Steamer ''South American'' was a

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 ...

steamer built by the

Great Lakes Engineering Works The Great Lakes Engineering Works (GLEW) was a leading shipbuilding company with a shipyard in Ecorse, Michigan, that operated between 1902 and 1960. Within three years of its formation, it was building fifty percent of the tonnage of all ships ...

Ecorse, Michigan Ecorse ( ') is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,305 at the 2020 census. Ecorse is part of the Downriver community within Metro Detroit. The city shares a northwestern border with the city of Detroi ...

. It was built in 1913/14 for the Chicago, Duluth & Georgian Bay Transit Company. The vessel was launched on February 21, 1914 and was the newer of two near-sister ships, the older one being the ''North American''. The ''South American'' was in length, had a beam, and drew . She was equipped with a 2,200 indicated

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

quadruple-expansion

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

and three

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

-burning

Scotch marine boiler A "Scotch" marine boiler (or simply Scotch boiler) is a design of steam boiler best known for its use on ships. The general layout is that of a short horizontal cylinder. One or more large cylindrical furnaces are in the lower part of the boiler ...

s. She caught fire on September 9, 1924 in winter lay-up at

Holland, Michigan Holland is a city in Ottawa County, Michigan, Ottawa and Allegan County, Michigan, Allegan counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in the West Michigan, western region of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula, the city is si ...

. Her upper works were rebuilt that winter. Also at the time, a second smokestack was added and her coal-fired boilers were converted to oil-burning. In 1967, the ''South American'' departed from her usual schedule to offer trips to the 1967 World's Fair in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. At the end of the season, she was retired from regular passenger service and sold to

Seafarers International Union The Seafarers International Union or SIU is an organization of 12 autonomous trade union, labor unions of sailor, mariners, fishermen and boatmen working aboard vessels flagged in the United States or Canada. Michael Sacco was its president fro ...

in Piney Point,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, as a replacement for the ''North American'' which sank a year prior while in tow there. Failing Coast Guard inspection, she was moved to

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

, where she rotted before being scrapped in 1992 in Baltimore.

References

External links

Marine Historical Society of Detroit: SS South American

New Great Lakes Steamship South American
(''International Marine Engineering''; April 1914, pp. 135–140, article on new ship with profiles, plans and text) {{DEFAULTSORT:South American Great Lakes ships Steamships of the United States 1914 ships Passenger ships of the United States Ships built in Ecorse, Michigan Passenger ships of the Great Lakes