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St. Clair Freighter Walk Starting Point

You are vieweing item 23 of 23 in this tour.

This is a contributing entry for St. Clair Freighter Walk Starting Point and only appears as part of that tour.Learn More.

Le Griffon Built - 1679 40 ft. x 15 ft The Griffin was the first ship built above the falls on the Niagara River. It was a 45-ton barque carrying seven cannon. LaSalle and Father Louis Hennepin set out on Le Griffon’s maiden voyage on August 7, 1679 with a crew of 32, sailing across Lake Erie, up the St. Clair River, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan through uncharted waters that had previously been explored only by canoe.


Artist's sketch of Le Griffon based on written documents

Boat, Watercraft, Vehicle, Naval architecture

Brass plaque showing Le Griffon data

Font, Gas, Signage, Vehicle registration plate

While you are standing next to the plaque for Le Griffon, look back to the starting point by the statue of the Waving Lady to "experience" the length of this historic vessel..

St. Clair, by Charles Homberg, St. Clair Historical Commission, 2007; St. Clair Historical Museum and Research Center archives; Great Lakes Ships data base, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Alpena, Michigan; Great Lakes Freighters by Rand Shackleton, Thunder Bay Press, 2003.