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Capt. Rotta, left, with Elizabeth Martin on the City of Flint in October 1947.
This Great Lakes History Log is presented by Filer Credit Union, and the Mason County Historical Society.
Masters of the Ludington Steamers
Stories of Ludington’s cross-lake rail fleet captains and other port mariners
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
In October 1947, 86-year-old Elizabeth Martin (1861-1953) boarded the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway carferry City of Flint 32 in Milwaukee, Wis., for a journey across Lake Michigan to Ludington. It was a voyage filled with memories of her late husband, Capt. James W. Martin, the man credited with creating Ludington’s first railroad carferry.
Fifty years earlier, Elizabeth had accompanied her husband aboard the inaugural voyage of the Pere Marquette, the first steel railroad carferry to operate out of Ludington. It was a revolutionary vessel that would forever change the way freight moved across Lake Michigan.
Martin had died just weeks after the carferry began service in February 1897. Now, half a century later, his widow was traveling aboard one of the descendants of the vessel he had envisioned.
The anniversary crossing was arranged by the railroad in recognition of Martin’s contribution to Great Lakes transportation. Elizabeth was accompanied by her son, James Thompson Martin (1891-1964).
Capt. Bernard Rotta, master of the City of Flint, welcomed her aboard. Railroad officials arranged a tour of the vessel and a dinner in her honor. She was also presented with flowers.
A photograph published in the Oct. 20, 1947, edition of The Grand Rapids Press showed Elizabeth standing beside Rotta aboard the carferry. The newspaper identified her as the last surviving participant in the historic inaugural voyage 50 years earlier.
Elizabeth recalled watching railroad cars being loaded aboard the original Pere Marquette in February 1897. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the Ludington docks to witness something entirely new: loaded railroad freight cars being rolled directly onto a steamship.
She remembered her husband standing in the pilothouse as the vessel departed Ludington in the winter dusk. Heavy ice surrounded the vessel, a reminder of the challenges Martin had faced bringing the new steel carferry to Ludington from its builder at West Bay City, Mich.
During its inaugural operations, the Pere Marquette received an enthusiastic welcome in Milwaukee. Whistles sounded, bells rang and thousands gathered along the Milwaukee River to inspect the remarkable new vessel.
For Elizabeth, the memories were bittersweet. Her husband had devoted the final years of his life to developing the new transportation system, but he would never witness its ultimate success.
Capt. James W. Martin
A captain with a vision
James William Martin was born May 25, 1856, in Springvale Township, Columbia County, Wis., the son of William Howe and Mary Martin.
Although comparatively little is known about his early maritime career, Martin became an experienced Great Lakes captain, accumulating approximately 15 years of navigation experience before undertaking the project that would define his legacy.
His experience included winter navigation, an important qualification for a railroad seeking dependable transportation across Lake Michigan throughout the year.
On Nov. 27, 1889, Martin married Elizabeth Veronica Moore in Milwaukee. The couple had three sons: James Thompson, Dudley Warner Joseph (1893-1895) and John McCurdy (1896-1985), who later became a Catholic priest.
Martin entered the history of Ludington’s marine operations at a pivotal time.
The Flint & Pere Marquette Railway had reached Ludington in December 1874. Beginning in 1875, the railroad arranged steamship connections between Ludington and Wisconsin, initially using chartered vessels.
Stanford Crapo in 1927. Bedford Public Library.
In 1882, the railroad introduced its first company-owned steamships, F&PM No. 1 and F&PM No. 2. Additional vessels followed, creating a fleet of package freighters commonly known as the “Black Boats.”
Although successful, the steamship operation was labor-intensive.
Freight arriving in Ludington had to be unloaded from railroad cars, transferred aboard steamships, transported across Lake Michigan and unloaded again in Wisconsin. Workers then placed the merchandise aboard railroad cars to continue its journey.
The process, known as breaking bulk, required hundreds of freight handlers and consumed considerable time.
By the mid-1890s, the railroad reportedly employed between 400 and 500 freight handlers at its Ludington docks.
Martin recognized that the system was inefficient.
In 1892, the Toledo, Ann Arbor & North Michigan Railway had introduced wooden railroad carferries between Frankfort, Mich., and Kewaunee, Wis. These vessels demonstrated that loaded railroad cars could be carried across Lake Michigan without unloading their contents.
Martin believed the concept could be improved with a larger, stronger steel vessel designed specifically for the Flint & Pere Marquette’s needs.
In June 1894, Martin was appointed superintendent of steamships for the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway.
Unlike some of his predecessors, he possessed firsthand experience commanding Great Lakes vessels. He understood the challenges of heavy seas, winter ice and the importance of operating a dependable marine transportation system.
He began studying existing carferries, examining their strengths and weaknesses and developing plans for a vessel that could serve Ludington year-round.
Martin presented his proposal to Stanford Tappan Crapo (1865-1939), general manager of the railroad.
Crapo supported the concept and helped persuade the railroad’s directors to invest approximately $300,000 in the new vessel.
The benefits were considerable. Railroad cars could travel directly from Michigan to Wisconsin without their freight being handled at each terminal. The route also offered a shorter alternative to shipping through Chicago.
In December 1895, the railroad ordered its first steel carferry from F.W. Wheeler & Company of West Bay City.
The vessel would be named Pere Marquette.
SS Pere Marquette (later known as the Pere Marquette 15). Mason County Historical Society.
Building the Pere Marquette
Martin worked closely with naval architect Robert Logan (1861-1918) of Cleveland, Ohio, to develop the new carferry.
Logan provided the naval architecture and engineering plans, while Martin contributed his practical knowledge of Great Lakes navigation and the railroad’s operating requirements.
The resulting vessel was 350 feet long, approximately 56 feet wide and designed to carry as many as 30 standard railroad freight cars on four tracks.
Unlike the earlier wooden carferries, the Pere Marquette featured an entirely steel hull, heavy structural framing and watertight compartments.
Its bow was designed to withstand heavy ice, while two compound steam engines powered twin propellers at the stern.
The carferry also featured electric lighting, steam steering equipment, a powerful searchlight and machinery designed to facilitate docking and maneuvering.
The Pere Marquette was launched Dec. 30, 1896.
Severe winter ice complicated its journey to Ludington, but the vessel arrived in January 1897. Additional work was necessary before service could begin, including adjustments to the spacing of the four railroad tracks to accommodate wider freight cars.
By the middle of February, the vessel was ready.
Historical accounts differ slightly on the precise date of the inaugural crossing, although Feb. 16-17, 1897, is commonly accepted.
Capt. Joseph Russell (1853-1913), an experienced Great Lakes master, commanded the Pere Marquette on its first freight-carrying voyage.
Martin was aboard to witness the realization of his vision. Elizabeth was also among the passengers.
The historic crossing demonstrated that loaded railroad cars could be transported safely and efficiently across Lake Michigan aboard a large steel vessel.
It marked the beginning of a new era in Ludington’s maritime history.
Success and tragedy
The introduction of the Pere Marquette transformed railroad transportation across Lake Michigan.
Instead of unloading and reloading freight at both terminals, the railroad could move entire cars directly aboard its vessel, reducing labor expenses, delays and damage to merchandise.
However, the technological advancement came with significant consequences.
Hundreds of freight handlers depended on the old system for employment. The new carferry threatened their livelihoods.
According to a January 1904 history published in the Ludington Record-Appeal, the introduction of the Pere Marquette triggered labor disputes, strikes and boycotts. Threats were reportedly made against the new vessel, including threats to destroy it with dynamite.
As superintendent of steamships, Martin was responsible for managing the difficult transition.
Less than five weeks after the carferry began service, Martin became seriously ill.
He died March 21, 1897, in a Milwaukee hospital. He was 40 years old.
The Ludington Record-Appeal later attributed his illness to the strain of the labor disputes, although the newspaper did not establish a medical cause of death.
The newspaper described Martin as a quiet, reserved man who nevertheless possessed remarkable organizational ability and determination.
It credited him as the principal founder of the Pere Marquette carferry system.
Martin was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Milwaukee, leaving Elizabeth to raise their two surviving sons.
From left, Pere Marquette steamers 15 (formerly known as Pere Marquette), 17, 18, and 19 fast in ice at Ludington on March 22, 1913.
The fleet he created
Although Martin lived to witness only the first few weeks of carferry operations, the system he envisioned continued expanding for generations.
The original Pere Marquette became the prototype for subsequent vessels, including Pere Marquette 17, Pere Marquette 18, Pere Marquette 19 and Pere Marquette 20, introduced during the early 1900s.
Larger vessels followed, including Pere Marquette 21 and Pere Marquette 22 in 1924, City of Saginaw 31 in 1929 and City of Flint 32 in 1930.
The City of Midland 41 entered service in 1941, followed by the Spartan and Badger in the early 1950s.
The original Pere Marquette, later renamed Pere Marquette 15, served until 1930 and was scrapped in Manitowoc, Wis., during the winter of 1935-1936.
The Ludington operation eventually developed into the world’s largest fleet of cross-lake railroad carferries.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Martin established her own legacy of public service. She became active in the American War Mothers, serving as the organization’s national president from 1941 to 1943.
She died May 20, 1953, in St. Louis, Mo., and was buried alongside her husband in Milwaukee.
Her October 1947 journey aboard the City of Flint had offered an opportunity to revisit one of the defining moments of her life.
The vessel was larger, more powerful and considerably more sophisticated than the Pere Marquette she had boarded half a century earlier.
Yet the fundamental concept remained unchanged: loaded railroad cars traveling directly across Lake Michigan aboard steel carferries.
Martin had not invented the railroad carferry, but he recognized how the concept could be improved and adapted to the unique demands of the Ludington route.
His combination of maritime knowledge, business judgment and determination established a transportation system that would become central to Ludington’s economy and identity.
Captain Martin never lived to see the fleet’s greatest years.
His widow did.
And through her memories of that historic February crossing, the story of the man behind Ludington’s first carferry was preserved for future generations.
Masters of the Ludington 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
- Family memories keep captain’s story alive 116 years after carferry disaster – another version of Kilty’s story
- Following the captains: Wisconsin trip adds to Ludington maritime research
- Captain of the pig boat: From Ludington steamers to the Christopher Columbus
- Ackerman family built a lasting legacy on the Great Lakes
- Capt. Crawford’s rise to Pere Marquette flagship ended in suicide
- Capt. Con McCauley faced fire, ice and tragedy during 40 years on the Great Lakes
- Shipwright’s son William Barnett commanded freighters, carferries
- Paul Behm: A lifetime on the lakes, tested by one storm
- Capt. McClure and the sinking of the Marshall F. Butters
- Capt. Wallace Van Dyke: From the pilothouse to the maritime museum
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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