Products

Not-a-pe-ka-gon was the Native American name given to the Ludington area and translates as ""heads on sticks.""

The name refers to a battle between the Ottawa and Mascouten Indians in the 17th century that raged along the river toward Lake Michigan. The heads of the defeated Mascoutens were placed on sticks as a warning to all. Later a bluff overlooking the lake and river was the site of the 1675 death of Fr. Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary and explorer. When the first settlers of European descent arrived, they gave the name of Pere Marquette to their village, lake, and river in honor of the fallen missionary. Eventually renamed after lumber baron James Ludington, the community became a bustling maritime port and the home of the largest car ferry fleet in the world.

Strategically placed on the southern shores of Lake Michigan, Chicago has always been an important transportation and trading hub. Early Native American settlers discovered Chicago's rich resources, French missionaries and trappers found the Chicago River an excellent portage to the Des Plaines, Illinois, and Mississippi Rivers, and merchants used it to ship lumber and grain to the rest of the world. Maritime Chicago tells the story of this city situated on a great "inland sea." From the thrill of two lakefront World's Fairs, to the unbelievable sorrow of the Eastland, which went down just a few feet from
the banks of the Chicago River, taking with it 800 souls, Chicago's maritime past bears witness to much triumph and tragedy, victory and defeat. Today, the 29 miles of lakefront, and the revived riverfront are vital parts of the economy and recreation of Chicago.

Settlers arrived at the mouth of the Grand River on November 2, 1834. Their community was christened Grand Haven, as it offered a secure harbor. As the logging industry grew, shipping expanded, and Grand Haven Harbor became especially busy during the financial boom and westward expansion that followed the Civil War. Northwest Ottawa County became an established resort destination, and passenger boats frequented the harbor as well. Heavy traffic through Grand Haven caused concern about shipwrecks. The first crew of lifesavers was formed in 1871 and soon joined the United States Lifesaving Service. In 1915, the United States Lifesaving Service merged with the United States Coast Guard. Grand Haven has long had a proud association with these dedicated crews, and in 1998, the relationship was marked when Congress designated it "Coast Guard City USA."

From schooners to submarines, Manitowoc has been home to shipbuilders and their craft for over 200 years. Thanks to the vast collections of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Maritime Manitowoc: 1847-1947 uncovers the fascinating and colorful Golden Age of shipbuilding in the area. This book explores the remarkable history of Manitowoc's shipyards and the magnificent ships that were built there. These ships have sailed the Great Lakes as well as open oceans across the world.

In 1778, the first sailing vessel with cargo holds, the Archange, a schooner built for prominent British trader John Askin, found "quiet waters" in Milwaukee Bay. These quiet waters and the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic Rivers made Milwaukee a favorable destination for early settlers. Maritime Milwaukee explores the growth of the city's port and three riverfronts through a variety of photographs spanning the 1800s to the present thanks to the archival preservation of collections by the Port of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Public Library, and the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society.

Explore the period between 1900 and 1950 when South Haven, Michigan transformed from a rough commercial port into a beautiful tourist attraction.

Although South Haven is now entirely a recreational harbor, this compilation of archival photographs provides a glimpse of an earlier time when shipments of coal, stone, pig iron, paper pulp, and clay came to port instead of pleasure boaters.

Showcasing the remarkable photography of Roy S. McCrimmon, Maritime South Haven: 1900-1950documents South Haven's nautical heritage with images of large foreign freighters, hardy fish tugs, bustling passenger steamers, carefree pleasure cruisers, and sprightly sailboats.

For half a century, the Mackinac Bridge has connected Michigan's peninsulas. Before that, only ferryboats crossed the historic Straits of Mackinac. Huge, ice-crushing railroad ferries first appeared in the 1880s. But by the 1920s, growing automobile ownership, improved roads, and creative tourism promotion brought demands for better, cheaper, and more frequent service. Politicians listened, and in 1923, Michigan became the first state to operate a ferry as part of its highway department. The "Great White Fleet" began with just a tiny used boat and ended with a flotilla including the largest, most powerful ice-breaking ferry in the world. The operation became the biggest employer in the region while battling severe winter weather, partisan politics, and ever-growing lines of summer motorists. Over 34 years, Michigan State ferries united communities, built businesses, and transported millions of eager tourists and travelers across the Great Lakes' "Water Wonderland."

Filled with rare images, charming nostalfic advertisements, and local accounts, discover the unlikely history of the determined, scrappy S.S. Badger and her impact on Lake Michigan.

One of the last operating coal-burning steamships in the world, the S.S. Badger provides travelers and their automobiles with what is now the only opportunity to ferry across Lake Michigan. Each summer, thousands of tourists enjoy sailing the 60-mile run between Ludington, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin. In 1892, the Ann Arbor Railroad Company introduced a fleet of cross-lake ferries intended to transport railroad cars. By 1897, the Pere Marquette Railroad launched its own fleet out of Ludington, beginning with the S.S. Pere Marquette. For decades, these ships carried freight, and eventually automobiles and people, across Lake Michigan. Today, only the Badger remains. Through a unique collection of archival and contemporary images, this book documents the S.S. Badger's historic career as a provider of cross-lake transport. Vintage advertisements, memorable photographs, rare diagrams, and informative text reveal the fascinating details behind the Lake Michigan Car Ferry's now-rare steam propulsion system, her design and layout, and her development from an icebreaking railroad ferry to a seasonal passenger ferry.

The historic steamship City of Midland 41 sailed the waters of Lake Michigan for nearly half a century, transporting railroad cars, automobiles, and passengers. After her construction in 1941 by the revered Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, the nation's newspapers and newsreel services covered her launching and maiden voyage with enthusiastic flair. In time, she became the most beloved of all the Great Lakes car ferries.

She was built as the flagship for the Pere Marquette Railway's Lake Michigan ferry fleet, and signified a bold departure from traditional Great Lakes vessel design. Her sleek outboard profile, spacious passenger accommodations, and modern interior furnishings were a hit with the traveling public. By the time she was retired from service in 1988, she had served both the Pere Marquette and Chesapeake & Ohio Railroads, transported thousands of travelers as a passenger ferry, and become known as the "Queen of the Great Lakes Car Ferries."

After the Grand Trunk car ferry SS Milwaukee was lost with a crew of 52 men in an October 1929 storm, it was replaced by the SS City of Milwaukee. Built in 1931, the ferry operated for half a century, hauling loaded railcars across Lake Michigan. Serving the majority of her career with the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company, the ship spent her last few operational years sailing for the Ann Arbor Railroad. She survives today as the last unaltered example of a Great Lakes railroad car ferry designed with twin stacks, a classic profile, and triple-expansion engines. Now a museum ship and a National Historic Landmark, this remarkable vessel serves as a living memorial to the car ferries and the dedicated crews that sailed them.

John Streckfus began his small Acme Company in 1889 with one wooden packet boat, the steamer Verne Swain, out of Rock Island, Illinois, carrying people and goods on the Mississippi River. His business grew, but each year brought competition from the growing railroads. He decided that excursion boats were the only way to compete. He built the steamer J.S. in 1901 and "tramped" her from town to town offering excursions and dance cruises. By 1910, the company comprised four boats and an office in St. Louis and offered excursion cruises on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. The flagship, the steamer Admiral, was far above the others. She provided excursions, fun, and memories for almost 40 years.

World War II hinged on the Allies having enough ships to both fight the enemy and to carry millions of tons of war goods across the world's oceans. Shipyards on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific Coasts built thousands of vessels, but America's sometimes forgotten Fourth Coast, the Great Lakes, built hundreds of ships as well. From 1940 to 1945, warships, cargo haulers, Coast Guard tenders, and fleet service auxiliaries of many types were launched from the two cities of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, which lie at the far western end of Lake Superior. During the war, half a dozen shipyards in Duluth-Superior produced more than 200 vessels of 10 main types, up to 338 feet long and 5,000 tons, all having to make close to a 2,400-mile journey to the ocean. The shipyards grew from nearly nothing in 1939 to become industries employing thousands of men and women by 1945 and making a major contribution to the story of America in World War II.