WELCOME (MARKER #19)
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
The tiles on this marker present an illustration of the wooden ferry WELCOME carrying passengers and cargo across the St. Clair River between Courtright, Ontario and St. Clair, Michigan. The 80 ft. double-deck WELCOME was the second last of 30 schooners, freighters and specialty boats built by Simon Langell in his shipyards at St. Clair. For several years, the WELCOME was owned by the Douglas Transportation Co., a subsidiary of the Diamond Crystal Salt Company, carrying cargo in connection with the Michigan Central Railway. In 1914 she carried tourist passengers on the Niagara River. Renamed the FRANKLIN in 1917, the ferry operated in the Niagara River area until being abandoned and left to sink in the river near its owner’s place (Charles Fix) on Grand Island, New York.
Images
Marker #19 WELCOME
WELCOME at its regular dock on the St. Clair side of the St. Clair River
WELCOME in ice on St. Clair River
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Vessel Name: WELCOME
Official Number: 81492
Rig: Propeller
Vessel Length: 80.00 feet
Vessel Width: 21.00 feet
Vessel Depth: 9.42 feet
Gross Tonnage: 212.59
Net Tonnage: 129.71
Hull Material: Wood
Builder: Simon Langell
Notes: 1894 – November 12, enrollment issued at Port Huron, MI
1894 – running in connection with Michigan Central Railway
1904 – rebuilt 140/77 tons
1910 – January, owned Douglas Transportation Company, St. Clair, Michigan (a subsidiary of
Diamond Crystal Salt Company)
1913 – Owned Frank F. Fix, Buffalo, NY
1914 – ran Niagara River routes for Erie Beach Amusements, Limited (Niagara Ferry & Train
Company, Incorporated)
1917 – renamed FRANKLIN
1925 – owned Charles Fix, Buffalo, NY
1941 – abandoned for age, lies in sunken condition at Grand Island, NY. Skeleton lies at
Fix’s place Grand Island.
Sources
Great Lakes Maritime Database and photo archives, Great Lakes Maritime Collection, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library. “Shipbuilding in St. Clair,” Research Binder, Ships File Cabinet, St. Clair Historical Museum and Research Center archives. WELCOME, Consolidated Certificate of License and Renewal, United States of America, Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation, Nov. 5, 1941.
St. Clair Historical Museum and Research Center
St. Clair Historical Museum and Research Center
Great Lakes Maritime Database and photo archives, Great Lakes Maritime Collection, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library.