By Richard Purinton
A new ferry vessel joined the Washington Island Ferry Line fleet in July of 2020.
A contract was signed with Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Inc. of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., in May of 2019, and delivery was made July 17, 2020. The MADONNA officially began transportation service Sunday morning, July 19, in sequence with four other Washington Island Ferry Line vessels. She continued in that capacity daily throughout the remainder of the 2020 tourism season, hauling cars, passengers and cargo across Death’s Door Passage, between Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula and Washington Island.
With an overall length of 124 feet, a 40-foot beam, and a draft of 10 feet 8 inches, MADONNA, at just under 100 gross tonnage, is the largest, and has the most deck capacity, of any vessel in the Ferry Line fleet. It can carry twenty-eight autos and one hundred and fifty passengers.
She was christened MADONNA while being prepped by the shipyard for delivery. Her name is taken from a well-known schooner that frequently sailed from Washington Island more than one hundred years ago, bringing with it Washington Island historical and cultural connections.
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The original MADONNA(76 gross tons) wasa schooner built in 1871 by William Aylward of Milwaukee who then sailed as her master. Aylward was three-quarters owner, and Patrick Morrisey, also of Milwaukee, owned one quarter share. She measured nearly 80 feet in length with a 24-foot beam and 6-foot draft (centerboard up), enabling her to sail into shallow harbors.
By 1893 Aylward put the MADONNA up for sale, and Ole Christiansen of Detroit Harbor, Washington Island, who had been in the market for a new vessel to haul lumber and other products, bought her in the off-season.
Over the next twenty years she frequented Washington Island’s several harbors loading sawn lumber, cordwood, or Island agricultural product such as potatoes. Her cargoes were transported primarily between ports along Lake Michigan’s western shoreline. Her captain and owner, Ole Christiansen (born 1861 – died 1937), had emigrated from Norway at the age of 20 with his wife and one child. Four of his sons later became crew on MADONNA.
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An example of Christiansen’s enterprise can be found in a Door County Advocate entry of 1895, just shortly after Ole purchased MADONNA:
The schooner Madonna just came off the stocks last July, after a thorough rebuild, but
still Capt. Christianson (sp.) is finding something to do on her this spring in getting her
ready to battle with the wind and waves. The Madonna is the packet that was entitled to
carry the broom last season out of this place. From the first of August till the middle of
November she made trips to Sheboygan, Milwaukee and Chicago, most of them during
the heavy weather prevailing last fall and cleared for the owner about $300. This is a
grand record in comparison to the rest of the fleet, some making from eight to fifteen
trips only during the whole season of ’94 and consequently coming out behind financially.
As the Capt. thinks of getting a square sail and raffle next season for his ship we would
advise him to rub her bottom well before starting with some non-combustible stuff, as the
terrific friction might ignite the planks, and—well—be careful, Ole.
Christiansen had also constructed a pier inside Jackson Harbor’s northeastern rim, that part of Washington Island nearest Rock Island, and from there he shipped timber products. He also repaired vessels and motors. Later, Ole would maintain a small shipyard in Detroit Harbor with a marine railway, where he hauled vessels for repair.
His shipyard property enclosed the structure known today as the “Standard Oil” pier, now owned by Washington Island Ferry Line, where its ferries frequently moor. The Christiansen family home was located near the southernmost end of Main Road where Ole had established a sawmill and machine shop. A small rowboat moored to a nearby pier on Detroit Harbor (or a short walk across the harbor ice in winter) provided him with easy access to his own MADONNA, as well as other vessels requiring his services.
It was in Detroit Harbor shallows late in 1914 that MADONNA, her sailing days over, was abandoned and stripped of useable hardware. Over the subsequent forty-three years the derelict MADONNA deteriorated, until in 1958 the above-water remains were burned.
A four-foot long model of the MADONNA, crafted by Don Gospodarek of Institute, Wis., was commissioned for Trinity Lutheran Church and dedicated in August of 1981. It has ever since been suspended from the church nave, a practice common in Scandinavian churches for intercession and blessings on those who sail, and for those who depend on maritime commerce for trade and transportation. It was also dedicated at that time as a memorial to young Kelly Jess, son of Karen and Butch Jess, who had died from cancer. In further honor of her son’s memory, and the connections with the original MADONNA schooner, Karen Jess was invited to perform the July christening ceremony for the newest MADONNA at Fincantieri’s Bay Shipbuilding facility.
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Photo on this page: Like sister vessels in the Ferry Line fleet, once placed in service in July 2020, MADONNA hauled her share of commercial and recreational vehicles to and from Washington Island. The Wisconsin island at the tip of Door County, with a year around population of just over 700, relies on ferries for transportation needs. Credit: Washington Island Ferry Line
Richard Purinton is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism, a U.S. Navy veteran, and a Washington Island resident since 1974. He’s married to Mary Jo (Richter), and they raised three children in their Island home. He’s been associated with Washington Island Ferry Line since 1974 as deckhand, captain, company president and currently, CEO. He’s written and self-published seven books about Island life and living.
