by Chad Fraser
My wife, Amy Harkness, played a critical role, keeping my spirits up while I spent hours writing and researching. My mother, Linda Fraser, and my stepfather and good friend, Jim Klym, provided boundless moral support in the way only those closest to you can. Shannon Whibbs, also of Dundurn, did a masterful job of editing the final text.
On Pelee Island, Ronald Tiessen kindly donated a good deal of time, and threw open the doors of his impressive Pelee Island Heritage Centre. The Centre’s publications, many of which are listed in the bibliography of this book, were of particular help in uncovering Pelee’s mysteries, especially the story of its lighthouse and the Battle of Pelee Island during the Upper Canadian Rebellion of 1837.
Gayle Struska, Louise Eidsmoe, Robert R. Eidsmoe, and Edward Bertsch shared crucial information relating to their countryman and ancestor, Amund Eidsmoe, and his terrifying night aboard the steamer Atlantic. James Donahue provided some much-needed direction on the Clarion incident.
At Put-in-Bay, Susie Cooper of the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society graciously offered me access to her files, which unleashed a wealth of information on the Battle of Lake Erie and the rather obscure story of the Green Island lighthouse. Michael Gora of Middle Bass Island was especially patient with my many questions, and deserves special praise for reprinting and significantly adding to Lydia Ryall’s 1913 Sketches and Stories of the Lake Erie Islands, a rare and little-known chronicle of the early history of the islands, which was of immeasurable value to my research.
Staff at the Great Lakes Historical Society in Vermilion, Ohio, were also helpful and, in my opinion, the Society’s quarterly journal, Inland Seas, should be on the “must-read” list of anyone interested in the colourful past of the Great Lakes. The Johnson’s Island Preservation Society staff recommended a number of sources that were vital to understanding day-to-day life at the island’s Civil War prison camp.
In Amherstburg, I benefited from the assistance of John MacLeod at the Fort Malden National Historic Site, who recommended some excellent secondary sources and allowed me access to the fort’s files, which provided useful background on the Battle of Lake Erie and the Battle of Pelee Island. Kerry Wamsley and Debbie Reid allowed me the run of the Port Dover Harbour Museum, which does a wonderful job of showcasing Lake Erie art and shipping memorabilia, including the rich history of the area’s fishing industry and priceless artifacts from the Atlantic.
In Toronto, staff at the Ontario Archives and the Toronto Reference Library were a great help. Both the Archives and the Reference Library are underrated services that contain a wealth of newspapers, original documents, letters, reports, and much more relating to the recent history and early exploration of Lake Erie. Special thanks also go to the Ontario Arts Council for supporting this project through the Writers’ Reserve program.
Undoubtedly I am forgetting people, and I apologize for this. But those of you who provided support and encouragement know who you are, and I am forever grateful. And, of course, I alone am responsible for the errors and omissions that will inevitably crop up over time.
Associated Sites
Fort Malden National Historic Site
P.O. Box 38, 100 Laird Avenue,
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada N9V 2Z2
Tel.: (519) 736-5416
Web: http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/on/malden/index_E.asp
Fort Malden, in Amherstburg, Ontario, was built in 1796 and once served as one of Canada’s bulwarks against American expansion into the Midwest. During the War of 1812, it housed the colony’s Indian Department and was the home port of the British fleet on Lake Erie, which was lost to the Americans in the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813. Today, the fort’s earthworks are still plainly visible, and the museum is rich with artifacts from the area’s days of early settlement and warfare. Special attention is paid to Fort Malden’s role in defending the colony against William Lyon Mackenzie’s loyalists during the Upper Canadian Rebellion of 1837.
Great Lakes Historical Society
480 Main Street
Vermilion, Ohio, USA 44089
Tel.: (440) 967-3467 or (800) 893-1485
Web: http://www.inlandseas.org
Located in picturesque Vermilion, Ohio, the Great Lakes Historical Society’s Inland Seas Maritime Museum focuses heavily on the history of shipping and navigation on the Great Lakes (fittingly, as Vermilion was once known as a town of freighter captains). Highlights include interactive exhibits on navigation and seamanship, art, and artifacts, the most notable of which being the reconstructed wheelhouse of the ore/car carrier Canopus, from which you can enjoy a stunning view of Lake Erie. The Society’s research library is widely known for its wealth of documents pertaining to Great Lakes ships and shipwrecks.
Lake Erie Islands Historical Society
P.O. Box 25, 25 Town Hall Place
Put-in-Bay, Ohio, USA 43456
Tel.: (419) 285-2804
Web: http://www.leihs.org
Located in the resort town of Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island, the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society is a treasure trove of artifacts and information on the settlement of the American Lake Erie islands, each of which has a unique character all its own. Significant space is devoted to Oliver Hazard Perry’s victory over the British fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.
Long Point Provincial Park
Box 99
Rowan, Ontario, Canada N0E 1M0
Tel: (519) 586-2133
Web: http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/long.html
Recognized as a United Nations World Biosphere Reserve, Long Point boasts some of the best fishing and finest beaches on Lake Erie. It is also rife with history; the site of the Old Cut, a natural shipping channel that was filled in by a vicious storm in 1906, is just outside the gates to the park. In the mid-nineteenth century, local heroine Abigail Becker lived in a small cabin among Long Point’s many sand dunes before she made headlines by rescuing the crew of the stranded schooner Conductor from a terrible fate in November 1854. Because of its great length (nearly forty kilometres), Long Point spans nearly half of Lake Erie, which made it a rum-running hotspot during the Prohibition years (and a magnet for shipwrecks).
Marblehead Lighthouse State Park
110 Lighthouse Drive
Marblehead, Ohio, USA 43440
Contact: East Harbor State Park
1169 North Buck Road
Lakeside-Marblehead, Ohio, USA 43440
Tel: (419) 734-4424
Web: http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/tabid/763/Default.aspx
A great place for a picnic, the Marblehead Lighthouse State Park is a peaceful spot to sit and watch Lake Erie’s waves crash over the park’s rocky shoreline. The lighthouse, in immaculate condition and long since automated, is one of the oldest on the Great Lakes and is still needed to guide vessels into the shallows of Sandusky Bay and through the sometimes ornery South Passage. A museum occupies the former keeper’s dwelling.
Pelee Island Heritage Centre
West Dock Place
Pelee Island, Ontario, Canada N0R 1M0
Tel.: (519) 724-2291
Web: http://www.peleeislandmuseum.ca
Thoughtfully curated by Pelee resident Ronald Tiessen, the Pelee Island Heritage Centre contains a number of displays and a great deal of information about the history of Canada’s southernmost community, from its early settlement by William McCormick and his family to the environmental challenges the island faces today. Upstairs, an exhibit on uninhabited Middle Island, which lies to Pelee’s south, explores Middle’s role as a gambling and rum-running haven during Prohibition and its long-defunct lighthouse.
Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial
P.O. Box 549
Put-in-Bay, Ohio, USA 43456
Tel.: (419) 285-2184
Web: http://www.nps.gov/pevi
Built to mark the centenary of Oliver Hazard Perry’s victory over the British fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813, Perry’s Monument, as it’s locally kn
own, towers over the village of Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island. The view of the Lake Erie island chain from the observation deck is breathtaking, and on a clear day the Canadian mainland is visible to the north. The monument is dedicated to the peace that has existed between the two nations since the War of 1812 and, fittingly, the remains of six officers from the Battle of Lake Erie — three American and three British — lie in a communal grave that is marked by a plaque on the main floor at the monument’s base.
Point Abino Lighthouse Tours
Tel.: (905) 871-1600, ext. 2431
Web: http://www.town.forterie.ca (Select “Infrastructure
Services” from the “Town Departments” menu, then navigate
to “Parks & Leisure,” and “Point Abino lighthouse.”)
The Point Abino lighthouse can only be accessed via a private road leading to the point’s tip. As such, public visitation is restricted, but guided tours are available during the summer. Trips feature a trolley ride to the lighthouse and a look inside this unique heritage building. The Point Abino lighthouse succeeded the ill-fated Lightship No. 82, which used to mark the tricky rock shelf that juts out from here until the vessel was lost in the Great Storm of 1913. It is recognized as the worst to ever hit the Great Lakes. Call or check the web site for tour dates.
Point Pelee National Park
407 Monarch Lane, R.R. 1
Leamington, Ontario, Canada N8H 3V4
Tel.: (519) 322-2365 or (888) 773-8888
Web: http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/on/pelee/index_E.asp
Canada’s southernmost mainland point is a haven for birdwatchers and its rich marshes, gentle trails, and sandy beaches have been attracting more and more paddlers and ecotourists in recent years. Its shifting tip is off-limits to swimming and the treacherous shoals that lurk between here and Pelee Island, Canada’s southernmost community, have been the final resting place of an enormous number of vessels over the years.
Port Dover Harbour Museum
44 Harbour Street
Port Dover, Ontario, Canada N0A 1N0
Tel.: (519) 583-2660
Web: http://www.norfolktourism.ca (Click on “Things to
Do” and navigate to “Museums & Historic sites” to locate
the link to museum.)
The Port Dover Harbour Museum inhabits part of an old fishing net shanty on the waterfront of this cozy port town. This is no coincidence; the museum is devoted mainly to shipping, including commercial fishing, which is still a key driver of the local economy. Of particular interest are artifacts from the passenger steamer Atlantic, which took over 200 souls to the bottom of Lake Erie on the evening of August 19, 1852. Inhabiting the net shanty is a wide variety of fishing artifacts, from nets and early gear to models showing the evolution of fishing vessels over the past two hundred years. The wintering place of Sulpician missionaries François Dollier de Casson and René de Bréhant de Galinée, the first Europeans to spend a winter on Lake Erie, is located nearby, at the mouth of the Lynn River.
S.S. Meteor Whaleback Museum
300 Marina Drive
Superior, Wisconsin, USA 54880
Tel.: (715) 394-5712
Web: http://www.superiorpublicmuseums.org/ssmeteor
NewMETEORMAIN.htm
Now high and dry on Barker’s Island in Superior Wisconsin, the Meteor was first launched in 1896. One of Captain Alexander McDougall’s innovative “whaleback” designs (of which the James B. Colgate, lost on Lake Erie in the “Black Friday” storm of October 1916, was one), she carried all manner of cargo, and was even converted into an oil tanker before being brought back to Superior, where she was originally built, and turned into a museum. Visitors can tour the inside of the ship and even see her original steam engine.
U.S. Brig Niagara
150 East Front Street
Erie, Pennsylvania, USA 16507
Tel.: (814) 452-2744
Web: http://www.brigniagara.org
Moored at the Erie Maritime Museum in Erie, Pennsylvania, the Niagara is a reconstruction of the brig that Oliver Hazard Perry used to deliver the final blows to the British fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. As one would expect, the museum pays a great deal of attention to the battle. Aside from the Niagara, it features a reconstruction of the midsection of the Lawrence, Perry’s first flagship on that bloody day. Perry later transferred his flag to the Niagara when the Lawrence, demolished by the relentless British barrage, became too damaged to carry on.
Additional Resources
About the Great Lakes: http://www.abouthegreatlakes.com
Buffalo Light: Guardian of the Harbor: http://www.buffalohistoryworks.com/light/introduction.htm
Another account of the sinking of Lightship No. 82 can be found here.
Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online: http://www.biographi.ca/EN
Great Lakes and Seaway Shipping: http://boatnerd.com
Boatnerd, as it is commonly known, contains a wealth of information for the Great Lakes history enthusiast, with a focus on vessels employed in the shipping trade and lighthouses.
The Great Lakes Atlas: http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/atlas/intro.html
Jointly maintained by Environment Canada and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, The Great Lakes Atlas is a comprehensive guide to the environment, people, and development issues surrounding the Great Lakes region.
Great Lakes Information Network: http://www.great-lakes.net
A plethora of facts and figures on the development, population, and environment of the Great Lakes.
Johnson’s Island Preservation Society: www.johnsonsisland.org
Library and Archives Canada: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca
Lighthouse Digest: http://www.lhdigest.com
Maritime History of the Great Lakes: http://www.hhpl.on.ca/GreatLakes
This site, maintained by Great Lakes historian Walter Lewis, contains a wealth of documents and images relating to the Great Lakes, particularly the shipping trade. It is a valuable archive, particularly of newspaper coverage of Great Lakes shipwrecks. Some of these articles have been referenced in this book.
Middle Bass Island: Middle Bass on the Web: http://www.middlebass.org
Middle Bass Island resident Michael Gora maintains this site, which is an authoritative source of information pertaining not only to the history of Middle Bass, but to the entire Lake Erie island chain.
National Park Service: History & Culture: http://www.nps.gov/history
Norway Heritage: Hands Across the Sea: http://www.norwayheritage.com
Norwegian immigrant Amund Eidsmoe’s firsthand account of the sinking of the Atlantic can be found here.
Parks Canada: National Historic Sites of Canada: http://www.pc.gc.ca/progs/lhn-nhs/index_E.asp
U.S. Brig Niagara: http://www.brigniagara.org
Virtual Museum of New France: http://www.civilization.ca/vmnf/vmnfe.asp
A thorough, user-friendly resource outlining many aspects of life in New France, from the social organization of the colony to explorers like La Salle.
Bibliography
Books
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Atkins, Kenneth S. “Le Griffon: A New View.” Inland Seas 46, no. 3 (1990): 162–169.
Baird, David. Northern Lights: Lighthouses of Canada. Toronto: Lynx Images, 1999.
Barcus, Frank. Freshwater Fury: Yarns and Reminiscences of the Greatest Storm in Inland Navigation. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1960.
Barrett, Harry B. Lore & Legends of Long Point. Don Mills, Ont.: Burns & MacEachern, 1977.
Bourrie, Mark. Many a Midnight Ship: True Stories of Great Lakes Shipwrecks. Toronto: Key Porter Books, 2005.
Bourrie, Mark. True Canadian Stories of the Great Lakes. Toronto: Key Porter Books, 2004.
Bowen, Dana Thomas. Lore of the Lakes. Cleveland: Freshwater Press, 1940.
Bown, Stephen R. Scurvy: How a Surgeon, a Mariner,
and a Gentleman Solved the Greatest Medical Mystery of the Age of Sail. Toronto: Thomas Allen Publishers, 2003.
Boyer, Dwight. Ships and Men of the Great Lakes. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1977.
Boyer, Dwight. True Tales of the Great Lakes. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1971.
Burns, Noel M. Erie: The Lake that Survived. Totowa, NJ: Rowman & Allanheld Publishers, 1985.
Butts, Edward. Outlaws of the Lakes: Bootlegging & Smuggling from Colonial Times to Prohibition. Toronto: Lynx Images, 2004.
Calnan, Joe. “Moise Hillaret: The First Shipwright on the Great Lakes.” Inland Seas 58, no. 3 (2002): 190–207.
Calvert, R. The Story of Abigail Becker, the heroine of Long Point as told by her step-daughter, Mrs. Henry Wheeler. Toronto: William Briggs, 1899.
Campeau, Lucien. “The Discovery of Lake Erie.” Inland Seas 31, no. 2 (1975): 238–252.
Campeau, Lucien. “The Discovery of Lake Erie.” Inland Seas 31, no. 2 (1975): 238–252.
Chesnel, Paul. History of the Cavelier de la Salle. Translated by Andrée Chesnel Meany. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1932.
Dale, Ronald J. The Fall of New France: How the French Lost a North American Empire. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, 2004.
Dale, Ronald J. The Invasion of Canada. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, 2001.
De Casson Dollier, François, and René De Bréhant de Galinée. Exploration of the Great Lakes 1669–1670: Galinee’s Narrative and Map. Translated and edited by James H. Coyne. Toronto: Ontario Historical Society, 1903.
Delafield, Joseph. The Unfortified Boundary: A Diary of the First Survey of the Canadian Boundary Line from St. Regis to Lake of the Woods. Edited by Robert McElroy and Thomas Riggs. New York: n.p., 1943.
