On this day July 20, 1908, the steam barge CHARLES A. STREET was destroyed by fire about Port Huron. Built in 1888 at Grand Haven by Duncan Robertson for John Lang of Chicago, she was launched on April 14th after forty men were employed in building her all winter. Measuring 163 feet in length and 32 in beam, her value was placed at $40,000. She was mainly in the coal trade but also carried iron ore.
At the time of the fire, she had a crew of 13. No lives were lost. Herman Runge noted he thought two of the three barges with her were the J. B. LOZEN and JEREMIAH GODFREY. The following are the newspaper accounts of what happened.
STEAMER CHARLES A. STREET BURNS TO WATER’S EDGE
Detroit, Mich., July 21, 1908 – The steamer CHARLES A. STREET, bound down with three barges in tow, caught fire last night in Lake Huron, 26 miles above Port Huron, and was destroyed. The crew of 13 was landed safely at Lexington. When the fire broke out on the STREET which was 165 feet long and owned at Mount Clemens, Mich., the barges were cut adrift. The fire made rapid headway despite the best efforts of the STREET’s crew, and it was soon apparent that the steamer was doomed. The lifeboat was destroyed by the flames and the crew began building a raft on which to leave the burning boat. Before they had completed it, however, the crew of one of the barges rowed back three miles and took them off safely and landed them at Lexington. (Buffalo Courier, Wednesday, July 22, 1908, p. 2)
WRECK OF THE CHARLES A. STREET
Capt. C. H. Sinclair, representing the fire underwriters, and Capt. William R. Dunn, representing the owner, have returned from an examination of the burned steamer CHARLES A. STREET, which lies on a bar about one and a half miles above Richmondville, Lake Huron. The hull is a sorry sight, as it is burned from end to end and down below the water line, the boat having settled somewhat since she went on the bar. The boiler lies on its side on the starboard side of the boat, and the smokestack lies alongside it. The fire was so hot that the machinery is believed to be seriously damaged. Capt. Sinclair is of the opinion that the first still northeaster on Lake Huron will roll the boiler out of the hull, and the latter is likely to break up. (Buffalo Post, Monday, August 10, 1908, p. 7)
Suzette Lopez
Photo Credit: Great Lakes Marine Collection of the Milwaukee Public Library and Wisconsin Marine Historical Society.
