EXTRAORDINARY RESEARCH DATA ON GREAT LAKES SAILING VESSELS

The Age of Sail on the Great Lakes 1678 - 1911 - A Compilation of Tables and Graphs

For many years researchers and writers have estimated the number of sailing vessels built on the Great Lakes at between 4,000 and 6,000, but no hard data existed to support these estimates. The estimates were largely based upon material collected by Herman Runge, who, until his death in 1958 researched vessels of all types on all five Great Lakes. He roamed the Great Lakes states and provinces searching for firsthand information and, over the years, developed a large circle of contacts who also provided him with data. He recorded this information manually on index cards, and these have been utilized and noted by most researchers and writers on Great Lakes subjects.

Upon Runge's death, his entire collection of 36,324 index cards was turned over to the Milwaukee Public Library. MPL aided in the creation of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society, to receive, process, preserve and disseminate the information from this archive to researchers, writers and other students of Great Lakes shipping history. In addition to the library' s Great Lakes Marine Collection, the Society's archives include an additional 7,000 paper files on vessels, and more than 20,000 photos of Great Lakes shipping activities.

It has taken five years to enter all of the data from the index cards into a computer database to allow for more rapid search and to provide multiple ways to display vessel information. The data from the cards has been cross-checked against the data bases of the Canadian Archives, with 7,890 registered vessels; the Coast Guard Documentation Record, with 3,120 commercial vessels; the Vessel Files data base of 7,533 vessels and the Federal Enrollments which contain more than 40,000 vessels. The resulting study details 6,050 vessels, listing them by type and year built. These records reflect only those ships for which complete information (type and year built) were recorded.

Now available, for the first time, is firm documentation of vessels built on the Great Lakes, broken down by type and year built. This is an extraordinary contribution to the field of Great Lakes historical research. The Wisconsin Marine Historical Society is pleased and excited to make it available to researchers, writers and others interested in Great Lakes shipbuilding, commerce and related areas of maritime study in a unique format.

Figure 1 is a portion of a table showing sailing vessel production by year and type for the period 1678 through 1911. The full Table 1 consists of four pages and reflects a total of 6,050 vessels of various types.

FIGURE 1

STATE			PORT									TOTAL			SCHOONERS			SCOW			SLOOPS		BARKS			OTHER		BRIGS			BARGES
																		SCHOONER
OHIO			ASHTABULA									3			3			0			0		0			0		0			0
												8			3			3			0		1			0		1			0
			BLACK RIVER
			CLEVELAND									6			5			0			0		1			0		0			0
			CONNEAUT									2			1			1			0		0			0		0			0
			DOVER BAY									1			0			1			0		0			0		0			0
			FAIRPORT									7			2			5			0		0			0		0			0
			FREMONT									1			1			0			0		0			0		0			0
			GENEVA									1			0			1			0		0			0		0			0
			HURON									1			1			0			0		0			0		0			0
			MILAN									1			1			0			0		0			0		0			0
			MUD CREEK									1			0			1			0		0			0		0			0
												1			1			0			0		0			0		0			0
			OAK HARBOR
			PAINESVILLE									1			0			1			0		0			0		0			0
			SANDUSKY									2			1			1			0		0			0		0			0
			TOLEDO									6			3			2			0		1			0		0			0
			VERMILLION									3			2			1			0		0			0		0			0
			TOTAL									45			24			17			0		3			0		1			0

		TOTAL			SCHOONERS			SCOW				BARKS			BRIGS			BARGES			OTHER
								SCHOONER
1852		87			68			10				2			4			2			0
1853		162			104			24				13			13			7			0
1854		147			98			18				14			7			9			0
1855		154			118			17				8			2			9			0
1856		198			159			14				11			5			6			0
1857		161			120			21				7			2			8				0
1858		51			24			16				5			0			5			0
1859		45			24			12				4			0			3			0
1860		32			16			10				3			0			2			0
1861		77			48			8				13			1			6			0
1862		144			70			21				27			2			22			0
1863		164			86			30				21			1			21			0
1864		110			54			30				9			2			11			0
1865		68			36			23				5			0			2			0
1866		177			91			41				22			2			17			0
1867		281			146			75				14			1			38

Figure 2 is a portion of a graph showing the patterns of production for the various classes of vessels. The full set of graphs contains five pages which make ideal display pieces.

Figure 3 is a portion of a table detailing vessels built in Ohio in the year 1867. This is a portion of a set of tables covering the years 1856, 1867 and 1873, presented as examples of the information which can be extrapolated from the Runge data:

FIGURE 3

The complete set, which consists of the four-page Table 1, the five-page Graphs, and Tables 2, 3 and 4 detailing the years 1856, 1867 and 1873 along with supporting documentation and a bibliography are available at a cost of $125US, including applicable sales tax, postage and handling, and a one-year membership to WMHS.

The material can be ordered from The Wisconsin Marine Historical Society, 814 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53233-2385. Please allow two weeks for delivery. If you have questions or suggestions, EmailTed Friedlander at info@wmhs.org.

OFFICERS NEW AND OLD

Hub Ranger as President and Joe Grygny as Vice President finished their two year terms of office in February, as Mackie Westbrook as President and a new slate took over. Bill Staat and Claire Hackmann are Vice Presidents, and the Secretary and Treasurer remain the same.

The 40th Anniversary edition of the Society's SOUNDINGS published in October 1999 lists all the Officers over that 40 year period, and the numbers are interesting. There have been 20 Presidents, most of them for two year terms. Five of them were for one year terms, two for three years, and one for four years. The current President installed at the Annual Meeting in February 2000 is Mackie Westbrook, who was Treasurer for the period 1979 to 1992. There have been only five Treasurers in the 40 years, the first one, Charlie Harris of the Marine Bank in Milwaukee, serving for eleven years, and his widow then for one. Orval Liljequist was Treasurer for eight years, then Mackie Westbrook for fourteen years, and the current Treasurer George Alt has been in office since 1993. There were only six Secretaries, with Orval Liljequist serving for eighteen years, and the Hirthes, Walter and his widow Mary, serving for fifteen years between them. Mary is our current Secretary and has been since 1991. There has been only one Executive Secretary, Suzette Lopez, who came on board in 1992, after a stint as Assistant Secretary for ten years. There have been only seven Editors of SOUNDINGS, our quarterly publication. Gene Harrison was the longest serving with 6 years in that trying job. The new Editor is Vic Plantico, a longtime archivist, author, and a remarkable memory for all the ships of the lakes. The record shows that the Society picks its officers well, and they serve for long periods to give stability to the organization!

THE IRONCLAD MONITOR

The deteriorating wreck of the USS Monitor (foundered December 31, 1862, during the Civil War, in a gale off Cape Hatteras) is being dived upon by the U.S.Navy and various private organizations are recovering various objects including sections of deck plate and fragments of bottles. The Monitor lies in 230 feet of water, southeast of Cape Hatteras. A propeller and section of propeller shaft were raised from the wreck in 1998.She lies upside down on top of the large turret. The divers are attempting to stabilize the remains so further artifacts and machinery can be removed, thus postponing the eventual collapse of the hull due to salt water corrosion. Further information can be found on the website of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary at www.nos.noaa.gov/nmsp/monitor or by calling 800-599-3122.

Reviews

From Soundings the quarterly publication of the WMHS

• TOBERMARY - OUR MARINE HERITAGE
• Videotape/Color/31 Minutes
• Produced and distributed by SeaView Imaging, 38 High Street, Brantford, Ontario, N3R 3Y4 Canada
• Phone 519/752-4285 for availability & price

This videotape, describing the Tobermary (Ontario) area, can be construed as an open invitation for divers to visit one of the world's top ten dive destinations.

The rugged landscape and picturesque scenery of Canada's Georgian Bay surround this area--the gateway to Fathom Five National Maritime Park. The region provides rest for an unusual concentration of shipwrecks, in varying depths of water. There are twenty-one sites within the Park and another fifty-plus in close proximity, accessible to both the novice and the expert. Divers will find informed advice and quality equipment at well-maintained facilities in Big and Little Tub Harbors.

Having a dive plan is essential. Therefore, one section of the video identifies "landmarks" to help the diver recognize the structural components of the submerged vessels.

Stunning underwater cinematography is used to show well-established sites such as that of the Alice G., Robert K., City of Grand Rapids, the Sweepstakes and the Forest City, which lies in 120 feet of water. Other wrecks include the John Walters, Avalon Voyageur II, Lady Dufferin II and the Caroline Rose.

Recently, several new sites have been located. Among those are wrecks of the San Jacinto, which sailed from Milwaukee in 1881; the long-missing barque Arabia, a grain hauler which sank in 1884 in 120 feet of water; and the mysterious Regina.

Tobermary - Our Marine Heritage introduces the viewer to an area so diverse, there is something for everyone--diving, boating, hiking. History abounds and sight-seeing, on land or sea, is breathtaking.

Reviewed by Fred A. Pflughoeft

HAUNTED LAKES: Great Lakes Ghost Stories, Superstitions and Sea Serpents

• by Frederick Stonehouse
• Softcover, 198 pages, black & white photos
• Lake Superior Port Cities Inc.
• P.O. Box 16417, Duluth, Minnesota 55816

The work is divided into seven chapters: Haunted Lighthouses, Superstitions, Ghost Ships, Shipboard and Underwater Ghosts, Lakeside Spirits, Sea Serpents and Other Creatures, and Messages from Beyond.

The author tells us that Haunted Lakes may not be serious maritime history but that its stories are part of the lore of the lakes; they relate to how our forefathers thought and acted.

"Haunted Lighthouses" describes nineteen lighthouses and their unexplained presences. Diaries, newspaper articles and Coast Guard logs make references to the phenomena. The unexplained visitors were for the most part friendly and sometimes helpful. Some interaction was reported by early keepers, members of their families and persons saved from tragedy. Apparitions would appear and disappear, footsteps would be heard and items rearranged. The ghosts tended to appear on foggy, dark or windy nights. This was also true of apparitions in other settings. A variety of persons experienced the happenings, and, whether they were true or not, the people who experienced them believed them to be true.

Shipboard tales included that of the black dog which, if it crossed the bow, would signal disaster for the ship and crew--and disaster did come to many ships whose crew reported its sightings. Many a captain found reason to delay a trip so as not to start on Friday or to allow a cat to sail with the ship. Superstitions and their possible relationship to ship disasters were described in twenty-plus ship incidents.

The most riveting tale concerned the boarding of the Hudson by a Keweenaw fisherman. The reader boards a dark and silent ship which appears out of nowhere. The decks are rusty and slimy. Windows are broken out; a dark figure signals the fisherman toward the pilot house. Two men are standing watch. They deliver an ominous message; it is a riveting account and it makes you want to read more.

Sightings of long lost ships are recounted by a variety of sailors. Not all ghost ships involved great schooners or wooden steamers cutting through centuries. Strange occurrences continue. A modern tale reports a Coast Guard station in St. Joseph, Michigan heard a radio call from a small sailboat lost in the fog and asking for assistance. The Coast Guard's reply to the boat went unanswered. When the Coast Guard reached the boat and towed it to safety, the crew asked in a report about the other boat. What other boat? The radar screen showed one boat. Strange lights appearing on shore have guided boats around perilous reefs; were these lights just traffic lights? Who knows!

Divers' sightings of strange lights are described including a strange light emanating from the Edmund Fitzgerald.

This work holds reader interest. Judgment is not made on the veracity of the beliefs or the material from which they are taken. The question of ghosts has bedeviled investigators for centuries. The point is not whether these stories are true, but that they were believed!

Reviewed by Heather D. Houston

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