SS ''Milwaukee Clipper'', also known as SS ''Clipper'' , and formerly as SS ''Juniata'', is a retired

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

and automobile

ferry 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 ...

that sailed under two configurations and traveled on all of 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 ...

except

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

. The vessel is now docked in

Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...

''Juniata''

The ''Milwaukee Clipper'' was launched on December 22, 1904, in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, at the shipyards of the

American Shipbuilding Company The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the World War II, Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio, in 1898. It chan ...

. Christened ''Juniata'' when she was launched, she was built for the Anchor Line, the Great Lakes marine division of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

. Her sister ships were the SS ''Tionesta'' of 1902 and SS ''Octorara'' of 1910. The ship is in length, in beam, a depth of , with a gross tonnage of 4333 tons. She carried 350 passengers in staterooms at 18 knots. As originally built, she had a riveted steel hull and a wooden superstructure. For the Pennsylvania Railroad, she carried passengers and freight between

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 ...

and

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

until 1915. That year, the anti-

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

Panama Canal Act, which forbade railroads from owning steamships, went into effect. Forced to divest from its marine divisions, the Pennsylvania Railroad sold its Anchor Line along with four other railroad-owned company fleets, to the newly formed Great Lakes Transit Corporation. Under this flag, she carried passengers along her old routes for another 20 seasons. For the duration of the 1933 season, ''Juniata'' carried passengers to and from Chicago for the Chicago World's Fair. ''Juniata'' was laid up in 1936 due to poor economic conditions as well as new regulations on wooden passenger ships following the ''Morro Castle'' disaster.

''Milwaukee Clipper''

''Juniata'' was moored in Buffalo until being sold in 1940 to Wisconsin & Michigan Steamship Company, a subsidiary of the McKee family-owned Sand Products Corporation of Detroit, MI. She was rebuilt and used as a passenger ship on

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 ...

. ''Juniata'' was extensively modernized at the yard of the

Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, located in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, was a major shipbuilder for the Great Lakes. It was founded in 1902, with the purchase of the "Burger & Burger Shipyard," a predecessor to The Burger Boat Company, and made mainly s ...

. Her boilers were converted to burn fuel oil instead of coal, and the old cabins and wooden superstructure were removed and replaced with steel to meet the new maritime fire safety standards created after the SS ''Morro Castle'' fire off

Asbury Park Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 15,188, a dec ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in 1934. The streamlined forward stack is false and does not ventilate engine exhaust. It is a signature of naval architect George Sharp, whose ideas regarding fireproof ships were first incorporated into ''Juniata''. This stack became standard on many new ships that were to come. Sharp is credited with three historic vessels, ''Milwaukee Clipper'', SS ''Lane Victory'', and NS ''Savannah''. The modernized ship now featured air conditioned staterooms, a children's playroom, a movie theater, a dance floor with a live band, a soda fountain, bar, cafeteria, lounges and sports deck, and capacity to carry 120 automobiles. She was christened ''Milwaukee Clipper'' on June 2, 1941, by Patricia McKee, daughter of Max B. McKee, principal of Sand Products Corporation, owner of the vessel. She made her maiden voyage from Milwaukee to Muskegon the following day. As ''Milwaukee Clipper'', she steamed between

Muskegon Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...

and

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, as well as excursions throughout Lake Michigan visiting various other ports, for 29 seasons. She was also called the "Queen of the Great Lakes" and carried around 900 passengers and 120 automobiles in the summer. The amount of oil used varied per round trip, but was approximately . On week days she made two round trips that took 7 hours each way, using three of the four boilers. On weekends, she made three, six-hour round trips on all four boilers. The crew lists were between 105 and 109, with around 55 of them in the steward's department alone to take care of the around 900 passengers on board. The cost per person in the 1950s was $3.33 and $8.00 extra for an automobile, with an extra 75 cents charged to travel in the forward Club Lounge and to use the forward deck.Interview with Ray Hilt, Clipper Ship Historian, February 6, 2012 During her inaugural season, a space on the Sports Deck was leased to a

Chicago 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 ...

based entertainment firm. The firm placed ten

slot machines A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

onboard, covering them when the ship was in port. Once the ship was three miles from shore, the covers were removed. The slot machines soon came to the attention of the Muskegon County Prosecuting Attorney, who took a trip on the ship to witness the slot machines in use. On July 25, 1941, Sgt. Earl Secrist of the Grand Haven State Police and another officer boarded the ship and attempted to serve a search warrant to Captain Allen K. Hoxie. Hoxie left the wheelhouse and put on civilian clothes while remaining on the ship. The first officer was given orders to pull away from the dock, so the ship departed. Once mid-lake, the officers were informed that they no longer had jurisdiction over the vessel. Secrist used the revolutionary "ship-to-shore" telephone onboard and informed the authorities in Milwaukee of the machines. When the vessel docked in Milwaukee, the slot machines were seized. Eventually, the charges against Captain Hoxie and the owners of the vessel were dropped. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, ''Milwaukee Clipper'' transported defense materials between Muskegon and Milwaukee. The ship had contracts with auto manufacturers to carry new cars during her entire career. The passenger season was between May and September. After that she was under various limited passenger certificates which allowed her to carry a reduced number of passengers and up to 250 automobiles. Passengersclipper

While preparing to leave Milwaukee on January 6, 1949, the ship was caught in a powerful gust of wind. This caused the stern to swing across the riverbank and strike a concrete barrier on the other side. The ship's rudder was snapped off in the incident and the propeller and stern block were damaged. The ship was towed to Manitowoc for six weeks of repairs. By 1970, the company had plans to replace ''Milwaukee Clipper'' with the newer and larger ''Aquarama''. Negotiations regarding dredging the Milwaukee harbor for ''Aquarama'' failed and the plan did not materialize. Ironically, though 1970 was a banner year for ''Milwaukee Clipper'', she stopped running her regular route after that year.

Museum ship

In 1977, ''Milwaukee Clipper'' was purchased by Chicago interests headed by James Gillon, operating out of Navy Pier. They planned to put her on a Chicago to Milwaukee run made popular by the whaleback passenger ship SS ''Christopher Columbus''. Unfortunately, after being towed to Bay Shipbuilding for inspection, financial backing fell through and ''Milwaukee Clipper'' was seized by the U.S. Marshal. After several court cases, the vessel was returned to Gillon, being towed to Chicago in 1980 for use as a museum ship on Navy Pier. In December 1983, ''Milwaukee Clipper'' was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, and in May 1989 the ship was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. and
Today, both plaques are on board the ship. The next year (1990), she was sold to

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. Located along Lake Michigan, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the Li ...

where she served as the centerpiece for their large new marina. After ''Milwaukee Clipper'' was replaced by a new casino ship, she was towed to South Chicago and laid up on the Calumet River. She was sold on December 2, 1997 for use as a museum in

, her old home port. ''Milwaukee Clipper'' is currently docked in Muskegon, Michigan at the old Grand Trunk Ferry dock, undergoing restoration by volunteers of the SS Milwaukee Clipper Preservation, Inc. organization. In the summer season, visitors tour the pilothouse, some staterooms, crew quarters, dance floor, soda bowl, movie theater and more. A large collection of the original Art Deco furniture remains on board. Warren McArthur was the designer and builder of the ship furniture. The frames were all

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

. He designed furniture for buildings, such as theaters, and there were no two that were alike. A piece of ''Milwaukee Clipper'' furniture off the ship is readily identifiable. There are also displays of memorabilia from both ''Juniata'' and ''Milwaukee Clipper'', which include memory books, photographs, brochures, dishes and other items of interest. The ''Clipper'' retains the last American Quadruple Expansion Steam Engine.

Media and legacy

A 45-minute documentary
''The Milwaukee Clipper: A Legend Saved''
was produced by filmmaker Mark Howell in 1997 and shown on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

. The program has interviews with the key people who worked aboard the ship and includes restored 16 mm color film footage of ''Milwaukee Clipper''s christening, sailing, and other operations.

References

External links