Ships Log of the Steamer City of Glasgow. A Piece of Great Lakes History.

The City of Glasgow Underway

A few years back I purchased a large lot of used books to sell in my flea market booth. Upon inspection of the lot I discovered several items that weren't your standard used books. One box contained a ship's log from a steamer ship called the City of Glasgow. Being unfamiliar with maritime history and having never heard of the ship, I began my search on the Internet to discover the story of just how a log book from a steamer ship made it's way to landlocked Arkansas. I wondered at first if it had been a vessel on the Mississippi River.

After several google hits on (the city) of Glasgow Scotland, it did not take me long to learn a little about the old steamer City of Glasgow. Since there were actually two or three steamers named City of Glasgow, at first there was some confusion as to which one this log was from. Since the first City of Glasgow steamer disappeared on March 1st. 1854, almost 40 years prior to the first date in the log I had discovered, I decided it had to be the Great Lakes Steamer. Upon closer inspection of the log there was no doubt that she spent her time in the Great Lakes.

Eventually the University of Wisconsin website directed me to the answers to all my questions. From there I found my way to Wisconsin's Maritime Trails (see link below). A partnership of the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, the Wisconsin Historical Society, and Wisconsin Costal Management Program. A wonderful website devoted to taking you back to the days when schooners and steamers sailed the Great Lakes. Never in my wildest dreams had I expected to find so much valuable information on my mystery ships log.

From there I learned that the City of Glasgow was first launched in 1891, (which fit perfectly with my log, the first dates being in 1893 and the last in 1895). I also learned that she was a popular dive site due to the fact that the second time she sank (that's right the second time she sank) was in very shallow waters. She now lays in about 10 feet of water in Lake Michigan near the city of Sturgeon Bay, WI. It is snorkel and kayak accessible making it available to the amateur explorer.

To say the least I was intrigued. How did this log make it way to Arkansas and then end up in a bunch of old books? That is a question I will never be able to answer. But none the less it is still fascinating to ponder. I had to read the log. It covered day to day activity of a steamer transporting cargo to and from cities with ports on the Great Lakes. Much of it was cargo manifests, longitude and latitude measurements, weather conditions, etc. Fascinating to think of the Captain writing day to day in this log and here it was over 100 years later still in pretty darn good condition.

Later I discovered at the website of Wisconsin's Maritime Trails (Notes from the field 2000 Ships History ~ see link below) that the City of Glasgow was launched in 1891 in West Bay City, Michigan by owner James Davidson. She was considered a marvel of wooden ship construction measuring 297 feet in length, 41 feet across her beam, and 21 feet in depth. She was powered by two 11 feet by 13 feet boilers which delivered 150 pounds of steam. This made her the largest steamer on the Great Lakes at the time.

In December of 1907 she caught fire while moored at Green Bay WI. The fire could not be controlled and she sank for the first time. In 1908 the steamer was purchased and raised with much difficulty. The engine of the burned steamer was removed along with the boilers, the shaft, and the wheel. The engine was later sold for $3,000, quite a sum of money for the era. In the fall of 1909, her second life began when Leathem and Smith converted the City of Glasgow into a barge for hauling crushed stone to lower lake ports and returning with coal. On October 6, 1917 the City of Glasgow sank for the second and final time where she now lays in about 10 feet of water in Lake Michigan near the city of Sturgeon Bay, WI.

While I may never explore the sunken ship, I feel I have an intimate glimpse into a portion of her travels.

As this era has always been one that fascinated me, I have enjoyed the time spent researching this unique window into the past.

The City of Glasgow

Sources include:

DOOR COUNTY ADVOCATE
WILD GALES AND TATTERED SAILS, Paul J. Creviere, Jr. , 1997.
SHIPS AND SHIPWRECKS IN DOOR COUNTY, WISCONSIN, VOL. TWO, Arthur C. & Lucy F. Frederickson, 1963.
WISCONSIN'S MARITIME TRAILS
PHOTO SOURCE - MILWAUKEE PUBLIC LIBRARY

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