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Capt. Esten Bahle. Photo from the Mason County Historical Society Rose Hawley Archives.
This Great Lakes History Log is presented by Filer Credit Union, the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum and Sable Points Media.
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
Capt. Esten Bahle spent more than four decades on the Great Lakes, guiding vessels through one of the most significant periods of change in maritime history. Beginning his career aboard sailing schooners and ending it on some of the largest railroad carferries on Lake Michigan, he became one of the Pere Marquette Railway’s most trusted captains and was chosen to place several new flagship vessels into service.
Born March 16, 1881, in Suttons Bay, Bahle was the son of Lars Esten Bahle and Olena Ingebrigtsen Bahle. He grew up along the shore of Grand Traverse Bay, where schooners, steamers and fishing boats were a constant presence. As a young man he sailed aboard the schooner Jane Anderson, an experience that gave him firsthand knowledge of Great Lakes sail navigation before steam power became dominant.
On Dec. 31, 1907, Bahle married Laura Realpha Gronseth in Suttons Bay. The couple eventually settled in Ludington, where they raised six children while Bahle established his career with the Pere Marquette Railway. Laura died in 1918 at the age of 37, leaving Bahle to raise their children alone. He never remarried.
The Pere Marquette 15. Photo from the Mason County Historical Society Rose Hawley Archives.
By 1915, Bahle had advanced to master of Pere Marquette 15, marking the beginning of a succession of command assignments aboard the company’s railroad carferries. Although surviving records do not document exactly when he joined the Pere Marquette Railway, they show he had already earned command of one of the fleet’s established ferries by the middle of the decade.
He later transferred to Pere Marquette 20, commanding the vessel from 1917 through 1920. During the severe winter of 1918, the ferry became trapped in heavy ice off Pentwater for several days before breaking free and continuing to Ludington. George Schaaf, who experienced the incident as a young passenger, later recalled Bahle commanding the vessel during the ordeal.
In 1920 Bahle assumed command of Pere Marquette 18 (II), remaining aboard through 1924 before receiving one of the most significant assignments of his career.
PM 22 under the command of Capt. Wallace VanDyke in 1930. Photo from the Mason County Historical Society Rose Hawley Archives.
The Pere Marquette Railway selected Bahle as the first master of its new Pere Marquette 22, completed at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. in Wisconsin in 1924. Measuring nearly 348 feet long, the ferry became one of the largest railroad carferries operating on Lake Michigan and was among the first of the famous “Manitowoc Six” class of ferries. Bahle remained in command through the remainder of the decade as the vessel established itself on the Ludington route.
His reputation continued to grow, and in 1930 the railway again turned to Bahle to introduce its newest flagship, City of Flint 32. At 369 feet long, City of Flint and her sister ship, City of Saginaw 31, were the largest railroad carferries yet built for the Pere Marquette Railway. Bahle traveled to Manitowoc before the vessel’s completion to prepare her for service.
City of Flint 32. Photo from the Mason County Historical Society Rose Hawley Archives.
On April 9, 1930, Bahle sailed City of Flint from Manitowoc on her maiden voyage. The following day thousands gathered along Ludington’s waterfront to welcome the new ferry. Factory whistles sounded as the vessel approached the docks, and city officials, railroad representatives and the Ludington High School Band participated in welcoming ceremonies before visitors were invited aboard for public tours.
Bahle commanded City of Flint throughout most of the 1930s before transferring to City of Saginaw in 1939, his final documented command. By then he had captained six Pere Marquette steamers — 15, 20, 18 (II), 22, 32 and 31 — a career that mirrored the evolution of Great Lakes transportation from sail to modern steel railroad carferries.
One of the few surviving personal glimpses of Bahle appeared in 1940 when the Ludington Daily News asked readers to identify the schooner Jane Anderson. Bahle immediately recognized the vessel and recalled serving aboard her in 1901, connecting the final years of his career with its beginnings under sail nearly four decades earlier.
The gravesite of Capt. Esten Bahle at Lutheran Cemetery, Suttons Bay.
Capt. Esten Bahle died Jan. 31, 1946, at Suttons Bay at the age of 64. He was buried in Lutheran Cemetery following funeral services at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church. Newspaper obituaries remembered him for his long career on the Great Lakes, where he served through one of the industry’s greatest periods of technological change and helped usher several of the Pere Marquette Railway’s most important railroad carferries into service.
Masters of the PM Steamers series to date:
- Capt. John Stewart was first skipper of the Ludington fleet 150 years ago
- Capt. Muir commanded first Ludington ‘black boat’ until his death
- Ludington fleet captain Duddleson skippered the famed L.C. Waldo during the 1913 storm
- The remarkable career of Capt. Joseph Russell
- Capt. John Doyle, first master of the PM 19
- Capt. Dority commanded several PM ships, the Ann Arbor 2 and the notorious Eastland
- Three generations of Robertsons commanded carferries
- Searching for the masters of Lake Michigan’s railroad steamers
- From ship enthusiast to carferry captain, Gregg Andersen lived a Lake Michigan dream
- Peter Kilty: From Beaver Island fisherman to captain of a Great Lakes legend
In search of information
Editor’s Note: I am seeking historical artifacts and stories from people whose family members worked as ship captains or in Ludington’s maritime industry. While this project focuses on the Ludington carferry fleet, I am also interested in items related to anyone from Mason County who worked on the Great Lakes or oceans.
This series has three goals:
- To share Ludington’s rich maritime history with readers of the Mason County Press.
- To publish a biographical book about the Ludington fleet captains.
- To create an interactive kiosk exhibit at the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum for historical research.
I am looking for artifacts such as photographs, written documents, or digitized materials. Items will be placed in the Mason County Historical Society archives, and donors will receive documentation of their contribution.
If you have items or stories to share, please email editor@mediagroup31.com or call/text 231-757-3202.
Note: I am also interested in collections related to the Mason County railroad industry.
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