North Lake & North Star
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
North Lake and North Star Built - 1909 373 ft. x 46 ft. x 25 ft. The North Lake and North Star were sister ships built by Great Lakes Engineering Works south of St. Clair in East China Township. Both were launched in 1909 -- the North Lake in March and the North Star in October. Built for Mutual Transit to carry package freight, the North Lake was conscripted by the U.S. Army during World War II and served in the Pacific theater. The North Lake was scrapped in Tokyo, Japan in 1954. The North Star was sold in 1954 to Belgian shipbreakers for scrap.
Images
Photo of the Great Lakes steel hulled freighter North Lake being side launched into the St. Clair River in 1909
Photo of the North Star underway with the various points on the ship displayed graphically.
Photo of the brass plaque on the Boardwalk displaying information on the Great Lakes freighters North Lake and North Star including the year built and length.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
As you walked south from the “Starting Point” plaque to this location on the St. Clair River Boardwalk, the brass plaque marked North Lake & North Star on the boardwalk represents the bow of the Great Lakes freighters North Lake & North Star. The brass plaque at the Starting Point represents the stern or back of every ship included in this walking tour. By looking back to the starting point, you are able to get an estimate of the size or 373 ft. length of the North Lake and the North Star.
Sources
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.