"Passenger ships represented slower life" from the June 10, 1976 Door County Advocate
Passenger ships represented slower life
[author not stated]
Marine news rated prominent headlines in the 1876 Advocate and with good reason. A community which depended on the waterways for food, transportation, supplies, mail service, employment and pleasure would have had it no other way.
The history of the steamship dates back to the 1830's when the now legendary steamer first came into its own. The first route was from Buffalo, New York, to Chicago where passengers were either transferred to sailing vessels or wagons. Later a route was added from Buffalo to Green Bay and ships began making regular appearances at Washington Island and Horseshoe Islands.
Goodrich steamers served Sturgeon Bay and other county ports early in the century.
The first passenger accommodations left a lot to be desired as far as comfort and privacy were concerned but eventually, as demand for service increased, the cabins began resembling the type now found in luxury motels. The steamers themselves became luxurious floating pleasure craft replete with fine food, music and entertainment. Taking a leisurely lake steamer cruise was the "in" thing to do, the equivalent of today's jet-setting in reverse. Time, in the slow paced 19th century, was never of the essence.
History tells us that one of the first ships to put in at Sturgeon Bay was the Rossiter, a name still prominent in shipping annals. The famed Goodrich line also cut a swathe in local marine history. One of the first companies to make regularly scheduled runs to Door county, Goodrich is a name synonymous with sailing even today. Other companies, such as the Hart, Barry and Hill lines, never seemed to achieve the fame or affection accorded Goodrich.
Initiated in 1855 by Capt. A. E. Goodrich whose entire "fleet" consisted of one sailing vessel (the Huron), the line made the use of its slim assets. The Huron was put to work carrying freight and unpampered passengers on a regular run from Chicago to Milwaukee and as far north as Two Rivers. It occasionally included Green Bay and Door county on its itinerary and on one memorable occasion took the Advocate editor on a trip so hazardous he couldn't resist regaling readers with its hazards for weeks after. Not the least interesting part of Editor Frank Long's adventure was that he chose to travel steerage.
The Huron's money-making ability prompted Capt. Goodrich to add other steamers to his line. The first was the Ogontz (scrapped in 1860) and then, in rapid succession, the Comet, Wabash Valley, Lady Franklin, Seabird, Sunbeam, Planet, May Queen, Michigan and Orion. The steamer Sheboygan, a familiar sight in Door county for decades, was built in 1869 at the Rand Yards in Manitowoc. That year, incidentally, 157 steamships and 74 sailing vessels arrived in Sturgeon Bay. In 1872 that number had increased to 317 steamers and dropped to only 50 sailing ships. The wind of change was no longer in the air — it was making itself felt on the seas.
Following the ship canal's opening in 1882 commerce improved even more. The shorter, easier trip to Sturgeon Bay encouraged navigation but it seems that no matter how many ships sought Sturgeon Bay's fine harbor each was given an exuberant welcome by the townspeople. The circus ship, one which made its highly anticipated pilgrimage here toward the end of each summer, rated the most joyous welcome of all. Men, women and children lined the banks (precariously close to the water's edge) to get a good, close look at the wild animals, flamboyant performers, and highly voluble barkers.
Hart Line's Bon Ami —Harris Pfeifer
By the 1880's other towns were springing up along the peninsula, most with excellent docking facilities, and the stately steamers began calling on Sister Bay, Ellison Bay, Ephraim, Fish Creek, and Washington Island. The Hart steamship line, owned by Captains Cliff and Henry Hart, ran their first steamship the Welcome from Green Bay to points north. In 1885 they bought and rebuilt the C. W. Moore and placed her on a twice-weekly run up the bay and back. Once the C. W. Moore went into operation the Welcome was free to make daily trips from Green Bay to Sturgeon Bay and Menominee, Mich.
The Goodrich line, of course, wasn't standing still. That same year (1885) the steamer Corona was making a tri-weekly run from Manitowoc to Sturgeon Bay and the northern tip of the peninsula and the DePere ran to Lily Bay two or three times a week during the winter. The fare from Sturgeon Bay to Milwaukee was a modest $5 and for an extra dollar passengers could go all the way to Chicago.
In addition to the Corona and DePere other Goodrich ships plied Green bay and Lake Michigan waters during the company's long history. Names like the Atlanta, Menominee, Oconto, Truesdaell, Sheboygan, City of Ludington, Carolina, Chicago, Arizona, Wisconsin and Christopher Columbus were familiar to readers of Marine News.
Door countyites over the age of 50 can still remember that depression day in 1931 when the once affluent company filed a petition for bankruptcy. Goodrich receivers operated the line until 1933 but that year all operations ceased and the ships went on the auction block. So ended the career of one of the best known passenger lines on Lake Michigan.
The Hart line, doomed to extinction in 1919, prospered during the late 1800's to the extent that ports of call included Mackinac Island to the east and the Soo River to the north. Among the company's best known vessels were the beloved Bon Ami plus Hart's namesakes the Eugene C. Hart, Fannie C. Hart, Harriet A. Hart and Sailor Boy and Thistle.
By 1910 business began falling off and with the sale of the Bon Ami, Hart's last ship, in 1919, the famed steamship line became history.
Other lines, the Barry Line of Chicago and Hill Line owned by Capt. L. Hill, also made Door county communities part of their itinerary. Barry owned the Empire State, the Badger and the F & PM No. 1but these ships made little money. Begun at the turn of the century, the Barry operation ended shortly after World War I.
The Hill line lasted longer but also fell victim to the Twentieth century's affinity for automobiles. Hill's ships bore the names Cecelia Hill, Flora M. Hill and L P. Hill, two of which met violent ends. Hill also leased the City of Marquette but went out of business when the Cecelia Hill burned in 1906 and the Flora M. Hill was crushed in the ice off Chicago in 1912.
Undiscouraged, the doughty captain bought some large seagoing hulls in 1919 and placed passenger cabins on them before christening them the Kenosha, Sheboygan and Waukegan. Renaming his line the West Ports Line, Hill established runs on the old Goodrich route to peninsula ports. This line, like his ill fated Hill line, never proved financially successful and in 1929 the company was taken over by Goodrich. Hart himself died in an explosion shortly before the reorganization took place.
Today the passenger ship is as extinct on Green bay waters as the dodo. This once popular, leisurely and definitely pleasurable means of travel has given way to the plane, car, motorcycle, bus. The huge floating hotels so dear to the hearts of 19th century sea farers will probably never make a comeback but their legacy is worth knowing, preserving and envying.
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
Articles about steamships:
https://doorcounty.substack.com/t/steamships