Lewis G. Harriman

UPDATE: April 2005 - Purvis Marine Ltd. has commenced scrapping of the Lewis G. Harriman, and all hope of saving the vessel is now lost. This page will remain as a memorial to this fine old Great Lakes steamship, and we thank those who have supported us in our efforts to preserve her.

History

This historic steamer was built by the Toledo Shipbuilding Company in 1923, and was the first purpose-built cement carrier on the Great Lakes. Originally named the John W. Boardman, she spent her entire active career as a member of the venerable Huron Cement fleet, carrying dry bulk cement from the Alpena, Michigan plant of the Huron Portland Cement Company to their distribution terminals around the Lakes. A small freighter even by 1923 standards, she measures 350 feet in overall length, 55 feet in beam, by 28 feet in depth. Power was provided by a triple-expansion steam engine and two coal-fired boilers.

In 1965, Huron Cement became a unit of the National Gypsum Company. Their ships' hulls were re-painted from the original green to a cement beige, and the Boardman was renamed Lewis G. Harriman. By that time the fleet had grown to seven vessels, and the Harriman, being one of the smallest, was soon relegated to spare boat status. During 1967-68 she was used as a cement storage barge during the construction of the Poe Lock at Sault Ste. Marie. However, she returned to active service during the 1970's, and was converted from coal to oil-firing in 1978. In 1980 she sailed for the final time as an active steamer, and spent the rest of the decade in layup.

In 1991 the steamer Alpena joined the fleet, which by then had become Inland Lakes Transportation following the sale of Huron Cement to the LaFarge Corporation in 1988. Although she was shortened by 120 feet during her conversion from the "Super" class ore carrier Leon Fraser, the 519-foot Alpena was still too large to wind her way up the Burnham Canal to the former Huron Cement Milwaukee terminal. A solution was found in the old Lewis G. Harriman, and she was put to use shuttling cargoes to the upriver dock from her larger fleetmates, which offloaded into her in the outer harbor. For this service, the Harriman was converted to a barge with the addition of a towing brace on her stern, allowing her to be pushed by a tug, but she was otherwise left intact so that she could be used as a steamer again if the need arose. She performed this duty for several years until a new dock was built in the outer harbor, making the Harriman excess capacity once again. It was ironic that the closing of Milwaukee's old Huron Cement dock also marked the end of the Harriman's career with the former Huron Cement fleet; when the dock went into service in November of 1923, the first cargo it received was also the first cargo ever carried by the then-new John W. Boardman.

At this point Inland Lakes decided that they had no further use for the Harriman, and in 1996 she was sold to St. Mary's Cement for use as a storage barge at their dock in Green Bay. By 2000, however, she was no longer needed even for storage, and she spent the next several years rusting away in Green Bay.

The fall of 2003 saw a sad parade of classic lakers heading to the breaker's yard, and the 80-year-old Lewis G. Harriman was among them. In September of 2003, the Foundation made an eleventh-hour attempt to persuade her owner, St. Mary’s Cement, to donate the vessel. A tentative agreement was reached between the company and the Foundation, and arrangements were being made to allow the Harriman to remain temporarily in Green Bay until a permanent berth could be secured for her. All the while, the company's attorneys in Canada were closing a deal to dispose of the vessel for scrap. To the surprise of both the Foundation and our contact at St. Mary's Cement, the Harriman departed Green Bay in tow of the Purvis Marine Ltd. tug Avenger IV on the evening of October 25, 2003, assisted by the G-tug Indiana, bound for Purvis Marine's scrapyard in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The attorney's simple miscommunication resulted not only in the needless destruction of a priceless historic artifact, but it also meant that the vessel was practically given away to the scrappers, robbing the company of the substantial tax benefits they would have received by donating her to the non-profit Foundation.

Following the Harriman's sale for scrap, the Foundation explored the option of purchasing the vessel direct from the breaker. Another organization at Port Huron also looked into this option. It was found that this was just not feasible as the purchase price would have cut deep into the Foundation’s planned restoration budget. The Foundation also looked into the possibility of having another vessel donated for the purpose of trading for the Harriman, but no suitable vessels were available to us. Scrapping of the Harriman commenced in the spring of 2005, and her fate was sealed.

Her Significance

The Lewis G. Harriman was unique not only as the first ship of her type ever built, but also one of the last pre-World War II lakers to survive in largely original configuration. Apart from the name change and the conversion to oil firing, she remained very much original from 1923, unlike the handful of other surviving boats of her era which have been heavily modified over the years. As such, she was an ideal candidate for preservation.

While the last few years of storage use and inactivity had left her looking rather rough on the outside, the Harriman's hull and machinery were still sound and contrary to rumors, she was surprisingly intact inside, including her original triple-expansion ”up-and-down” steam engine.

The scrapping of the Lewis G. Harriman has come as a blow to the Northeastern Maritime Historical Foundation and to all who had hoped to see this remarkable time capsule preserved. Despite our best efforts, this classy old steamship has become the first on our list of vessels "gone but not forgotten". At this time, the Harriman's historic former Huron Cement fleetmates S.T. Crapo, E.M. Ford, and J.B. Ford are still in use as storage vessels around the Great Lakes, and we are hopeful that one or more of these vintage steamers can be spared the Harriman's unhappy fate when their current service comes to an end.

We’d like to thank the representatives of the St. Mary’s Cement Company for their time with us during this project.

Tour the Harriman

Click Here to take a virtual tour of the Lewis G. Harriman at her layup berth in Green Bay.

Back to The Fleet