Capt. John Stewart was first skipper of the Ludington fleet 150 years ago

Great Lakes History Log is presented by Filer Credit Union and the Mason County Historical Society, which operates the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum, Historic White Pine Village and the Rose Hawley Archives in downtown Ludington.

The Captains of the PM Steamers

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief

On Dec. 1, 1874, the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway reached Ludington. The intent of the railroad, which began in Flint and terminated in Ludington, was because of its location along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The site provided a port for the railroad to ship cargo across the lake to Wisconsin for western markets and to receive goods from the west to transport east. Within months of the railroad’s completion, cross lake service began.

The first person to command a cross-lake vessel for the railroad 150 years ago was Capt. John Stewart.

Stewart was born in 1850 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, the son of Samuel and Ann (Gleason) Stewart. He spent his youth in Amherstburg, Ontario, located south of Windsor and across from Grosse Ile, Mich. along the Detroit River.

He left home, or ran away, when he was 15, around 1865 and became a deckhand on the steamer Olive Branch, which operated between Detroit and Gibraltar along the Detroit River. Part of his duties was to serve as a wheelsman.

Stewart had several jobs following his experience on the Olive Branch. The next year he served as a fireman on the SS Pearl, which ran between Detroit and Amhertsburg. He then worked on tugboats in Lake Huron and Lake Erie.

In 1868 he worked on the SS Huron as a wheelsman and then was a lookout on the SS Evergreen City, which operated between Buffalo, NY, Green Bay, Wis. and Chicago.

In 1869, he served as a wheelsman on the SS Illinois, which operated between Cleveland and ports on Lake Superior. Also that year, he worked on the SS City of Toledo, between Saginaw and Toledo.

In 1870, he started the season as a second mate on the SS Huron, which operated between Saginaw and Alpena. He was then promoted to first mate.

The SS Huron

At the age of 24, in 1871, he became a captain, taking command of the Huron. At that time, Stewart lived in Bay City.

His command of the Huron had some foreshadowing of his eventual employment at Ludington. The Huron was a side-wheel steamboat built in 1852 for Capt. Eber Brock Ward (see below), who owned his own line of ships. Built at the Ward shipyards at Newport, Mich., on the shores of the St. Clair River, the ship was 165 feet in length, had a beam of 23.5 feet, a draft of about 9 feet and was rated at a burden of 348 tons.

The ship’s low-pressure boilers used cordwood as fuel.

“In general appearance, she had a single mast forward, a single black stack, and her hull was painted entirely white,” wrote James Elliott in”Red Stacks Over the Horizon,” a book about the Goodrich Transit Company published in 1967.

“Her name appeared in large black letters on her paddle-wheel boxes. Arched trusses, to add longitudinal strength to her hull, appeared topsides. By all standards, Huron was a staunch and pretty ship in her day.”

The Huron’s original intention for Capt. Ward’s company was to operate from Detroit to ports on Lake St. Clair and up the St. Clair River as far as Newport. 

“Later her routes were extended to include Saginaw and other ports on lower Lake Huron,” Elliott wrote.

On Nov. 23, 1853, the Huron struck an unseen obstruction in the Saginaw River and sank. It was raised on Dec. 12, 1853 and was towed to Detroit where extensive repairs, costing $12,000, were made. Upon completion of the repairs, the ship was transferred to Lake Michigan to assist in handing cross-lake traffic given the Ward Line by the Michigan Central Railroad.

It was then acquired by Capt. S. Clement, a former Ward Line shipmaster who, in 1854, established operations at Chicago and began to service several Lake Michigan ports. It’s likely that Clement and Ward had a contract for operations on Lake Michigan.

The ship was acquired by Capt. Albert Edgar Goodrich in 1855 and began operations on Aug. 10, 1856. It was the first vessel of what would later become the Goodrich Transportation Company and eventually the Goodrich Transit Company. Goodrich ultimately became the largest operator of passenger and freight ships on Lake Michigan for nearly eight decades.

In 1867, Goodrich sold the Huron to Trowbridge and Wilcox of Detroit. The last record of the Huron is from 1877. It’s likely that Stewart was employed by that firm when he commanded the Huron in 1871.

In 1872, Stewart was working for the Chicago & South Haven Steamship Company and was master of the SS Metropolis, operating between Grand Haven and Milwaukee on Lake Michigan. In 1873, he was captain of the SS City of Sandusky on Lake Huron.

He started the 1874 season as captain of the SS George L. Dunlap but was then assigned to the SS John Sherman, which ultimately led him to Ludington.

The Flint & Pere Marquette Railway

Before continuing the story of Capt. John Stewart, one needs to understand the significance of his role in beginning cross-lake service out of Ludington. One must also understand the events and people that led to the beginnings of the service which ultimately resulted in Ludington becoming home of the largest train ferry fleet in the Great Lakes.

To tell the story of the cross-lake industry out of Ludington, one must start with the railroad, as they were symbiotic.

The Flint & Pere Marquette Railway was incorporated on Jan. 21, 1857 and ultimately owned 712 miles of railroad tracks by 1899, with its main route being 170 miles from Flint to Ludington. The creation of the railroad was the result of $3,775,000 land grant from the United States signed by President Franklin Pierce in 1856 designed to help build several railroads in the Upper Peninsula and four in the Lower Peninsula. As part of the land grant, the railroad was expected to complete 20 miles of track each year. George M. Dewey was the first president of the F&PM.

William B. Sears, who later became the F&PM’s chief railroad engineer, led the survey party that laid out the route of the railroad. The location map was filed with the state and the federal General Land Office in August 1857.

Though the F&PM was based in Flint, the founders found it convenient to start building the railroad in Saginaw (which at that time consisted of Saginaw City and East Saginaw). Construction began in 1859 with the initial tracks between East Saginaw and Flint.

James Ludington

James Ludington was a successful Milwaukee businessman who was born in Carmel, Putnam County, NY on April 18, 1827. His family tree dates back to the time of the Third Crusade in the 12th century. He was the nephew of Revolutionary War hero Sybil Ludington, who is often compared to Paul Revere.

James Ludington was not the first person to build a sawmill at the village of Pere Marquette, the town that he would later name after himself. Nor were the first sawmills of Mason County established along Pere Marquette Lake.

The first sawmill was established at Free Soil Mills near Gurney Creek in what is now Grant Township. The first Pere Marquette sawmill was established in 1849 in the area where the Ludington Municipal Marina is now located. It was a steam-powered mill owned by two Manistee men, Bean and Baird. The village, which was never chartered, was mostly made up of shanties. With the addition of more sawmills, more housing and commerce eventually came to the area.

In 1847,  Charles Mears built a mill at Black Creek, later known as Lincoln (near modern day Lincoln Hills Golf Club on Lincoln Lake in Hamlin Township). A log house and blacksmith shop were first built. Mears changed the name in 1861 after Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as president.

Baird and Bean sold their sawmill to George Farnsworth in 1849 who shortly afterwards sold the mill to George W. Ford, a Manistee lumberman. Ford’s financial troubles cost him his mill to James Ludington.

In October 1854, Ford had been introduced to Ludington and his associate, attorney James Mason Loomis. Ludington and Loomis agreed to lend Ford $6,000. In return, they were to supply Ford with the means necessary for him to expand his mill and hire sufficient loggers and mill hands. As part of the deal, Ludington also advanced Ford money to buy certain other lands in his and Loomis’ name. As security, Ford put up his mill, his boarding house, and land. Included as collateral were 400 acres near the mill. Terms of the contact called for Ford to repay $2,000 by January, 1855, three months after the contract had been signed and the remaining $4,000 over the next five years.

Ford apparently had other debts with Ludington and Loomis, along with others. In 1857,  during the presidency of Franklin Pierce, the nation underwent an economic downturn known as “The Panic of 1857” in which many banks and businesses closed and thousands of people lost their jobs. Ford was one of the victims.

Loomis and Ludington sued Ford. The case was one of the most contentious cases in Mason County history. The court ordered Ford to pay $69,849, which included the original loan and others that Ludington and Loomis had lent Ford, plus 10 percent interest and the 400 acres of land. The court also awarded Ludington possession of the mill. The two sides reached a settlement. However, 10 years later, Ford sued Ludington, claiming that 40 acres, which were to have been set aside as a homestead for Ford, had been erroneously included in the 400 acres. Ludington’s attorneys eventually acknowledged the error.

The 40 acres were the best land out of the 400 and apparently Ford had already sold the land to another person. It was equivalent to 12 blocks or 120 city lots. bounded by what is now Ludington Avenue on the north, a parallel line between Foster and Danaher streets on the south, on the west by Rath Avenue and on the east by a line running through the middle of the courthouse. It comprised most of the modern Third Ward.

According to a newspaper report in 1920, Ford died a pauper and was buried in an unmarked grave in Lakeview Cemetery.

In 1864, Ludington opened a post office in Pere Marquette village and called it Ludington. David A. Melendy, who had been James Ludington’s bookkeeper, became the city’s first postmaster.

In 1867, Ludington platted 360 acres of land around Pere Marquette village and sold lots to individuals, developing the town. He named Ludington Avenue and James Street after himself. He also named several streets after family members: Lewis (father); siblings William, Robert, Charles, Harrison, Emily, Lavinia, and Delia. An online family tree also lists the streets Charles and Amelia.

That same year, he built a large commercial building called The Big Store, which sold a variety of goods. He also founded the first newspaper in the village, the Mason County Record.

Eber Brock Ward

Eber Brock Ward was born in 1811, the son of a lighthouse keeper. At a young age, he began working as a cabin boy on sailing vessels owned by his uncle Samuel Ward. Eventually, he became business partner with his uncle. The two developed a large, possibly the largest, fleet of passenger steamers on the Great Lakes.

Ward eventually founded iron and steel operations in Wyandotte, just outside of Detroit, as well as in Chicago and Milwaukee. He focused on diversification and took over the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway in 1860, serving as its president until his death in 1875.

To learn more about E.B. Ward, read “The Forgotten Iron King of the Great Lakes: Eber Brock Ward, 1811–1875,” written by Michael Nagle, West Shore Community College professor of history. 

Negotiating the F&PM terminus

Eber Ward and James Ludington were staunch business rivals. In 1868, Ward began negotiating with James Ludington for a terminal site in Pere Marquette with frontage on Pere Marquette Lake. The F&PM had been considering a cross-lake route to Manitowoc, Wis. since 1859 because the trip around Lake Michigan was costly, mostly due to heavy rail traffic through Chicago. At the time, the railroad had also considered placing the west terminus of the railroad in Pentwater.

Ludington favored the completion of the railroad but he played hard ball in negotiating the terms, knowing that Ward intended to build mills to tap the lumber along the Pere Marquette River. Ludington feared the move would make Ward too big so he refused to sell a terminal site or mill sites at any price, hoping to convince Ward into selling some of his 70,000 acres of timber along the Pere Marquette River. Ward would not budge.

In 1869, Ward had learned that Ludington’s logging crews had cut pine from his land, an act that may have been unintentional. He kept quiet until Ludington went to Detroit on business and then had him arrested and lodged in the Wayne County Jail on charges of trespassing and timber theft. He secured a judgement of $65,000 against Ludington, who was financially ruined. Ludington suffered a stroke and was forced to quit business.

On July 24, 1869, Ludington sold his interests of his Mason County lumber business for $500,000. He used a portion of the proceeds to develop the village which, in 1873, became an incorporated city named Ludington.

Ludington’s associates then formed the Pere Marquette Lumber Company and reached an amicable agreement with Ward in August 1869 for both the railway terminal and the mill sites.

Ward died suddenly on Jan. 2, 1875, just one month after the railroad was completed. Ward’s mills and land were eventually purchased by his brother-in-law Justus Stearns.

Ludington never married, nor did he ever live in the city of Ludington. History records that his visits to the town were brief and he spent most of his adult life living in hotel rooms in Milwaukee. He died on April 1, 1891 in his residence at Plankinton House Hotel in Milwaukee. He was 63. Ludington is buried in a cemetery in Carmel, NY.

The F&PM develops Mason County

The village of Pere Marquette, which became Ludington, was developed because of Pere Marquette Lake and the proximity to Lake Michigan. The railroad was a bonus to development that surely helped Ludington become what it is today. Ludington grew because of the railroad while the village of Lincoln eventually faded away, as did the settlement of Hamlin along the Big Sable River in the modern Ludington State Park.

Towns such as Scottville and Custer also grew because of their proximity to the railroad and the Pere Marquette River. Other towns such as Walhalla, Jordan and Amber also were developed because of the railroad, but did not last as officials villages.

The SS John Sherman

Within a few months of the railroad reaching Ludington, the F&PM started break-bulk steamer cross-lake service. Break-bulk steamers carried railway freight from shore to shore. Railcars at that time did not travel across the lake, so the contents of the cars were removed, loaded onto the break-bulk steamer, shipped across Lake Michigan, then re-loaded onto railcars waiting on the other shore.

The F&PM chartered the 175-foot-long side wheeler steamer John Sherman to shuttle grain, packaged freight and passengers between Ludington and Sheboygan, Wis. to connect with the Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Railway. The railroad was apparently interested mainly in eastbound grain movements, but the steamer also handled passengers and general cargo.

The John Sherman was built in 1865 for the United States Revenue Cutter Service. It was originally called the USRC John Sherman and was used on Lake Michigan by the federal government until it was disposed of in 1872 and sold to a buyer in Cleveland. It was then sold in 1873 to the company River & Lake Shore. In 1874, Captain Stewart became master of the vessel as it sailed a route from Saginaw to Alpena and Mackinaw City. The vessel was then chartered by the F&PM and sent to Ludington.

The John Sherman made its first trip to Wisconsin on May 31, 1875.

The boat was too small for the needs of the F&PM and served only for a single season. After its service with the F&PM it was rebuilt as a passenger steamer and operated out of Detroit. It was sold to J.P. Clark and W.O. Ashley of Detroit in 1878 who removed the engines and placed them initially in the boat Alaska and then, in 1890, they were placed in the boat Frank E. Kirby. The Sherman was turned into a lumber barge until it was scrapped in 1893.

In 1876, F&PM president Jesse Hoyt contracted with the Goodrich Transportation Company to provide cross-lake service between Ludington and Milwaukee. That contract lasted until 1883 when the F&PM built its own ships.

Capt. Stewart moves to California

Following that first season in Ludington, Stewart moved to California and spent a year working in the lumber business. Then, in 1877, he was hired by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company serving as a quartermaster with the duty of piloting the company’s transoceanic steamers in and out of difficult harbors.

The Pacific Steamship was founded in 1848 to carry U.S. mail on the Pacific leg of a transcontinental route via Panama.

After a year and a half in that position, he then worked for the Pacific Coast Steamship Company for the next two years, sailing on its various ships.

The Pacific Coast Steamship Company was founded in 1876 and went defunct in 1916.

In 1881, Steward married Ida Steller (1855-1904), the daughter of Charles and Amelia (Busch) Steller, Ida, natives of the duchy of Holstein in northern Germany. John and Ida had four children, Ida F., born in 1882, Louis C., born in 1883 and twin boys John Blanchard and James B. born in 1888. Louis died in 1953 and John died in 1933. Dates of death of the other two were not found.

Also in 1881, the Stewarts moved to Bay City, Michigan, and Capt. Stewart was appointed master of the SS Dove, an excursion steamer.

In the sailing seasons of 1882 to 1884, Stewart was captain of the SS Arundell, which operated on a route that consisted of Saginaw, Bay City and Alpena in connection with the F&PM RR.

In 1885, Capt. Stewart came back to Ludington as served on a mate of the F&PM steamers, which at that time operated between Ludington, Manistee, and Milwaukee.

The Flint & Pere Marquette break-bulk “black boats”

In 1882, the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway ordered the construction of two of its own vessels, the Flint & Pere Marquette No. 1 and Flint & Pere Marquette No. 2.

The wooden Nos. 1 and 2 were built by Detroit Dry Dock Company (hull nos. 59 and 60, respectively). They were each 144.1 feet long, 30.2 feet wide with a depth of 12.1 feet. The vessels were operated with fore-and-aft compound steam engines, each equipped with one firebox boiler built by Desotell & Hutton, Detroit. The No. 1 operated at 562 hp while the No. 2 operated at 600 hp.

The F&PM No. 1 arrived in Ludington in September of 1882 under the command of James Muir, who would remain in charge of the vessel until his death in on Nov. 22, 1888. Capt. John Duddleston was first commander of the F&PM No. 2 until 1886 when he was then assigned as the first captain of the F&PM No. 3, which he commanded for one year. In 1888, Duddleston would be the first captain of the F&PM No. 4.

F&PM Nos. 1 and 2 operated a route that included Ludington, Manistee, and Milwaukee.

In 1883, the ships were lengthened to 181 feet. That same year, the railroad ended its contract with Goodrich Transportation Company. The Ludington break-bulk fleet would be known as the “black boats” because of their color.

With an increase in traffic in the late 1880s the railroad expanded its fleet by three more wooden vessels: F&PM Nos. 3, 4, and 5, built in 1887, 1888, and 1890, respectively. Nos. 3 and 4 were break-bulk and passenger steamers, similar to the original pair, but larger. No. 5 was a package freighter built without passenger accommodations. It was intended mainly for winter flour movements across the lake.

The Nos. 3 and 4 were each 186.6 feet long, 34.5 feet wide with a draft of 12.4 feet. The No. 3 was built by John Craig of Gibraltar, Mich. under contract from the Detroit Dry Dock Company (Hull No. 77) while the No. 4 was built by Detroit Dry Dock (Hull No. 89). they were powered by a fore-and-aft compound steam engine with two Scotch boilers built by Dry Dock Engine Works.

The No. 5 was the largest in the fleet at 226 feet long, 38 feet wide with a depth of 24.2 feet. It was built by F.W. Wheeler & Co., West Bay City. Its steam engine was built by Frontier Iron Works and it had two Scotch boilers built by Wickes Bros., Saginaw.

During the black boat years, over 400 men worked on the docks in Ludington, loading and unloading the freighters.

When the Nos. 3 and 4 were built they were placed on the Ludington, Manistee, Milwaukee run while the Nos. 1 and 2 were put on the Ludington to Manitowoc, Wis. run with occasional trips to Milwaukee and South Chicago, mainly with barreled salt.

In 1896, a year before the F&PM acquired its first car ferry, the Pere Marquette, it sold the F&PM No. 1 to the Hurson Line for Chicago to Milwaukee service. It was then acquired by Barry Brothers Transportation Company, in 1899, which, in 1906, renamed it the Wisconsin (not to be confused with the Wisconsin, built for Goodrich Transportation Company, mentioned later in this article).

In the 1910 season, it operated under charge for the Northern Michigan Line.

In 1911, it was sold to Archie Hitchcock of Milwaukee for conversion to a lumber carrier. It was reported abandoned in Chicago in 1912 but re-documented as a barge in 1914 and as a schooner barge in 1918. In the fall of 1934, it was towed from Marinette, Wis. into Lake Michigan and set afire, the hulk was abandoned at Green Island, Wis.

The Pere Marquette Railway was formed on Nov. 1, 1899 to consolidate the Flint & Pere Marquette, the Chicago & West Michigan and the Detroit Grand Rapids & Western. Operations of the railroad began Jan. 1, 1900.

At that time, the newly formed railroad owned six ships, which included the break-bulk vessels F&PM Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5, and two car ferries, the Pere Marquette and the Muskegon. On Oct. 7, 1901, it renamed its fleet with break-bulk vessels being numbered 1 and up; Lake Michigan car ferries numbered 15 and above; and its future acquisition of Detroit River ferries being numbered 14 and below (beginning in 1904). As a result the former F&PM Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5 became Pere Marquette (PM) 2, 3, 4, and 5, accordingly. Technically, the Pere Marquette was not officially named the Pere Marquette 15 until 1924, but it received that name unofficially early on. The Muskegon was changed to Pere Marquette 16.

The PMRR immediately ordered four new Lake Michigan ferries which were built over the next three years beginning with the PM 17 in 1901, PM 18 in 1902, and PM 19 and PM 20 in 1903.

In 1903, PM 2,3, and 4 were sold to Manistee Gus Kitzinger, secretary-treasurer of the Manistee Salt & Lumber Company of Manistee. Kitzinger formed the Manistee, Ludington & Milwaukee Transportation Company, which was commonly known, rather confusingly, as the Pere Marquette Line of Steamers.

In 1906, the PM 2 was sold to McKay Brothers of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and renamed the Dundurn. It was dismantled in 1916 and registered anew as a sailing vessel and then a barge. It foundered at Ashtabula, Ohio on July 15, 1919 with two lives lost.

On March 7, 1920, the PM 3 was caught on ice a half mile off of Ludington and sank at stern. It was raised by the tug Favorite and taken to Ludington then to the shipyard at Manitowoc for a survey in dry dock. The hull was found to be fractured and the ship was declared a constructive total loss. Its engines were removed and the hull was intentionally burned in 1921.

On May 15, 1923, the PM 4 collided head-on with the car ferry Pere Marquette 17 in dense fog 25 miles northeast of Milwaukee. The accident fractured the 4’s bow above the water line. It was first taken to Milwaukee then to Manistee for survey. It was declared a constructive total loss and abandoned to the underwriters. Its boilers went to the George W. Clyde. The hulk was taken to Chicago in the spring of 1925 to become the Columbia Yacht Club. On Jan. 11, 1937, it was taken out into Lake Michigan and burned and sank by gunfire.

The PMRR management considered the Pere Marquette 5 too large for the winter operation out of Ludington as it was intended but too small and lacking in passenger accommodations for service elsewhere on the Great Lakes. In February 1901, it was rebuilt from the main deck upward with the original housings on the upper deck replaced with a full passenger cabin with 68 staterooms for 200 passengers.

The PM kept the ship and operated it between Milwaukee and Holland. On Jan. 22, 1907, the vessel was sold to Barry Brothers’ Transportation Company but then, on Dec. 16, 1908, sold to the Manistee, Ludington & Milwaukee Transportation Company. It was sold to Nova-Scotia Steamship Company on June 1, 1916 and then to Anzac Steamship Company of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada on Sept. 6, 1916. It was then renamed the Anzac and had a British registry.

On Feb. 23, 1917, the Anzac left St. John’s for New York with a cargo of pulpwood and foundered 60 miles east of Nantucket, Mass. with no lives lost.

Stewart becomes captain of the F&PM No. 3

In April 1888, after three years of serving as a mate, Stewart was promoted to captain of the new F&PM No. 3.

Also in 1888, the Stewarts also moved to Ludington. Where the family lived between 1888 to 1892 is unknown, but, in October 1892, they purchased a house at 207 S. Washington Ave.

In 1893, Stewart left the F&PM following the grounding of the No. 3. The incident occurred during the evening of Sunday, Dec. 10, 1893. With a crew of 15 and 18 passengers, the ship encountered a blinding snowstorm while en route from Ludington to Milwaukee. It was driven off course and, at 6 a.m. on Dec. 11, ran aground six miles north of the Milwaukee channel.

All on the ship were saved, with the assistance of a lifesaving crew under the command of Capt. Neils Peterson. The next day, the No. 3 was freed by the F&PM No. 4, SS Hilton and the tugs Welcome and Conrad Starke.

George Warden of Ludington recalled his friend, Capt. John Stewart, to historian Rose D. Hawley in a June 29, 1953 article published in the Ludington Daily News. Warden had been in charge of the Ludington grain elevator when Warden worked for the F&PM.

“Capt. Stewart was a capable, colorful personality,” Hawley wrote, quoting Warden. “At that time a great deal of shipping consisted of hauling shiploads of salt from Manistee and Ludington to outside ports and, if the commodore received orders from higher up that he felt were unreasonable, both his temper and a tuft of hair on his head would rise in protest. A case to illustrate was the time, Mr. Warden said, when Stewart received orders to sail two of the vessels empty to Manistee while a heavy sea was on. He refused to go, saying they would save time and money by waiting more favorable weather.”

The railroad had salt hauling contracts with Butters & Peters of Manistee, T.R. Lyon of Ludington and the Pere Marquette Lumber Co.

SS City of Milwaukee/Holland/Muskegon

In 1894, Stewart became master of the SS City of Milwaukee, operated by the Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railway.

Designed by famed naval architect Frank Kirby, the City of Milwaukee (not to be confused with the car ferry City of Milwaukee which is now a museum ship in Manistee) was an iron side-wheel steamer built by Detroit Dry Dock Company at Wyandotte and Detroit in 1881 for Goodrich Transportation Company. Along with the propeller steamers Wisconsin and Michigan, the vessel was specifically built to serve fulfill Goodrich’s contract with the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway. However, when the F&PM started operating its own vessels in 1883,  it cancelled its contract with Goodrich.

On May 1, 1883, the three ships were sold to the Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railway Co., predecessor of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. The railroad paid $180,000 for the City of Milwaukee and $160,000 each for the Michigan and Wisconsin.

While Stewart was captain, the City of Milwaukee operated between Muskegon, Grand Haven, and Milwaukee.

Stewart remained captain for the ship after it was sold to the Graham & Morton Transportation Company of Benton Harbor in 1896. The vessel’s name was changed at that time to SS Holland and it operated between Chicago and Holland.

The ship was purchased by Crosby Transportation Company of Milwaukee in 1917 and renamed Muskegon. The ship met its demise on Oct. 28, 1919. While on its way from Milwaukee to Muskegon, it was caught up in a storm. Just outside the Muskegon channel the ship hit a sandbar.

“The accident was of the most common sort in the fall months, distinguished only by the rapidity with which it proceeded,” wrote George Hilton in his book “Lake Michigan Passenger Steamers,” published in 2002. “The ship was first caught by the undertow and then borne up by a huge wave and dashed onto the south pier. In other accidents of this character, the ship typically came off and was beached, usually north of the harbor mouth. In this instance, the ship came to rest on the pier where she was heavily pounded by the waves.”

Hilton said the accident occurred while most passengers were still asleep.

“The impact of hitting the pier so warped the woodwork that many of the cabin doors could not be opened. The initial impact broke the hull in two, allowing water to flood in, extinguishing the fires under the boilers.”

Capt. Edward Miller ordered the ship “astern strong” to get off the pier, but his chief engineer, Grant Johnson, responded that the ship could not make steam to comply.

“The impact had crushed the starboard paddle wheel in any case. Steam from the inundated firebox engulfed the cabins. The electric lighting system immediately malfunctioned so that the ship’s interior was dark.”

It was estimated that up to 31 people died but the Steamboat Inspection Service’s final figure was 23.

The ship was beyond salvage. Only the pilothouse survived the impact.

Stewart family moves back to California, the captain stays in Michigan

On April 6, 1897, the Stewarts sold their Ludington home. In 1899, the family moved to Saginaw and then, the following year, they moved to Oakland, Calif.

A 1903 newspaper article stated that Captain Stewart remained working in the Great Lakes region but would visit his family in California during the winter season when he wasn’t sailing.

In November 1899, G&M purchased the passenger steamer Mary, which was built in 1882. Following its acquisition, Stewart was sent to Port Huron to skipper the vessel back to St. Joseph. Records show that the ship stopped at Ludington on Nov. 19, 1899 for coal, leaving the next day and arriving at St. Joseph.

The company’s intention was to operate the boat on a new line from Chicago to Waukegan, Ill. and Kenosha, Wis.

It appears that Stewart only commanded the vessel during that voyage.

SS Mary

The wooden Mary was 126 feet long, 20 feet wide with a depth of 9 feet, 4 inches. It was built by William B. Morley, Marine City for C and F McElroy, St. Clair, Mich. for service between Detroit and Port Huron.

The Mary burned at St. Joseph harbor on Dec. 9, 1899. The company undertook to rebuild it with the new intention of it operating on its main line to St. Joseph. It was re-launched in May 1900 and began service in June.

By September, the vessel served mostly as a backup, used to transport fruit.

It was sold in 1901 to Indiana Transportation Company with A.N. Napier as captain. G&M reacquired the vessel in 1903 and sold it again in 1905 when it began operations on Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. It ultimately burned at Chelsea, Mass on April 12, 1908.

Commodore of the G&M Line and master of the SS Argo

Throughout history, the captain of a ship often had a certain level of celebrity. This is probably even more of the case in the Great Lakes. A visit by a captain to an inland city was big news in the early 20th century. Capt. Stewart made the front page of the Grand Rapids Press’s Evening Press on Saturday, Dec. 12, 1903. By this time, he had been named commodore of the G&M fleet.

“During the past few days Grand Rapids has entertained Capt. John Stewart, the breezy commodore of the Graham & Morton fleet of passenger steamers, who is as interesting a personage as one could find in the ranks of fresh or salt water mariners. Famous in many ways, well known to sailormen, the captain stands in the foremost ranks as a man of superior courage and of great ability in his particular line. It is in the capacity of story teller, however that this knight of the pilot house and helm shines. A life replete with exciting incidents and hair-breadth escapes instills into every line of his conversation an interest which holds the listener spellbound. The element of romance is not forgotten and the captain is as full of almost impossible stories as the most hardened minstrel end man.”

Given that mariners are often superstitious, it could be speculated that the newspaper cursed Stewart in its description of his record of only having one major incident:

“The most remarkable feature of the career of this man is that while he has commanded all sorts of craft, good, bad and indifferent, he has had but one accident, and there has never been a single life lost off any steamer that he commanded.”

Over the next two years, he would experience hardship with the loss of his wife and would also face a major grounding of a ship. However, he did maintain a spotless record of never losing a life while he was in command.

Stewart became captain of the new steamer City of Benton Harbor in April 1904. That same year, on April 20, Ida Stewart died at the age of 48.

Stewart resumed command of the Holland (formerly City of Milwaukee) in 1905.

Later that season, he commanded the steamer Argo. On Nov. 24, 1905 the Argo ran aground at Holland during a severe storm.

The ship had a crew of 22 with 19 passengers and eight carloads of freight, six for the interurban to Grand Rapids.

Capt. Stewart decided to wait for dawn before attempting an entrance to the Holland harbor. About 5:30 a.m. he decided to make the entry.

“This was the combination Lake Michigan and yesterday’s southeast hurricane sought, and failed, to humble,” the Saturday, Nov. 25, 1905 edition of the Grand Rapids Press reported. “Battered about as the plaything of the breakers, dashed repeatedly upon the sand bars and against the Holland harbor piers, the stanch and chunky little Argo of the Graham & Morton line landed almost high and dry off Ottawa Beach and settled in the sand, successfully withstanding the terrific battering of the white fanged breakers. Twenty-nine persons came through the surf in the breeches buoy, twenty-seven passengers, purser J.E. Hall and Life Saver Robert Smith. Captain John Stewart and his crew, excepting the purser, who was ordered ashore to report to the owners, remained aboard during the night.”

The ship hit the sandbar that had built up off the pierhead, struck the north pier hard and rolled at the mercy of Lake Michigan. The gale was estimated at 53 mph. The ship initially came to rest about 500 feet north of the north pier.

The newspaper reported that the Argo did not appear to be greatly damaged but it would have to be pumped dry of the water let in through the seacocks to ease the pounding. However, the pier suffered major damage.

“Not in years has Ottawa Beach or (Lake) Macatawa been the scene of a wreck of such importance or one calling forth more heroism than characterized the rescuers and rescued.”

The Argo had been traveling from Chicago to Holland, its regular route.

“We’re going to stick to her as long as her gangways hold out,” Capt. John Stewart was quoted in the newspaper.

“Thus tersely did Capt. John Stewart, commodore of the G. & M. fleet, report his decision to stay by the Argo late yesterday afternoon. The message came by wig-wag from the bridge of the stranded steamer and the veteran skipper waved at some friends on the beach and turned away when the message was acknowledged.

“It has been said that Captain Stewart could take a ship into any of the Lake Michigan harbors when all other skippers would turn back and ride out the gale. If he had had water enough to float the Argo yesterday morning, she would be snug and safe at her moorings today. He maneuvered carefully off the harbor entrance, gained just the angle to allow for seaway and wind and sent the Argo under full steam for the opening between the piers that showed momentarily between surges. It was no fault of the course that the Argo failed. The gale had raised a treacherous outer bar and the Argo settled in the trough between two great seas. She grounded hard and lost headway. Captain Stewart ordered the helm to starboard and put the engine room telegraph at ‘full speed astern.’ The Argo, floated, hung a moment, but the following sea cast her against the piers. She stood almost on end a moment and the skipper calmly balanced himself and watched and waited. His engines were doing their best.”

The life saving crew from Holland went into action immediately.

“No time was wasted with the beach(ed) apparatus,” the Grand Rapids Press reported. “The surfboat was launched for the row out of the channel, which seemed courting almost certain death. State Representative Nick Whelen and John Rigermorten, two of Holland’s best known residents, were in the station when the alarm was sounded, and both donned the oilskins and cork jackets and took their places in the surfboat for the hazardous journey.”

The tugboat Favorite was dispatched to help the steamer.

The life saving crew launched the breeches buoy.

A breeches buoy is a a rope-based rescue device used to extract people from wrecked vessels, or to transfer people from one place to another in situations of danger. The device resembles a round emergency personal flotation device with a leg harness attached. It is similar to a zip line.

“The beach apparatus was gotten across the channel and the howitzer planted for a shot. Twice the line went wide, but the third shot carried a line across the hurricane deck. It was made fast to the foremast and the tackle rigged for the breeches buoy. There was a mix-up of the signals, however. The life savers hauled the tackle tight and the ship sagged out under a big sea which struck her on the port quarter. The line tightened with a twang like a piano string and the big foremast, with a roaring crash, broke off short and fell into the sea, taking with it the life line. Captain Poole then ordered the crew to launch the life boat. W.J. Murphy, the well known Ottawa Beach boat liveryman had come to the scene and took a hand with the lifesavers. At the first attempt the big boat almost turned turtle and Mr. Murphy and one of the lifesavers were caught under the great weight as the boat slewed round. Both were injured about the back and side and were temporarily retired.

“At the second attempt, the big boat rode out in a receding sea and approached the stranded vessel. Even in the lee of the big hull, the surf boat dared not approach the steamer and Surfman Robert Smith responded to the call for a volunteer to swim to the ship by fixing a line about his waist and leaping into the surf. He made a gallant fight, was once dashed against the steel sides of the vessel and hauled aboard more dead than alive, but carrying the precious line.

“He recovered after a moment and his experienced hands fastened the beach line and under his wagwag signals the buoy apparatus was rigged and run out.

“In the meantime, Captain Stewart and Purser Hall had gone among the passengers, giving each his or her place in the line that awaited the trip through the surf in the breeches buoy. Captain Stewart was calm and never a bit of his characteristic good nature fled when his vessel piled herself up on the dreaded lee shore. It was women first. Then the men passengers, the older men first, and then the crew, if they cared to go. Mrs. C.E. Johnson of Big Rapids was first. She is a pleasant faced little elderly woman who won the hearts of all on board. She took her place in the buoy with a smile and a blush at the cut of the big oil skin breeches of the buoy and was hauled away through mist and surf to the shore. She never dipped into the surf and her journey inspired confidence in those who were to follow.”

Among the cargo of the ship was a horse that was destined for the Grand Rapids Fire Department. The animal was saved and the fire department named it Argo.

By Nov. 27, the rough seas had driven the Argo to a point about 1,500 feet north of the pier, 175 feet offshore. Capt. Stewart ordered it scuttled to prevent beating on the bottom and it rested in about 4 feet of water.

“Sand had built up around her that tugs could not approach to within 600 to 700 feet,” George Hilton wrote in his book “Lake Michigan Passenger Steamers.”

“The ship had listed about 32 inches to port. Although the ship was still thought not much damaged, she was in a position that appeared so difficult to salvage that G&M surrendered her to the insurers, the Marine Insurance Company.”

Recovery of the ship ended up taking three months. Once free, in early February 1906, the ship was found to be able to operate under its own power. On Feb. 6, 1906, the Argo left for Ludington, put in for coal, then proceeded to the shipyard at Manitowoc.

The insurance company contested the claim but a judge, Kenesaw Mountain Landis found for G&M.

In 1910, the Chicago, Racine & Milwaukee Steamship Company, an affiliate of the Northern Michigan Transportation Company, acquired the Argo. The ship was rebuilt and renamed the Racine.

In 1917, the ship was sold to James W. Elwell & Company of New York and then resold to the French government as the tug Rene. In 1938, it was dropped from official listings.

SS City of Grand Rapids

In 1912, Capt. Stewart was put in command of the G&M’s newest ship, the City of Grand Rapids, which would serve Benton Harbor/St. Joseph.

The front page of the Monday, May 27, 1912 edition of The News-Palladium of Benton Harbor featured a story about the new ship and its captain.

“Capt. John Stewart, veteran captain of the Graham & Morton line, will command that company’s new steamer, the City of Grand Rapids,” the article stated.

“News of the selection will be welcomed in the twin cities, for ‘Cap’ Stewart is popular with twin city folks who have sailed these many years with him back and forth across the blue waters of Lake Michigan.

“An announcement of this sort has been expected for some time, in fact, ever since the keep for the new flier of the Graham & Morton line was laid down in the Cleveland yards of the American Shipbuilding company. The new steamship will be completed June 15 and Capt. Stewart will go to Cleveland at that time to bring the boat around to Lake Michigan. A small party of guests also will enjoy this trip.

“Capt. Stewart is one of the best known mariners on fresh water and has had much experience on salt water as well. He has commanded upward of thirty lake steamers on all the great lakes, but during the last fifteen years he has sailed on Lake Michigan. Several years ago he left the employ of the Grand Trunk line with his steamer the City of Milwaukee and joined the Graham & Morton line. He has at various times commanded all the steamers in this line and for several seasons has sailed the steamer Holland.

“Besides being an expert mariner, the captain has made thousands of friends for the line in which he sails and for himself personally. He probably has a larger acquaintance among the traveling public than any other captain on fresh water and has made boating friends by his general disposition and manner. No boat that the captain sailed ever lost a passenger.”

Delivered to the company at Chicago on June 25, 1912, The City of Grand Rapids was the G&M Line’s largest ship. Built by American Shipbuilding in Cleveland, it was 291 feet long, 48 feet wide with a depth of 27 feet. It measured 3,061 tons. It was equipped with a four-cylinder triple expansion steam engine.

In 1924, the ship was acquired by Goodrich Transit Company and sold to Michigan Trust Company in 1934. It then operated on the Chicago-Milwaukee Steamship Line until 1942. It was sold to T.J. McGuire of Duluth, Minn. in 1943 and then Cleveland & Buffalo Steamship Company of Illinois in 1942, operating between Chicago and Benton Harbor. It was sold to Hyman Michael Company on May 24, 1951 and then to the Steel Company of Canada that same year for scrapping. It left Benton Harbor on Nov. 3, 1952 in towed by the tugboat Helena for Hamilton, Ontario.

“She was an ungainly ship with a weak pilothouse and a superstructure that was visually heavier behind the stack than forward of it,” George Hilton wrote in his book ‘Lake Michigan Passenger Steamers.’ “Nonetheless, she served G&M well, not only on the Grand Rapids Short Line but on the main line to St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. 

Louis Stewart

Louis Stewart, John and Ida’s oldest son, was born on Aug. 25, 1883 in Bay City. In 1888, the Stewart family moved to Ludington which is where Louis spent the rest of his youth.  Louis was a student at the Ludington Business College under rose and Martindale when he was 14 years old, according to a June 29, 1953 article written by Rose D. Hawley in the Ludington Daily News. The Stewart family moved to California in 1899 when Louis was about 16, but Hawley reported that he moved to Grand Rapids where he found employment.

Louis followed a similar path to his father. In 1900, at the age of 17, Louis became a second purser on the City of Milwaukee, the same vessel his father had commanded.

Later in 1900 Louis moved to San Francisco, Calif. In 1903, he began working for Hammond Lumber Co. and served as an executive there. In 1920, he was named vice president of Sudden and Christenson, a lumber shipping firm.

In 1951, he became president of Waterman Shipping Corporation of California, a subsidiary of Waterman Steamship Corporation of Mobile, Ala.

In June 1953 Louis and his wife, Etta, visited their friends Mr. and Mrs. Robert Knowles in Ludington and stopped at the Mason County Historical Society’s museum to donate $25 in memory of Capt. Stewart.

Louis and his wife, Etta, had no children.

He died in December 1953 and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in San Francisco.

Death of Capt. Stewart

For as popular as Capt. John W. Stewart was, very little was reported about his death. A short newswire story appeared in multiple newspapers in early January 1919, the earliest found was was published on Jan. 3, 1919:

“Word has been received from Chicago of the death in that city of Captain John Stewart, a great lakes mariner. Captain Stewart was nearly 70 years old, retired recently after about 20 years’ service with the Graham & Norton (misspelled, should be Morton) Transportation company.”

While not providing any further details, several historical accounts list Stewart’s death year as 1919, which means he died either on Jan. 1 or 2, 1919. He was 69 years old.

_______________________________________________________

 

 

 

The Mason County Historical Society is a non-profit charitable organization that was founded in 1937 that does not receive any governmental funding. It owns and operates the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum in Ludington, Historic White Pine Village in Pere Marquette Township, and The Rose Hawley Archives and the Mason County Emporium and Sweet Shop in downtown Ludington.

For more information about donating to and/or joining the Mason County Historical Society, visit masoncountymihistory.org.

___________________

Please Support Local News and Sports Coverage

Receive daily MCP and OCP news briefings along with email news alerts for $10 a month. Your contribution will help us to continue to provide you with free local news. 

To sign up, email editor@mediagroup31.com. In the subject line write: Subscription. Please supply your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number (indicate cell phone). We will not share your information with any outside sources. For more than one email address in a household, the cost is $15 per month per email address.

We can send you an invoice for a yearly payment of $120, which you can conveniently pay online or by check. If you are interested in this method, please email editor@mediagroup31.com and we can sign you up. You can also mail a yearly check for $120 to Media Group 31, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454 (please include your email address).

Payment must be made in advance prior to subscription activation.

We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.

_____

This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2025, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.

________________________

Please Support Local News and Sports Coverage

Receive daily MCP and OCP news briefings along with email news alerts for $10 a month. Your contribution will help us to continue to provide you with free local news. 

To sign up, email editor@mediagroup31.com. In the subject line write: Subscription. Please supply your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number (indicate cell phone). We will not share your information with any outside sources. For more than one email address in a household, the cost is $15 per month per email address.

We can send you an invoice for a yearly payment of $120, which you can conveniently pay online or by check. If you are interested in this method, please email editor@mediagroup31.com and we can sign you up. You can also mail a yearly check for $120 to Media Group 31, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454 (please include your email address).

Payment must be made in advance prior to subscription activation.

We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.

_____

This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2025, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.