document The conference will be hosted by and preserve the passenger steamer the Thunder Bay National Marine The web site currently contains links America , a unique part of the history Sanctuary, and NASOH has approach to fourteen Google Books including of Minnesota’s North Shore and Lake the Association about holding a joint several volumes of the Annual Report Superior’s Isle Royale. event. Subsequent to the board of of the U.S. Life-Saving Service for directors meeting, the Association the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries. Merryman has also taken a leadership was also contacted by the organizers There are also links to an 1856 book role in the Society’s work to discover of the triennial Maritime Heritage entitled A Trip Through the Lakes of the wreck sites of several long-lost Conference about the possibility of North America and an on-line copy of Lake Superior shipwrecks, including co-hosting the next such conference Report of a Committee of Citizens in the freighters Benjamin Noble and in Cleveland in 2013. Cleveland in Relation to Steamboat Robert Wallace . Many of those wreck Disasters on the Western Lakes that sites required years to discover. MACKINAC CUSTOM HOUSE RECORDS was published in 1850. There several Several of the sites have since been other documents on Google Books meticulously documented by teams John Polacsek gave an update on that could be linked to the Association of Society divers. That documentation the Association’s digitization project Continued on next page PAGE 14 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010 web site in the future including more Joyce S. Hayward Award for Historic For the twelve-month period ending volumes from the annual reports of Interpretation and the Association’s September 1, the Association had a the U.S. Life-Saving Service for the Award for Historic Preservation. The net increase in membership of five period 1875 thru 1915. nominations were reviewed by a five- members compared to the same time The Association web site also includes person Awards Committee. period in 2009. Membership now links to fifty issues of the Annual List Committee members included Bob stands at 12 sponsoring institutions, of Merchant Vessels of the United Graham of the Historical Collections 73 regular institutions, five patrons, States , some dating back to the 1860s; of the Great Lakes at Bowling Green five associates and 116 individuals. and a nearly complete run of the Blue State University, Chris Gillcrist of the At the meeting, a list of individuals Book of American Shipping . All of Great Lakes Historical Society, Laura and institutions which did not renew the documents are accessible by going Jacobs of the University of Wisconsin- their memberships during the past to the web site (www.aglmh.net) and Superior’s Maritime Collection, and year was distributed to the board. It clicking on the “AGLMH Great Lakes Bob O’Donnell. was also reported that work has been Maritime Internet Research Engine” Kenneth Pott, executive director of completed on a new electronic version link, and then the “Archival Great The Heritage Museum and Cultural of the membership brochure. Lakes Books On-line” link. Center in St. Joseph, Mich. was chosen The brochure will now be posted on Some additional resources that could for the 2010 Joyce S. Hayward Award. the web site, and made available to be added to the web site were also Ken Merryman, a co-founder of the interested institutional and individual discussed during the meeting. They Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation members. Work is continuing on an include the annual reports of the Society, was selected for the Award institutional guide publication which Boards of Trade for Milwaukee and for Historic Preservation. Although will also be posted on the web site Chicago, which contain a surprising Pott was unable to attend the Annual when completed. Following the amount of maritime-related news Dinner, Merryman planned be there report, there was some discussion and information. Lastly, the ongoing with several members of the GLSPS. of ways to increase Association efforts to re-acquire the “aglmh.org” UPCOMING membership. domain address were discussed. ANNUAL CONFERENCES It was suggested that institutional RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS The board of directors accepted the members more widely circulate copies COMMITTEE offer of the Great Lakes Historical of the newsletter among officers, Committee Chair Steve Brisson Society to host the Association’s 2011 directors and staff to increase their reported that he received several Annual Conference at the site of its awareness of the Association. Extra entries for the Henry N. Barkhausen new museum in Toledo. Tentatively copies of the newsletter are available Award for Original Research in Great scheduled for September 8-10, the from Bob O’Donnell by e-mailing him Lakes Maritime History. The winning conference will also be an opportunity at [email protected]. entry was submitted by Michael Moir, to celebrate the centennial of the AUDIT COMMITTEE an university archivist and head of launch of the museum ship Willis B. AND TREASURER’S REPORT the Clara Thomas Archives and Boyer . The ship is being rechristened Special Collections at the York the Col. James M. Schoonmaker in For 2009, Treasurer John Polacsek University Libraries in Toronto. honor of the anniversary and will reported that the Association had membership revenues of $8,167. Moir’s paper was entitled “Harbour eventually be moored alongside the Historical Society’s museum. Total revenues, including interest Commissioners, Civil Engineers, and and publication sales, for the year the Large-Scale Manipulation of The board also accepted an invitation were $8,411. The major expenses Nature on Toronto’s Waterfront, 1883- to hold the 2012 Annual Conference were $7,296 for the newsletter and 1912.” Due to a scheduling conflict, in Owen Sound, Ont. where it will be $1,051 for the awards programs. Moir was not able to attend the hosted by the Owen Sound Marine & Annual Dinner but hoped to be Rail Museum. Preliminary plans The balance in the Association’s at future conferences. include a presentation on the ongoing checking account as of Dec. 31, 2009 archaeological survey of the General was $5,414 compared to $6,117 on During the business meeting, several the same date in 2008. The Audit ideas for encouraging more entries Hunter , a British naval brig built in 1806 and captured by the Americans Committee reported that it had for the Barkhausen Award were dis - reviewed the Association’s revenues cussed, including promoting it using in the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813. The wreck was discovered on a beach near and expenses for 2009, and found social media. Association members them to be in order. interested in assisting with that effort Southampton, Ont. in 2001. were encouraged to contact Steve NEWSLETTER & MEMBERSHIP In 2010, the Bay County Historical Brisson at [email protected]. Society donated $434, or half the net Editor Bob O’Donnell reported that There was also some discussion of proceeds from the 2009 Conference, there was about a 2% increase in the the possibility of posting abstracts or to the Association. In June, a $15,472 average cost of the six most recent summaries of the winning papers and certificate of deposit was redeemed. issues of the Association’s newsletter entries on the Association web site. Of that amount, $6,000 was deposited compared to the same period last in the Association’s checking account AWARDS COMMITTEE year. Most of that increase was due to cover the cost of the Custom House Committee Chair Bob O’Donnell to a rise in printing costs that were records digitization project, and the reported that four nominations each partially offset by decreases in remaining $9,472 placed in a new were received this year for the 2010 postage expenses. certificate of deposit.