'Goodrich Transit Line or Goodrich Steamship Line or Goodrich Transportation Company or Goodrich Transit Company was a passenger steamship line operating in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

region, principally in

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

in the 19th and early 20th century.

History

The line was founded in 1868 by Albert Edgar Goodrich (born c. 1825–1826,

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

— 1885). Goodrich merged in April 1868 with the Engelmann line, run by Nathan and Michael Engelmann. What has become The

Burger Boat Company The Burger Boat Company, of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States, is a builder of custom-designed, hand-built pleasure cruisers. The company also produces commercial vessels and has produced military vessels in the past. It is ...

, operating as "Rand & Burger Shipyard" and then "Burger & Burger Shipyard" built many

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

for Goodrich (some are pictured below): the 205' S/S Menominee in 1872, the 165' S/S Depere in 1873, the 205' S/S Chicago in 1874, the 180' S/S City of Ludington in 1880, the 203' S/S City of Racine in 1889, the 201' S/S Indiana in 1890 for Goodrich. The line leased the S.S. ''Christopher Columbus'' in 1899 and operated it in Chicago-Milwaukee excursion service for more than 30 years. Many other ships were operated including the ''Menominee'', ''Muskegon'', ''Chicago'', and ''Milwaukee'' (many of the ships were named after cities serviced). Goodrich was involved in controversy. More than one Goodrich vessel was lost due to shipwreck. The SS '' Alpena'' was lost in October 1880 en route from

Grand Haven, Michigan Grand Haven is a city within the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Ottawa County, Michigan, Ottawa County. Grand Haven is located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River (Michigan), Grand River, for which ...

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and a subsequent investigation took the company to task for poor equipment condition and poorly trained crew. The line was involved in a case versus the

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later Trucking industry in the United States, truc ...

in 1912, ''ICC v. Goodrich Transit Co.'', , which went all the way to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

. On February 4, 1915, the steamer ''Iowa'' (built in 1896 on the hull of the ''Menominee''), on its way to the Port of Chicago with the ''Racine'' (belonging to Chicago Racine & Milwaukee Steamship Company), sent a radio message at 4:15 a.m., as she was about three miles out, that she had encountered heavy ice. The ice was especially bad that winter with ice freezing up to 25 miles from the port. She had been doing okay, under the command of Gerald E. Stufflebeam, as she approached the ice clogged harbor, until the wind shifted then she was crushed by the ice at 10:00 a.m. As the ''Iowa'' sank about two miles out, the 1 passenger and 45 crew left the ship and took refuge on the ice. They started walking toward Chicago as rescuers headed to meet them, including city tugboats. Goodrich went bankrupt in 1933 and its operations ceased permanently.

Gallery

File:MENOMINEE 205" 1872 Wood, Greene-Rand, Burger Shipyard.jpg, S/S Menominee 205' 1872 Wood, Rand & Burger Shipyard File:DEPERE 165" 1873 Wood, Green-Rand & Burger Shipyard.jpg, S/S Depere 165' 1873 Wood, Rand & Burger Shipyard File:CHICAGO 205" 1874 Wood, Greene-Rand & Burger Shipyard.jpg, S/S Chicago 205' 1874 Wood, Rand & Burger Shipyard File:City of Ludington 180' 1880 Wood Burger & Burger Shipyard.jpg, S/S City of Ludington 180' 1880 Wood, Burger & Burger Shipyard File:City of Racine 203' 1889 Wood Burger & Burger Shipyard.jpg, S/S City of Racine 203' 1889 Wood, Burger & Burger Shipyard

References

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History

Gallery

References

Further reading