SS ''Valley Camp'' is a

lake freighter Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carriers operating on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Freighters typically have a long, narrow hull, a raised pilothouse, and the ...

that served on 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 ...

for almost 50 years and is now a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is a city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County and is the only city within the county. With a population of ...

History

''Valley Camp'' was launched in

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located in Northeast Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River (Ohio), Black River about west of Cleveland. It is the List of cities in Ohio, ninth-most populous city in O ...

, in 1917 as the ''Louis W. Hill'' for the

National Steel Corporation The National Steel Corporation (1929–2003) was a major American steel producer. It was founded on October 1, 1929 through a merger arranged by Weirton Steel with the new Great Lakes Steel Corporation, which was then in the process of construc ...

. She sailed for this company for 38 years hauling iron ore and coal until 1955 when she was sold to the Wilson Marine Transit Company. It was in this fleet that she received her current name. For this company she carried a wider array of bulk goods including grains and stone. ''Valley Camp'' was a member of the Wilson Fleet only until 1959 when the

Republic Steel Corporation Republic Steel is a Mexican steel manufacturer that was once America’s third largest steel producer. It was founded as the Republic Iron and Steel Company in Youngstown, Ohio in 1899. After rising to prominence during the early 20th Century, ...

bought her and several of her Wilson fleetmates, including her identical

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

''Silver Bay'' (formerly ''Albert Heiken'' of National Steel). Republic kept ''Valley Camp''s name, and for that company she hauled iron ore and coal to their mills in

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 ...

;

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 ...

; and

Indiana Harbor, Indiana The Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal is an artificial waterway on the southwest shore of Lake Michigan, in East Chicago, Indiana, which connects the Grand Calumet River to Lake Michigan. It consists of two branch canals, the Lake George Branch and ...

. In 1966, ''Valley Camp'' made her last voyage. She was decommissioned due to problems with her coal-burning boilers. Her twin, ''Silver Bay'', went on to sail until the early 1980s. SS Valley Camp Aerial

Purchased by Le Sault de Sainte Marie Historical Sites, Inc., for $10,000, the ship was towed from Wisconsin to Sault Ste. Marie on July 6, 1968, during Sault Ste. Marie's tri-centennial celebration. As a museum ship, ''Valley Camp'' is 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 ...

. Visitors are able to explore the ship as well as view exhibits in the cargo hold, which houses hundreds of artifacts, paintings, shipwreck items, models, two lifeboats from the wreck of the , and exhibits of objects related to maritime history.

The ship

''Valley Camp'' stretches overall with a keel. She has a beam of and a depth of . Her gross tonnage capacity is 12,000 gross tons. The ship was powered by a triple expansion reciprocating steam engine which she retains to this day. Never the flagship of the fleet, her quarters were spartan yet comfortable. The crews quarters are lined by wood trim and equipped with simple bunks. The wheelhouse is lined with wood and trimmed by brass. Her original steering wheel is in place. In the stern, her original smokestack, including her double-chime whistle, are still in place. Almost unmodified from her original configuration, she is the most intact example of the classic Great Lakes ore carriers that once numbered in the hundreds and few of which survive to this day.

Gallery

File:SS Valley Camp engine.jpg, Her steam engine File:SS Valley Camp funnel.jpg, Looking aft to the stack

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valley Camp, SS Valley Camp Valley Camp Valley Camp Museums in Chippewa County, Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Chippewa County Great Lakes freighters Buildings and structures in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan 1917 ships National Register of Historic Places in Chippewa County, Michigan Ships built in Lorain, Ohio