452 - HISTORY OF TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY
CHAPTER X.
LAKE MARINE
THE first Steamboat on Lake Erie was built at Black Rock, below Buffalo, in 1818, having been launched about the 4th of July. She was named " Walk-in the-Water," as alleged for an Indian Chief; was of about 300 tons burden, and moved in the water at from eight to ten miles per hour. The date of its first trip up the Lake is not definitely settled in history, by some it being given as in September. The Cleveland Register of November 3, 1818, made this mention of what seems to have been her first visit to that port, as follows
The Steamboat Walk-in-the-Water left Buffalo for Detroit on the 10th of October, having on board 100 passengers. The facility with which she moves over our Lake, warrants us in saying that she will be of utility, not only to the proprietors, but also to the public. She offers us a safe, sure and speedy conveyance for all our surplus produce to distant markets. She works as well in a storm as any vessel on the Lakes, and answers the most sanguine expectations of the proprietors.
The following was the first announcement made of a Steamboat excursion to the Upper Lakes:
The Steamboat Walk-in-the-Water will sail on the 10th of June next, from Buffalo for Michilimakinac, and call as usual for passengers at the intermediate ports on Lake Erie. Her second trip will be on the 9th of August next.
JEDEDIAH ROGERS, :Master.
Cleveland, May 25, 1820.
Mr. E. D. Howe, for many years publisher of a newspaper at Painesville, Ohio, in 1859 made a statement of his personal knowledge of this Steamboat, in which lie said :
On the fourth day of July (or thereabouts), in the year 1818, I saw the said Boat slide from her ways into the Niagara River, two miles below Buffalo, at the Village of Black Rock. She was landed bears foremost or sideways, and brought up within 20 feet of the shore. She was finished and made three or four trips to Detroit the same season. The next year (1819) I was a passenger on said Boat to Cleveland on her first trip up. She was commanded by Captain Job Fish, and a rough and rickety thing she was. The harbors on Lake Erie at that time could only be entered by small open boats, and in consequence of a heavy wind we lay in the Lake off Cleveland three days and three nights, without effecting a landing.
Mr. Howe states the fastest time of the pioneer Steamboat to have been 29 hours from Buffalo to Cleveland (200 miles), or about seven miles per hour.
The Steamer was in service three years, and until November, 1821, leaving Black Rock at four P. M. on the 6th of that month, for Detroit and intermediate ports, with 75 passengers and a large quantity of merchandise. The weather was then calm. When out six miles, the wind arose, and Captain Rogers returned to Buffalo Bay. The wind increased in force, accompanied by rain, and the night was intensely dark. Between 10 and 11, she commenced leaking arid dragged her anchors before the hurricane. Despite the pumps, the water increased in the hold. She continued to drift, and soon struck, when her cables were cut, and she went ashore on a sandy beach. The passengers and crew got ashore a little before daylight. The goods were wet and seriously damaged. Captain Rogers was said to have done his full duty in the crisis. The keel was broken in two or three places, and the entire hull so seriously shattered as to have been rendered useless She had been in service a little over three years.
Among the passengers on board the Walkin-the-Water during her last trip, were Orlando Cutter, George Williams and John S. Strong, of Cleveland. Mr. Cutter stated that being East in the Fall of 1821, lie decided on reaching Black Rock to take the Steamboat, instead of a Schooner, as had been his practice. In company with about 70 passengers (including time other two persons named) he went aboard. The oxen were hitched to the craft, and in due time took it past the rapids to the open Lake. Owing to the severe gale prevailing, Captain Rogers was compelled to put back, but unable to enter Buffalo Creek, anchored at its mouth. Being very seasick, Mr. Cutter occupied his berth below. Mr. Williams, in 1885 (then probably the only surviving passenger of the Walk-in-the-Water), furnished an account of his experience on the occasion referred to, in which he said
The Walk-in-the-Water on that last voyage left Black Rock in the afternoon of a dull, cloudy day. As she cast off her tow-line and moved unaided into the broad waters of Lake Erie, there was no anticipation of the terrible gale we were soon to encounter. The boat had a full complement of passengers, and a full cargo of goods, mostly for Western merchants, one of whom, Mr. Palmer, of Detroit, was on board with his bride. There was also a company of Missionaries, several of whom were ladies, on their way to some Western Indian tribe. As the winds rose, friends grouped themselves together, and as the storm grew more and more furious, there was great terror among them. The Missionaries sang hymns and devoted themselves to soothing the terrified. We lay tossed of the tempest, the big seas sweeping over us all the long night. Just as the first gleam of daylight
LAKE MARINE. - 453
appeared our anchor began to drag. Captain Miller seeing the impossibility of saving the steamer, ordered her beached. With skilled seamanship she was sent broadside on. A rope was stretched from boat to beach, and the passengers were ferried to shore in the small boat. They reached it drenched and exhausted, but all saved.
In September, 1885, the Magazine of Western History (Cleveland, Ohio), published an article by J. H. Kennedy, to which the writer is indebted for much of the foregoing facts. In that connection was given the following picture of the pioneer Steamboat, furnished by the Northern Ohio Historical Society, which was said by those who saw the craft, to be a faithful representation .
The history of this Steamboat is much more closely allied to the Maumee River, than is generally understood. In fact, it is believed to have been built primarily to run between Buffalo and the foot of the Maumee Rapids. Its builders were Messrs. McIntyre and Stewart, of Albany, New York.* Soon after the close of the War of 1812-15. these gentlemen purchased a tract of land above Perrysburg, which included the site of Fort Meigs, and laid out on the River below the Fort, a Town, which was
* The Cleveland Herald, in July, 1853, said : "The Walk-in-the-Water, the first Steamboat on the Lakes, was built at Buffalo, in 1818, for Dr. Stewart, and was named after a Wyandot Chief, who lived at Maguaga, on the Detroit River. Dr. Stewart told Major B. F. Stickney, of Toledo, at that time, that, including what he paid Fulton and Livingston for their patent, the boat cost him $70,000."
designed for the great commercial metropolis of the Northwest, and which was given a name to correspond with such expectations, to wit " Orleans of the North," in contradistinction to New Orleans of the South. There was much about the venture to attract attention, especially at a time of general speculation such as followed the War. As the head of' navigation of' the Maumee, and the Western extremity of Lake Erie, the situation was inspiring of hope. It was in promotion of their enterprise, that Messrs. McIntyre and Stewart built the pioneer Steamboat of the Lakes. Unfortunately, they overestimated the commercial advantages of their site, since it was found upon trial that the Walk-in-the-Water would be compelled, literally to walk in the water, if she ever reached her destination, for the reason that she drew too much water for the bars between the Lake and "Orleans of the North." She got no far ther than the mouth of Swan Creek, the present site of Toledo, where she stopped, thus unwittingly indicating the precise location of the Chief City of the Maumee. " Orleans of' the North," with several other "Paper Towns," is known only in history, and it will be remembered chiefly as the place inaccessible to the first Steamboat on the Western Lakes.
The circumstances under which steam navigation was compelled to force its way to recognition and acceptance, is indicated by an extract from a letter written March 2, 1814, by R.' L. Livingston, then a prominent man in New York. He said
454 - HISTORY OF TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY.
Governor Ogden, of New Jersey, I suppose, is at Albany, endeavoring to get a bill passed to enable him to run his Steamboat to the dock in New York. The Legislature cannot be so corrupt as to pass the bill.
The explanation given of this, is, that Mr. Livingston, Captain Roorback and others, of New York, were then building the Steamboat " Fire Fly," and were Jealous of apprehended competition from the New Jersey craft.
The second Steamboat on Lake Erie was the Superior, built at Buffalo in 1822. She was commanded by Captain Jedediah Ransom, her owners being the Lake Erie Steamboat Company, whose headquarters were at Albany, N. Y., J. S. Ostrander, Secretary. June 25, 1822, the Superior started on the first trip made by a Steamboat to Mackinaw. Finding one week too little time for a round trip between Buffalo and Detroit, it was extended to nine days. Davis & Center were the Buffalo agents.
The third Steamboat on the Lakes was the Pioneer, Captain W. T. Pease, of Black Rock, which came out in October, 1825, making the trip between Buffalo and Detroit once in nine days.
The new steamboat Niagara, built at Black Rock, first reached Detroit August 10, 1826, Captain W. T. Pease commanding. The new William Penn, Captain J. F. Wight, followed August 20th.
As early as June 12, 1827, the Steamboat Henry Clay, Captain Walter Norton, started on a trip to Green Bay, then only known as an Indian agency. She stopped at Cleveland, Sandusky, Detroit, Fort Gratiot and Michilimackmac (Mackinaw). The announcement of the trip was as follows:
A treaty with the Northwestern tribes of Indians is to be held at Green Bay about the 18th or 20th of June, and this trip of the Henry Clay (which is principally for the accommodation of Governor Cass and other gentlemen connected with the treaty, and will probably be the only Steamboat voyage made into that region during the present season) will afford an admirable opportunity for gentlemen who are desirous of visiting the Great Western Lakes and viewing the country and its native inhabitants, by which they are surrounded. The Clay is a boat of the largest class and most modern in construction, and decidedly the best boat on the Lakes.
As far back as 1821, the Legislature of Ohio found itself called upon to protect the rights of citizens from an attempted monopoly of the waters of Lake Erie within the State of New York. It seems that Robert L. Livingston and Robert Fulton had been granted by New York the exclusive right of navigation in such waters by steam power, and under such grant sought to levy contributions upon all Steamboats navigating such waters, and especially those from other States. To meet this action, the Ohio Legislature passed an act prohibiting any boat or water craft from receiving or landing passengers from Steamboats. The force of this provision is seen in the fact that at that time, there being no improved harbors on Lake Erie, Steamboats and other larger crafts were compelled to employ small boats to land passengers and freight. The State could not prevent the navigation of the waters of the Lake by New York Steamboats, but it could, or, at least, undertook to prevent the use of the means named for aiding such to reach the shore. Connecticut passed a retaliatory law similar to that of Ohio.
The "Lake Erie Steamboat Line" was organized in 1827, and consisted of the Superior (second Steamer on the Lakes), the Henry Clay, the Niagara and the William Penn. They made tri-weekly trips between Buffalo and Detroit, stopping at intermediate ports. The cost of transportation of merchandise from New York to Cincinnati, via Sandusky, in October, 1827, was as follows
New York to Sandusky (9 days), per 100 lbs., $1.18; Sandusky to Cincinnati (14 days, by wagon), $2.00; total, $3.18. The current rate from Philadelphia to Cincinnati was $5.00 per 100 lbs., with greater time.
The Cincinnati Tiller then stated it to be cheaper to bring goods from Philadelphia to Cincinnati via New York and Sandusky.
In 1838 the following named Steamboats constituted the principal line on Lake Erie, to wit
The Wisconsin, Captain G. F. Powers ; the Constitution, Captain Gil. Appleby ; the Anthony Wayne, Captain Amos Pratt ; the O. H. Perry, Captain David Wilkison; the Columbus, Captain Augustus Walker; and the Vermillion and Rhode Island.
The Upper Lake boats were the James Madison, Captain R. C. Bristol ; the Thos. Jefferson, Captain Tom Wilkins; and two new boats building at Buffalo and Huron. The proprietors and agents of this line were: Barnard, Card & Prosser, New York; Noyes, Tomlinson & Hubby, Albany ; Northrup & Pease, Rochester ; Gelston &Evans, Buffalo ; Petrie & Rood, Cleveland; Wickham, Walker & Co., Huron ; Barber & Barney, Sandusky; Chase, Sill & Co., Manhattan; Palmer, Bush & Co., Toledo; Bingham & Furey, Maumee City ; .7. Hollister & Co., Perrysburg; Gray, Gallagher & Co., Detroit ; Ballard, Edmunds & Co., Ypsilanti ; H. C. Holbrook, Michigan City ; Britain, Sangert & Co., St. Joseph, Mich.; J. Y. Sanger & Co., South Bend, Ind.
The Blade of January 31, 1838, said:
A comparison of the number of arrivals at our wharves in 1836 and 1837, will show an increased measure of prosperity during the past year. In 1836 the number of arrivals, exclusive of small Steamboats that ply daily between this place and Detroit was 601, as follows: Steamboats, 330; and 271 schooners. In 1837, excluding the small boats again from the computation, the number was 959; of which 756 were Steamboats and 203 Schooners. Of the Steamboat arrivals, 270 were from Buffalo direct, 401 from Buffalo via Detroit, and 85 direct from Cleveland. When it is recollected that Toledo dates her existence from June, 1834, we think we may safely state; without arrogance or boasting, that no point in the West can show a like rapid increase in her commerce.
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Consolidation and combination were early known to Lake navigation. The "Consolidation Steamboat Company" existed in 1839, and sought to protect the owners of Steamboats on the Lakes from the effects of competition, by fixing prices, which were as follows
Passenger rates from Buffalo to Cleveland-Cabin, $6.00; steerage, $2.50. To Detroit-Cabin, $8.00; steerage, $3.00.
Freight rates from Buffalo to Chicago-Light, 87 1/2 c. per 100 lbs.; heavy, 62 2c.; barrel bulk, $1.50. To Silver Creek, Dunkirk and Barcelona, 25c. to 35c. To Erie, Grand River and Cleveland, 27c, to 40c. To ports West of Cleveland, 30c. to 46c.
A daily line of Steamboats between Buffalo and Toledo, consisting of the Erie, Cleveland, Buffalo, Constellation and Columbus, was established at that time.
The Blade of July 17, 1839, stated that passengers then "traveled the entire distance from Toledo to New York in three days and 15 hours," as follows :
Toledo to Buffalo (Steamboat). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 hours
Buffalo to Rochester (stage and railroad). . . . . . . . 9 "
Rochester to Auburn (stage). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 "
Auburn to Albany (railroad) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 "
Albany to New York (Steamboat). . . . . . . . . . . . . ..10 "
Delays between Buffalo and New York). . . . . . . . .. 9 "
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 87 hours
"One could hardly wish," says the Editor, "to travel 775 miles in a less period." The trip has since been made in less than 20 hours, or not one-fourth of the time of 1839.
In June, 1839, the Steamboat Illinois made the " quick trip " of a passage front Chicago to Buffalo (1,047 miles) in 60 hours, or 17 1/2 miles per hour. The " quick passage " between Buffalo and Detroit (300 miles) of 211 hours is noted in June, 1839.
The following were the rates for passage and freight on Lake Erie for the year 1840, to wit:
Buffalo to Cabin. Steerage. Horses, & c.
Dunkirk $2.00 $1.50 $2.00
Cleveland 6.00 2.50 5.00
Sandusky 7.00 3.00 6.00
Toledo and Detroit 8.00 3.00 6.00
FREIGHTS.
Heavy. Light. Bbl. Bulk.
Dunkirk (per 100 lbs.) 25c. 35c. 38c.
Cleveland 27 40 50
Sandusky, Toledo and Detroit, 30 4 50
DOWN FREIGHTS.
Flour per barrel, 20c.; Provisions, 10c.; Ashes, 20c.; Wool and Peltries, 25c.
Bituminous Coal, as fuel, was first used on the Lakes about 1840, previous to which time wood had been the sole reliance. During the winter of 1840-41, a number of Steamboats were so altered as to enable them to use coal, which was found to be less expensive. Among such steamers was the Bunker Hill, which made four revolutions of its engine more per minute than had been reached with wood. The supply of coal was wholly from Western Pennsylvania, where a good article had then recently been found, which was delivered at Erie and sold for $3.00 per ton.
Under the arrangements made by the Steamboat Combination in 1845, the same steamers were made to supply both Toledo and Monroe, a condition of' things by no means satisfactory to the people of' the former City. A public meeting was held June 9th, of which Mavor Brigham was President, V. H. Ketcham and Henry Bennett, Vice Presidents; and Decius Wadsworth and S. B. Scott, Secretaries; when it was declared that such arrangement was "highly prejudicial to our business and interests as citizens, and unjustly oppressive upon the traveling public, and causing a delay in most cases of 24 hours in the transmission of the mails." As the most ready and certain mode of' relief from such wrong, the meeting "requested and instructed the City Council " to appropriate such sum as might be necessary-not to exceed $10,000-to be used by the Mayor in securing the control of the Steamboat Indiana, to run directly between Toledo and Buffalo, in opposition to the combination line, unless the existing grievance be removed. It is understood that this plan was not successful. The Indiana was controlled by Buffalo parties, prominent among whom was D. O. Mills, a young man then in business at that point; since a successful operator in California mining stock; and now a resident of New York City. The Indiana continued to run to Toledo, but as a " Combination " Boat, and was commanded by Captain C. C. Roby, who, with his family, was lost by the burning of the Steamer Griffith, near Cleveland, in 1850, then under his command.
The Toledo and Buffalo Steamboat line in May, 1846, was constituted as follows: The Troy, Capt. S. F. Atwood; the Indiana, Capt. I. T. Pheatt; the Clinton, Capt. Hart; the Harrison, Capt. Parker; the Wayne, Capt. A. D. Perkins; and the Franklin, Capt. Edmonds.
The following was given in 1843, upon credible authority, as a full list of Steamboats built on the Lakes up to 1843, with the dates and places of construction, to wit:
Name. Tons. Built at. Date.
Walk-in-the-Water 340 Black Rock 1818
Superior 300 Buffalo 1822
Chippewa 100 " 1824
Henry Clay 348 Black Rock 1825
Pioneer 230 " 1825
Niagara 180 " 1826
Wm. Penn 270 Erie 1826
Enterprise 250 Cleveland 1826
Peacock 120 Barcelona 1829
Newburyport 75 Erie 1829
Sheldon Thompson 242 Huron 1830
456 - HISTORY OF TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY.
Name. Tons. Built at Date.
Ohio 187 Fremont 1830
Adelaide 230 Chippewa 1830
Gratiot 63 Charleston 1831
Pennsylvania 395 Erie 1832
New York 325 Black Rock 1832
Gen. Brady. 100 Detroit 1832
Uncle Sam 280 Grosse Isle 1832
Perseverance 50 Erie 1832
Washington (1st) 609 Huron 1833
Michigan 472 Detroit 1833
Daniel Webster 358 Black Rock 1833
Detroit 240 Toledo 1833
Lady of Lake 26 Mt. Clemens 1833
Gov. Marcy 161 Black Rock 1833
North America 362 Conneaut 1833
Oliver Newberry 170 Palmer 1833
Delaware 170 Huron 1833
Victory 70 Buffalo 1834
Com. Porter 342 Black Rock 1834
Thos. Jefferson 428 Erie 1834
Com. Perry 352 Perrysburg 1834
Monroe 341 Monroe 1834
Mazeppa 130 Buffalo 1834
Sandusky 377 Sandusky 1834
Minessetunks 250 Goodrich. 1834
Gen. Jackson 50 Mt. Clemens 1834
Jack Downing 80 Sandusky 1834
Little Western 60 Chatham 1834
Robert Fulton 368 Cleveland 1835
Columbus 391 Huron 1835
Townsend 312 Buffalo 1835
United States 366 Huron 1835
Chicago 186 St. Joseph 1835
Taylor 95 Silver Creek 1835
Thames 160 Chatham 1835
DeWitt Clinton 413 Huron 1836
Julia Palmer 300 Buffalo 1836
Little Erie 149 Detroit 1836
Parcelona 132 Dunville 1836
United 37 Detroit 1836
St. Clair, 250 Sandusky 1836
Don Quixotte 80 Toledo 1836
Dave Crockett 18 Brunersburg 1836
Cincinnati 116 Sandusky 1836
Illinois 755 Detroit 1837
Rochester 472 Richmond 1837
Madison 630 Erie 1837
Cleveland 580 Huron 1837
Wisconsin 700 Conneaut 1837
Erie 497 Erie 1837
Constellation 483 Charleston 1837
Bunker Hill 457 " 1837
Constitution 443 Conneaut 1837
New England 416 Black Rock 1837
Milwaukee 410 Grand Island 1837
Gen. Wayne 300 Perrysburg 1837
Macomb 110 Mt. Clemens 1837
Star 128 Belvidere 1837
Commerce 80 Sandusky 1837
Mason 53 Grand Rapids 1837
Great Western 780 Huron 1838
Buffalo 613 Buffalo 1838
Chesepeake 412 Maumee City 1838
Vermillion 385 Vermillion 1838
Lexington 363 Charleston 1838
Fairport 259 Fairport 1838
Red Jacket 148 Grand Island 1838
Gov. Vance 75 Perrysburg. 1838
James Allen 250 Chicago 1838
Washington (2d) 380 Ashtabula 1838
Dole 162 Chicago 1838
Trowbridge 52 Kalamazoo 1838
John Marshal 51 Perrysburg 1838
Owashenonk 45 Grand Haven 1838
Patronage 56 St. Joseph 1838
Gen. Scott 210 Huron 1839
Chatauqua 161 Buffalo 1839
Brothers 150 Chatham 1839
Kent 180 " 1839
Huron 140 Newport 1839
Harrison (1st) 63 Erie 1839
Missouri 612 Vermillion 1840
Harrison (2d) 326 Maumee 1840
Waterloo 98 Black Rock 1840
Minos 400 Chippewa 1840
Indiana 534 Toledo 1841
Franklin 231 Alginac 1842
Nile 600 Detroit 1843
Union 64 Black Rock 1843
Caroline* 46 Charleston, S. ----
In his letters to the Albany Evening Journal, in connection with the Chicago Harbor Convention of July, 1847, Thurlow Weed gave some particulars of life on board the Lake Steamers of that time. The passengers breakfasted " as at the Astor House" (then high water mark in hotel life), whenever they pleased between 7 and 11 A. M. Had lunch at 12; dined at 2 ; tea at 7 ; and supper at 10 P. M. The Steamer on which Mr. Weed made the trip to and from Chicago, was the St. Louis, Capt. Fred. Wheeler, and he gives a list of " stores" consumed on the trip (as taken from the Steward's bills), which was as follows
16 quarters fresh Beef. 3 bbls. Corned Beef,
22 Lambs, 2 " " Pork,
11 Sheep, 15 boxes Soda Biscuit.
9 Calves, 4 barrels Crackers,
18 Pigs, 4 large Cheeses,
600 Chickens, 12 kegs Pickled Oysters,
5 dozen Turkeys, 12 kegs Pickled Lobsters,
40 Hams, 6 barrels Flour,
128 live Lobsters, 2 " Indian Meal.
450 lbs. Bass, Trout, etc., 20 " Apples,
150 lbs. Halibut, 1 " Mackerel,
60 Beef Tongues, 8 boxes Raisins,
125 Sweetbreads, 6 " Oranges,
800 dozen Eggs, 45 dozen Soda,
30 dozen Ale, 16 " Porter,
24 baskets Champagne, 16 " Maderia,
9 dozen Port, 15 " Claret,
18 " Congress-Water, 14 " Cider,
7 boxes Lemons, 2 barrels Crushed Sugar,
4,000 Cigars, 6 wheelbarrow loads of
Mackinaw Trout, White
Fish, etc., etc.
The Steamboat Chesepeake came into collision with the Schooner John Porter, four or five miles off Conneaut, Ohio, at 12:30 A. M., June 10, 1847, when both crafts sunk. Seven lives were lost-four passengers (George Van Doren, Fremont, Ohio; E. Cone, Bellevue, Ohio ; S. Yerk of Tiffin, and Mrs. Hock, Watertown, N. Y.), and three of the crew. Among the 55 passengers saved, were W. H. Hoyt, then
* Rebuilt at Ogdensburg, N. Y.; was employed on the Hudson River; passed by Canal to Buffalo, and was the Steamer burned by the British authorities at
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of Norwalk, and now (1887) of Toledo; Chauncy Dwight and Miss A. Dwight, of Monroeville; Robert M. Shoemaker, of Republic, Ohio (died in Florida in 1885); and A. M. Stem, Green Springs, Seneca County. One of the earliest sailors in this portion of the Lakes was Captain S. F. Atwood. Commencing in 1830, he commanded 17 different Steamboats, to wit: The Argo, Gen. Jackson, Gen. Brady, Lady of the Lake, Oliver Newberry, McComb, James Monroe, Gen. Harrison, Fulton, Troy, Arrow, DeWitt Clinton, John Owen, Ariel, Bay City, Dart, T. Whitney and Philo Parsons. During all these years, but four lives were lost from boats under his command. Captain Atwood's face was among the most familiar of the Lake sailors in Toledo, having been largely in the Detroit trade.
The Steamboats Western Metropolis and City of Buffalo, in 1857, made the trip from Toledo to Buffalo in 13- hours, being 20 miles per hour, against Railroad time of 24 miles per hour.
The American Transportation Company was composed of the Swiftsure and Railroad Lines of Tow Boats on Hudson River, in connection with the Mohawk and Hudson Railway (Albany to Schenectady), the Pilot, Traders, Erie and Ohio, and Eagle Lines, on the Erie Canal ; the Eagle Line of Steamboats and Sail Vessels on the Lakes; and the American Transportation Line on the Ohio Canal. The owners and Agents were A. Van Santvoord. P. Grandin, E. D. Robinson and D. P. Parker, New York ; C. Robinson, H. Niles, and Wm. B. Knox, Albany ; S. Hurd & Co., Schenectady; Treat & Carter, Buffalo; H. Wright & Co., Rochester; Scott & Carter, Cleveland ; Forsyth & Hazard, Maumee City ; Mead, Kellogg & Co.. Detroit.
In 1838, James Wolcott & Co- (J. Wolcott, A. J. Hackley and James Howe) were Agents at Maumee City for the following Erie Canal Lines: The National Line; the New York and Buffalo, and Utica and Buffalo Lines ; the Oswego Line (via Oswego and Welland Canals) ; and the Lake and River Line, via Oswego and Welland Canals.
In the Spring of 1841, there were 50 Steamboats on the Lakes. Of these, 20 constituted four regular lines running out of Buffalo, as follows:
To Chicago-The Illinois, Great Western, Madison, Missouri, Wisconsin and Rochester. To Detroit The Cleveland, Erie, Buffalo, Constellation, New England, and Bunker Hill. To Toledo-The Constitution, Wayne, Fulton, Clinton, Perry and Vermillion. Beside these, the Chautauqua and Fairport ran to Erie.
The Steamboat Toledo was launched at Toledo, August 16, 1841. She was built by Captains Church and Keating. A marked peculiarity of the case, was the fact that intoxicating liquors were excluded from the yard and shops during the construction of the Boat. The consequence was, that the employees at all times conducted themselves with "the utmost order and decorum," and won the special respect of the community.
A " Steamboat Combination " was formed by seven Boats constituting the Buffalo and Toledo daily line in 1842, to wit: The Gen. Wayne, Benj. Franklin, Rochester, Gen. Harrison, Gen. Scott, Robert Fulton and Com. Perry. The rates of' fare (19 per cent. less than 1841) were as follows: From Buffalo to Cleveland-cabin, $4.50; deck, $2.50; to Toledo and Detroit, $6.50 and $3.00 ; Mackinaw, $16.00 and $8.00 ; Milwaukee and Chicago, $18.00 and $10.00.
The Steamboat Indiana, Captain I. T. Pheatt, went first into service in June, 1842. She was of 600 tons; length of deck, 177 feet; breadth of beam, 26 feet. She came to be one of the most popular Boats on the Lakes.
The first Propeller run on Lake Erie was built at Buffalo by Bidwell, Banta & Co. for Messrs. Hollister of that City. Its consort, the Sampson, was built the same season, at Perrysburg, as was the Emigrant, at Cleveland. It was said that the last two cleared the entire cost of construction during that and the succeeding year (1844). With its name changed to Hercules, the Emigrant was still in service as late as 1862, when she was owned at Detroit and employed in the Toledo and Lake Huron trade.
In 1852, the Toledo and Buffalo line of Steamers, running in connection with the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad, began the use of' anthracite coal, which is said to have been the introduction of that article for fuel on the Lakes.
The first Atlantic Steamer at Toledo, was the Free Trader, which arrived from Montreal May 19, 1848, having been nine days on the way. She stopped at Hamilton, Port Stanley and Cleveland, and her sailing time was six days. Her stowage capacity was 3,500 barrels of Flour, and was propelled by a low pressure engine of 75-horse power, at about 12 miles per hour. She was built expressly for the Lake and Atlantic trade, and owned by Hooker, Horton & Co., Montreal. It was calculated that Flour could be taken from. Toledo to Montreal for 45 cents per barrel; Wheat for 10 cents; and heavy freights for $4.50 per ton. Tolls on the Welland and St. Lawrence Canals were then 10 cents for Flour, and 3,j cents for Wheat.
The first iron Propeller employed on the Lakes, was built in 1862, at Buffalo, by David Bell, for E. T. Evans. She was 200 feet over all, 29 feet beam, and 14 feet deep ; engine, low pressure, 40-inch bore, 36-inch stroke; boiler, nine feet diameter and 18 long, wheel, 10 feet diameter; cost, $68,000-engine and boiler costing $14,000.
In July, 1862, Smith & Rogers completed for J Adam Grauff a new Steamer for pleasure uses. The hull was 26 feet in length, six feet wide, and two feet deep. The engine was of two-horse power, with three-inch bore and 5z
458 - HISTORY OF TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY.
inch stroke. The boiler, built by Hotzman & Co. of Toledo, was five feet in length, made in the form of first-class Steamboat boilers, and capable of propelling the craft at the rate of eight miles per hour. It was named Dodd I. King, after a son of Charles A. King, Toledo.
The New York Central Propeller Line (Buffalo and Toledo) was composed as follows, in the Spring of 1863: Toledo, Capt. Thomas Watts ; Marquette, Capt. Harry Watts; Equinox, Capt. James F. Snow; Eclipse, Capt. Thomas Crosby; Equator, Capt. J. G. Hinde; Cuyahoga, Capt. Kelley; Orontes, Capt. Neil Carney ; Arexes, Capt. John Parsons. Alfred Chesebrough was then the Agent of the Central Road, and John B. Carson of the Propeller Line.
The Erie Railway Steamboat line between Buffalo and Toledo in 1864, included the following Boats : Wabash, Capt. John Kirby ; Passaic, Capt. James S. Mitchell ; Canisteo, Capt. Geo. Blackman ; New York, Capt. H. A. Sisson ; Acme, Capt. J. W. Hathaway; Elmira, Capt. Wm. Thorne; Pittsburgh, Capt. Simon Monro. S. D. Caldwell was the manager of the line; Washington Bullard, the Toledo Agent; and Alonzo Godard the Toledo Consignee.
From 1827 to 1864, the earliest opening of Buffalo harbor was March 7, 1842, and the latest May 16, 1837, the average being about April 15th.
The Propeller Phoenix was burned in Lake Michigan, 17 miles from Sheboygan, November 21, 1847, with loss of 200 lives, of whom 150 were Hollanders. It was the most serious event of the kind that then had occurred. The Propeller was owned by Pease & Allen, Buffalo. Among the lost was the Second Engineer, W. Owen, of Toledo.
Up to July, 1838, there had been on Lake Erie Steamboat accidents, endangering human life, as follows : That of the Walk-in-the-Water, near Buffalo, 1822-no lives lost. The (first) Washington, at Point Albino, Canada, 1833-no lives lost. The Pioneer, on Lake Michigan, 1834-no lives lost. Second Washington, June, 1833, burned, with loss of 20 to 30 lives. Beside these casualties, boilers exploded on the William Peacock, with loss of eight or 10 lives, and on the Com. Perry, with loss of one life.
Within three years, ended July, 1860, five Brigs, 40 Schooners, 10 Barques and eight Tugs were taken from the Lakes for use on the Atlantic, in consequence of the extreme depression of trade here.
The Lake traffic, since soon after the opening of the lines of Railway along the Southern shore of Lake Erie and through Canada, has been undergoing change, both in modes and extent. For some years, those interested in the water route felt much confidence that the chief traffic of the new rival would be transporting during the Winter season more or less of freight which otherwise would await the opening of navigation, there being no serious apprehension of competition while the water course was open. This view was favored by the lack of facilities with the Railway to dispose of the traffic. But as these were increased and new lines opened, the water route gradually came to realize that it had something substantial to compete with in its new rival. The Steamboats were first to suffer in the loss of their best traffic-that of passengers-which early began to seek the more rapid transit. Ere long, propellers were employed, with double purpose of accommodating the limited travel and providing for the growing grain trade and Westward-bound freights. For many years, these were maintained with more or less success; but the advance of the land competitor was unabated, and in time the propeller gradually yielded its ground, as had done the side-wheeler and the sail. Meantime, steam was employed to considerable extent in the movement of Barges, though these were chiefly employed West of Buffalo, and largely between Lake Erie and Lakes Huron and Superior, in traffic not accessible by rail competition. TABLES NOT SHOWN
LAKE MARINE. - 459
It is here seen that in 1862, the Canal brought over 30 per cent. of the Wheat supply ; whereas, in 1886, its delivery was less than 2 per cent. The proportions of disposal in 1862 were, by Lake, 97 per cent., and by rail, one-sixth of 1 per cent. The proportions in the case of Flour are also marked. In 1862, the Lake took 61 per cent.; while in 1886, less than one-half of 1 per cent. went by that route.
These figures indicate something of the state of the contest between rail and water in this section at the close of the season of 1886. The condition and prospect were not hopeful for " nature's highway." The traffic for 1887 has been much more favorable to the Lake route, freights and prices being more favorable. This, however, is not due so much to a recovery of the breadstuffs traffic, as to large increase in other classes of freights, of which coal for the Northwest is an important item.
An effort is now being made to secure a line of Propellers between Toledo and Buffalo, of which none has existed for some time.