Stewart J. Cort

Stewart J. Cort Built - 1972 1000 ft. x 106 ft. x 45 ft. The Stewart J. Cort was the first 1,000-footer on the Great Lakes. As a full 1,000 ft. vessel, the Stewart J. Cort would have been too long to go through the lock system on the St. Lawrence Seaway so she was built in Mississippi with only the bow and stern sections. The construction length was 182 ft. x 75 ft. wide. She was nicknamed "Stubby". In Erie, Pennsylvania, "Stubby" was lengthened by adding an 818 ft. midbody. The fully-lengthened Stewart J. Cort's maiden voyage was in May 1972. Many people remember gathering along the St. Clair River to watch her go by the very first time. She is easy to spot from a distance as she is the only 1,000 footer to have her pilot house in the bow (front).

As you walked south from the “Starting Point” plaque to this location on the St. Clair River Boardwalk, the brass plaque marked Stewart J. Cort on the boardwalk represents the bow point of this Great Lakes freighter.  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 1000 ft. length of the Stewart J. Cort.

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. "Know Your Ships," by Roger LeLievre, copyright 1973.