The ''Tashmoo'' was a

sidewheeler A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were ...

steamboat on

Lake St. Clair Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day ...

and

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Straits of Ma ...

. It was famous for being one of the fastest ships, at the time, on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...

Construction

The ''Tashmoo'' was the first ship constructed in 1900 and was launched on December 31, 1899. It was built by the Detroit Shipbuilding Company in

Wyandotte, Michigan Wyandotte ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 census. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detroit on the Detroit River, and it is part of the col ...

for Detroit's White Star Steamship Company. The ''Tashmoo'' was nicknamed the "White Flyer" and, because of the number of windows on the ship, the "Glass Hack."

Operations

The ''Tashmoos regular route was from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...

. It made several stops along the way, including at its namesake,

Tashmoo Park Tashmoo Park was an amusement park in Algonac, Michigan. Opened in 1897, it closed in 1951. Most of it was later demolished, though the dance pavilion remains today, used by a marina to store recreational boats over the winter. The park's name wa ...

Steamboat race

After a race between the ''City of Chicago'' and the ''City of Milwaukee'' in September 1900, a Chicago–newspaper boasted that the winner (the ''City of Chicago'') was the "fastest on the lakes". A paper in

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

subsequently listed nine vessels that could have easily beaten the ''City of Chicago''. The list did not mention the ''Tashmoo''. A. A. Parker, the president of the White Star Line, offered $1,000 to any ship that could beat the ''Tashmoo'' in a race. The president of the Cleveland Buffalo Transit Company accepted the challenge on behalf of his ship, the ''City of Erie''. The course was long and went from Cleveland, Ohio to

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

. The ''Tashmoo'' fell behind at the start of the race but quickly regained ground. It was forced to slow after going out of sight of the shore because the "wheelman was not used to steering nlyby compass." The ''Tashmoo'' was later forced to slow again due to an overheating condenser. The ''City of Erie'' eventually beat the ''Tashmoo'' by 45 seconds, but the ''Tashmoo'' had been catching up to the ''City of Erie'' before the finish. A. A. Parker offered the owners of the ''City of Erie'' $10,000 for a rematch, but they refused the offer, although they later admitted that the ''Tashmoo'' was the faster ship.

End of service

On December 8, 1927, the ''Tashmoo'' snapped its

moorings A mooring is any permanent structure to which a vessel may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to forestall free movement of the ship on the water. An ''a ...

during a

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively referred to as Det ...

. It collided with a ferry and was found further upstream, stopped by the

Belle Isle Bridge The MacArthur Bridge is a bridge that spans the Detroit River between Detroit, Michigan and Belle Isle. The bridge, which features nineteen total arches across , provides main access to Belle Isle. Completed in 1923 for $2.635 million USD, it ...

. Two

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

s pulled the ''Tashmoo'' away from bridge, but the cables broke again and the ship once again headed for the bridge. The ship was away from the bridge before the tugboats were able to get the ''Tashmoo'' secured again. The ship was eventually repaired. On June 18, 1936, the ''Tashmoo'' struck a submerged rock as it was leaving Sugar Island. The ship was able to dock in

Amherstburg, Ontario Amherstburg is a town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. In 1796, Fort Malden was established here, stimulating growth in the settlement. The fort has been designated as a National Historic Site. The town is ...

, and be evacuated before it sank in of water. It was eventually scrapped. It was entered into the

National Maritime Hall of Fame The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serve as officers in the United States Merchan ...

in 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tashmoo 1899 ships History of Detroit Great Lakes ships Ships built in Wyandotte, Michigan Paddle steamers Passenger ships of the United States Maritime incidents in 1936 Shipwrecks of Canada