On this day June 16, 1887, the freight and passenger prop. CHAMPLAIN burned off Fisherman Island at the mouth of Grand Traverse Bay with the loss of 22 lives.
Photo at top of page and here: CHAMPLAIN after her fire in June 1887
The CHAMPLAIN was built by A. C. Keating in 1870 at Ogdensburg for the Northern Transportation Co. and measured 135 feet in length and 26 in beam. She was sold to Peter J. Klein of Milwaukee and John Seymour of Manistee in 1881 after the Northern Transportation Co. went out of business and sailed from Chicago and Milwaukee to northern Michigan ports in the freight and passenger service. In 1884 she was totally rebuilt and her boiler and engine thoroughly overhauled at the Rand & Burger yard.
The cause of the June 16th fire was thought to be an explosion of a lamp in the oil room. The following description is from the Milwaukee Sentinel of June 18th :
“Charlevoix, Mich., June 17 – The steamer CHAMPLAIN burned at midnight between Norwood and Charlevoix, at the mouth of the Grand Traverse Bay. The flames suddenly shot up from beneath the engine, driving the engineer from his post with his clothes on fire. He plunged into a tank and then returned to the engine room, but was too late to stop his engine or connect the hose. The sleeping passengers were aroused, and when the life preservers had been fastened on all, they gathered on the forward deck. Two life boats and the life rafts were lowered, but the steamer was running so fast they got away. In ten minutes from the time the boat caught fire its passengers were all compelled to jump into the lake. There were fifty seven on board including the crew. …
A month later the tug WELCOME towed the burned out hull to the Milwaukee Shipyard for a rebuild. The CHAMPLAIN was completed by November – practically a new boat. The only remaining part of the old boat was the stern post and a few feet of her keel. She was renamed CITY OF CHARLEVOIX.
CITY OF CHARLEVOIX at Charlevoix on August 22, 1897
CITY OF CHARLEVOIX
The CITY OF CHARLEVOIX sailed the Northern Michigan Line and was later rebuilt and renamed KANSAS in 1904.
KANSAS
On October 27, 1924, while laid up in the river at Manistee the KANSAS was severely burned. She was abandoned to the underwriters and her remains stayed there.
Suzette Lopez
Photo Credit: Great Lakes Marine Collection of the Milwaukee Public Library and Wisconsin Marine Historical Society
This story was originally posted on June 16, 2024.
