Local Marine Heritage

A large part of the Marsh Collection is books, files and photographs relating to the marine history of Amherstburg and the Great Lakes system. These items form the nucleus of a future marine museum.

A recent donation:
a painting of the steamer Minneapolis, possibly from the 1890s.

One of our most popular publications is Echo Soundings: Marine News from the Amherstburg Echo. This quarterly publication reprints the "Marine News" columns from the local newspaper, beginnning with its first issue in 1874. These columns are a chronicle of the ships that plied the Great Lakes, the brave people who sailed them and the dramatic events which unfolded on the "inland seas."

An Excerpt from Soundings:

November 24, 1893
"THE LIME-KILN CROSSING.-The Past Week's Mishaps.-Lockwood the Cause.-Immense Fleets in Amherstburg's Harbor.-The wreck of the C.B. Lockwood at the crossing continued to give no end of trouble, scarcely a day passing without some large boat going on the rocky bottom and that, too, sometimes when they were being assisted over by many of the small tugs that were reaping a harvest at this dangerous place by aiding up-bound boats past the wreck. As the reciprocity in wrecking permits American tugs to work in Canadian waters and vice versa, the Canadian tug Home Rule and the American tugs Thos. Spears, S.S. Stone, Joe Gregory and Fanny L. Baker have all been taking a hand in the work. The tugs received $25 for helping each boat over the crossing and some days they have even assisted as many as eight across. Even some of the down-bound craft have been glad to have a tug assist them, especially where the steamer had a consort. The boats continued to tie up here or anchor in the river overnight and every morning there has been a continuous procession up the river. Four steam pumps were put on the Lockwood on Saturday after the holes had been patched up by the divers and by Sunday night all the water had been pumped out of her. On Monday the stern swung down the river, thus changing her position from northeast and southwest to north and south. This caused the current that was such a terror to captains of large steamers and the cause of the recent grounding to resume its proper course and steamboats passed up on Monday without a tug's assistance. About 200 tons of the cargo of ore was lightered onto the Saginaw and the steamer was floated, almost regaining her former shape. At 7 o'clock Tuesday morning she left the crossing in tow of the tugs Balize, Saginaw and Favorite for Detroit, where she was to be put in the dry-dock. The cost of raising the Lockwood was not as great as was at first supposed it would be and, considering the shape she was in, a remarkably quick job was done. The wrecking bills will amount to about $5000, but the cost of putting her in good shape will not be known until a survey is held on her."

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