Great Lakes Steamship Society

08/08/2021

Here is an interesting read, not really Great Lakes but since many people in years past have brought up a “Great Lakes triangle” we thought people would enjoy this article on one of the more famous disappearances of the Bermuda Triangle.

Some say it was wrecked in a storm, but there was no debris found, no distress calls made, and no storms reported.

10/28/2019

Hello to all the members, and fans of the ST Crapo. I would like to invite you all to share your favorite pictures of the Crapo, and other ILM vessels. This page cant, won't survive without you all. If you have a favorite memory of the latter you'd like to share, by all means, please do. We're really interested to see what everyone has to offer.

09/23/2019

The Great Lakes Steamship Society wishes to take the opportunity to thank Kevin Foster, founding member and long time board member for his years of service in helping us push forward and renew ourselves in the time since moving away from trying to save the Ford, he has kept our online presence going even while many of the other board members were pulled away to deal with career and family and he has now finally decided to retire and step away to enjoy his hard earned free time. We wish Kevin a wonderful future in his relaxing endeavors and welcome his advice and expertise any time he is again able to offer it!

05/16/2018

A magnificent resource for Great Lakes marine history.

The Milwaukee Public Library: inspiration starts here - we help people read, learn, and connect.

04/28/2018

Unhappy news.

Rusting boat must leave the downtown marina by end of August

02/27/2018

Congratulations! We have reached 600 page likes. Happy that so many of us have joined together to celebrate the heritage of steamships on the Great Lakes.

Maritime preservation

10/30/2017

A joint US Coast Guard and National Oceanographic Administration project has identified the wreck of the famous US revenue cutter McCulloch off the California coast.

The wreck of a Coast Guard cutter that played a key role in a major Pacific battle of the Spanish-American War has been identified off California.

10/23/2016

Here's a YouTube video about the S.S. Shieldhall, a British coastal "cargo" steamer that has been preserved as an operational vessel. It's hard to imagine a less glamorous ship than the Shieldhall (you'll see why if you watch the video), but she is an amazing relic and her crew obviously take great pride in her. I think we could all learn a thing or two from these folks, and if nothing else, it's an inspiration, a reminder of why we fight to preserve our maritime heritage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c5NuepGHzM

The Steamship Shieldhall is Britain's largest working steamship. This video introduces her, from her build and working life in the Clyde to her present activ...

01/20/2016

Another landmark this week! 300 likes. Please bear with us these next few months, as we are beginning to rebuild and rebrand our website as well as our Facebook presence. We have a few digital projects in the works and look forward to testing them and hearing peoples feedback!

11/10/2015

A news story about us and the scrapping of the JB Ford, from KBJR Duluth. They interviewed us at the Gales of November this past weekend. Featuring Steven Haverty, James Sumstad and Leroy Rubinas.

http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/112-year-old-steamship-to-be-scrapped-despite-call-to-preserve-it-343311602.html

Duluth, MN (NNCNOW.com) -- The Great Lakes are losing a piece of shipping history.

10/07/2015

UPDATE: Duluth Shipping News has the move listed for Friday October 9. So barring any weather delays or other offenses, they should be moving her in 2 days time!

(Original Text):Today we learned that the sale of the venerable 112 year old steamship JB Ford has been finalized to a scrapping firm. While I will not be able to comment on the details yet as I do not know most of them, I do know that her final journey to the scrap yard will occur VERY soon pending weather and any other possible delays. Soon meaning within the next two weeks or sooner if possible. We will give updates and try to have our friends or society members on site to document her final journey and say good bye. Though it wasnt meant to be, it is still a sad loss to the community. But we still retain hope that through our dialogue with the scrappers we may be able to preserve artifacts and fittings. Will update as we gain information. Thanks for everyone's patience.