# Queen of the Lakes

Queen of the Lakes is an unofficial but widely recognized title bestowed upon vessels on the Great Lakes of the United States and Canada, honoring the largest vessel currently in service on the lakes. A number of vessels, mostly lake freighters, have been known by the title. Since 1981, the title has been held by MV Paul R. Tregurtha, a lake freighter of the 1000-foot category operated by the Interlake Steamship Company. MV Paul R. Tregurtha is 1,013.5 ft (308.9 m) long, and is the longest-running holder of the title.

## History of name

Queen of the Lakes has been used as the name of three vessels that sailed on the Great Lakes, but none was the longest on the lakes at the time. The first was a three-masted Canadian schooner built in 1853 as Robert Taylor, measuring 133 feet (41 m). It was renamed Queen of the Lakes sometime before 1864. She sank nine miles (14 km) off Sodus Point, New York on November 28, 1906. The second was a propeller-driven vessel launched in Cleveland Ohio, on May 12, 1853, measuring 196 feet (60 m). She was lost to fire in port on June 17, 1869. The third was a small side-wheel steamer built in Wyandotte, Michigan in 1872, measuring 108 feet (33 m). While anchored near South Manitou Island she caught fire and burned in 1898. The iron hull was later scrapped.
The title has also been bestowed upon vessels that were especially liked or those considered to be especially beautiful or richly appointed. Such was the case as late as 1949, at which time Noronic was so honored. It has been applied to the United States Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw for its long and significant role in facilitating Great Lakes shipping and safety. The most common use of the title, however, at least since the early 1940s, is to honor the largest vessel on the lakes. On April 20, 1841, the Detroit Free Press referred to the steamer Illinois as "Queen of the Waters", but given that three vessels in that century were named Queen of the Lakes, its use as a title for the longest ship was not then common. The title is applied retroactively to vessels launched before this use of the title became popular. While some use gross tonnage, capacity, or length between perpendiculars as the criterion, the most commonly accepted standard is length overall (LOA). This article uses LOA as the standard.

## Early Queens

The earliest vessels on the Great Lakes were human powered canoes and bateaux. Sources differ as to what vessel qualifies as the first real "ship" on the lakes. Many say it was Le Griffon, built by LaSalle through the winter and spring of 1678 and 1679, and launched in May of that year to sail the upper lakes (above Niagara). Reports of its size vary from 40 to 70 feet (12 to 21 m) long. Contemporary chroniclers called it both a bark and a brigantine. Le Griffon was soon lost. It was last seen on September 18, 1679 and was lost with all hands. Her final location is unknown. Those who consider Le Griffon to have been the first ship on the lakes—and hence, the first Queen—also consider her to have been the first lost.
Other sources say the first ship was a smaller vessel built by LaSalle at Fort Frontenac beginning in September 1678, for the purpose of conveying supplies and material to Niagara. This vessel, which is called Frontenac in some reports, is said to have been about 10 tons burthen, measuring from 35 to 45 feet (11 to 14 m) long. Expedition journalists called it a brigantine. It departed Fort Frontenac under La Motte's and Louis Hennepin's leadership on November 18, 1678, and arrived at the east bank of the Niagara River on December 6, 1679. Shortly thereafter, LaSalle and Tonty came with more supplies, and their vessel (carrying the anchor, rigging, and guns for Le Griffon) foundered in the surf less than thirty miles (48 km) from Niagara. Hennepin called this vessel a "great bark." One source says the loss occurred on January 8, 1679. Supplies and extra clothing were lost, but LaSalle and his men rescued material for the ship, dragged them to the mouth of the Niagara, rested a few days in an Indian village, and arrived at the settlement above the falls on January 20. Some say the lost vessel was Frontenac. Historian Francis Parkman says that by 1677, there were already four vessels on Lake Ontario between 25 and 40 tons burthen. He does not say if any of them were named. Tonty's journal indicates that the vessel he and LaSalle used was a 40-ton vessel, but he does not associate a name with it.
Records of ship sizes on the lakes between 1678 and 1816 are rare. According to the Detroit Tribune, the vessels Gladwin, Lady Charlotte, Victory, and Boston were on the lakes in 1766 and Brunswick, Enterprise, and Charity were launched in 1767, 1769, and 1770, respectively, but no dimensions are given. HMS Ontario, at 80 feet (24 m), was launched on Lake Ontario on May 10, 1780, and sank in a storm on October 31, that same year. A history of Washington Island in Door County, Wisconsin notes that the schooner Washington, used to supply the fitting out of Fort Howard at the head of Green Bay in 1816, was the longest ship on the lakes at the time, but no details are given.

## A succession of Queens

On September 7, 1816, the steamer Frontenac was launched. She was fitted out as both a schooner and a side-wheel steamer and designed for both passenger and freight transport. At 170 feet (52 m) she laid claim to the honor of longest active vessel on the lakes, though she saw service only on Lake Ontario. She was scrapped at Niagara in 1827, and the next verifiable Queen was not launched until 1830.
The chart below identifies the succession of vessels known to qualify as Queen of the Lakes from 1813 to the present. The succession of queens is not known to be continuous before David Dows. Those from Frontenac through City of Buffalo were side-wheel steamships, though Michigan, like Frontenac was dual fitted as an operational schooner. The heyday of the luxurious passenger steamers was waning even as some of them were launched. Mississippi, Plymouth Rock, and Western World were all out of service by 1859, and the Queens that had not already been lost by 1862 were rebuilt as barges or schooners or dismantled within a year. Nebraska was a propeller-driven steamer for freight and passenger use, but given what had happened to her predecessors, she was likely not so richly appointed. In 1904, Nebraska was refitted as a lumber carrier, after which time she resembled a classic bulk carrier. David Dows was a 5-masted schooner used primarily for transporting wheat. Susquehanna, Owego, and Chemung were propeller-driven package freighters. The whaleback Christopher Columbus was a celebrated passenger vessel. Onoko and all other vessels from Curry on were or are propeller-driven bulk carriers.
The steamship Quebec, launched in 1865, appears in lists of Great Lakes vessels. At 283 feet, she was longer than both Nebraska and David Dows, but her service was on the St. Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec, not on the Great Lakes proper. She continued in service for many years and was dismantled in 1938.
Queen of the Lakes: 1813 to present :
| Ship | Reign begins | Reign ends | Length (ft) | Length (m) | Vessel type | Launched | Final disposition | Date | Notes |
| USS General Pike | June 12, 1813 | May 2, 1814 | 145 | 44.2 | Corvette | June 12, 1813 | sold | 1825 | |
| USS Superior | May 2, 1814 | September 10, 1814 | unknown | unknown | Frigate | May 2, 1814 | sold | 1824 | not active after the war |
| HMS St Lawrence | September 10, 1814 | undetermined | 194 2 | 59.2 | First-rate ship | September 10, 1814 | sold | 1832 | British |
| Washington | undetermined | 1816 | unknown | unknown | Sloop | unknown | unknown | unknown | Name of Washington Island traced to this ship |
| Frontenac | September 7, 1816 | undetermined | 170 | 51.8 | Side-wheel steamer/schooner | September 7, 1816 | scrapped, Niagara, New York | 1827 | First steamboat on the lakes; Canadian |
| Great Britain | October 16, 1830 | undetermined | 147 or 160 | 44.8 or 48.8 | Side-wheel steamer | October 16, 1830 | converted to barque | 1845 | Canadian |
| George Washington | September 1, 1833 | October 9, 1833 | 180 | 54.9 | Side-wheel steamer | September 1, 1833 | aground and broke, Long Point, Lake Erie | October 9, 1833 | sank on third trip |
| Michigan | October 9, 1833 | undetermined | 156 | 47.5 | Side-wheel steamer/schooner | September 30, 1833 | dismantled | 1855 | First to have passenger deck above main deck |
| James Madison | December 13, 1836 | August 2, 1837 | 181 | 55.2 | Side-wheel steamer | December 13, 1836 | | | |
| Buffalo | August 2, 1837 | September 23, 1837 | 194 | 59.1 | Side-wheel steamer | August 2, 1837 | | | |
| Illinois | September 23, 1837 | undetermined | 205 | 62.5 | Side-wheel steamer | September 23, 1837 | dismantled | 1849 | |
| Empire | June 5, 1844 | 1848 | 265 | 80.8 | Side-wheel steamer | June 5, 1844 | grounded and broke apart | November 16, 1870 | World's largest steamboat |
| Atlantic | 1848 | 1849 | 267 | 81.4 | Side-wheel steamer | 1848 | Sank after collision | August 19, 1852 | |
| Mayflower | 1849 | 1853 | 285 | 86.9 | Side-wheel steamer | 1849 | grounded in fog | November 29, 1854 | |
| Mississippi | 1853 | 1854 | 326.66 | 99.6 | Side-wheel steamer | 1853 | dismantled | 1862 | |
| Plymouth Rock | March 21, 1854 | April 18, 1854 | 335.5 | 102.3 | Side-wheel steamer | March 21, 1854 | dismantled | May 1863 | |
| Western World | April 18, 1854 | 1863 | 337 | 102.7 | Side-wheel steamer | April 18, 1854 | converted to dry dock | 1863 | Largest in world at launch |
| City of Buffalo | April 11, 1857 | July 30, 1866 | 340 | 103.6 | Side-wheel steamer | April 11, 1857 | burned; Buffalo, New York | July 30, 1866 | |
| (reverts to Empire ?) | | undetermined | 265 | 80.8 | rebuilt as sloop/barge 1862 | | | | |
| Nebraska | 1867 | undetermined | 267.33 | 81.5 | Propeller steamer | 1867 | burned at South Manitou | October 4, 1904 | rebuilt August 1904 as lumber carrier |
| David Dows | April 21, 1881 | February 16, 1882 | 278 | 84.7 | 5-masted schooner | April 21, 1881 | sank in 35 ft (11 m) of water | November 29, 1899 | |
| Onoko | February 16, 1882 | November 6, 1884 | 302 | 92.0 | Bulk carrier | February 16, 1882 | sank | August 14, 1915 | First iron Queen |
| SS Lansdowne | November 6, 1884 | August 4, 1886 | 312 | 95.1 | Sidewheel rail ferry | November 6, 1886 | scrapped | April 2009 | Iron hulled rail ferry |
| Susquehanna | August 4, 1886 | July 7, 1887 | 326 6 | 99.5 | Package freighter | August 4, 1886 | scrapped | 1926 | |
| Owego | July 7, 1887 | December 3, 1892 | 350 7 | 106.9 | Package freighter | July 7, 1887 | sank in China | 1944 | |
| Chemung | February 29, 1888 | (shared) | 350 7 | 106.9 | Package freighter | February 29, 1888 | torpedoed in the Mediterranean Sea | November 26, 1916 | |
| Christopher Columbus | December 3, 1892 | April 29, 1893 | 362 | 110.3 | Whaleback passenger | December 3, 1892 | scrapped, Manitowoc, Wisconsin | 1936 | |
| Curry | April 29, 1893 | June 29, 1895 | 377 6 | 115.1 | Bulk carrier | April 29, 1893 | scrapped, Fairport, Ontario | 1937 | |
| Merida | May 1, 1893 | (shared) | 377 6 | 115.1 | Bulk carrier | May 1, 1893 | sank in storm | October 20, 1916 | |
| Centurion | August 30, 1893 | (shared) | 377 6 | 115.1 | bulk carrier | August 30, 1893 | scrapped, Hamilton, Ontario | 1947 | |
| Victory | June 29, 1895 | December 23, 1895 | 398 | 121.3 | Bulk carrier | June 29, 1895 | sunk as breakwater | July 21, 1969 | |
| Zenith City | August 16, 1895 | (shared) | 398 | 121.3 | Bulk carrier | August 16, 1895 | scrapped, Hamilton, Ontario | 1947 | |
| W. D. Rees | December 23, 1895 | February 22, 1896 | 413 | 125.9 | Bulk carrier | December 23, 1895 | scrapped, Lackawanna, New York | 1955 | |
| Coralia | February 22, 1896 | August 1, 1896 | 432 | 131.7 | Bulk carrier | February 22, 1896 | scrapped, Hamilton, Ontario | 1964 | |
| Sir Henry Bessemer | May 5, 1896 | (shared) | 432 | 131.7 | Bulk carrier | May 5, 1896 | scrapped, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin | 1971 | |
| Sir William Siemens | July 25, 1896 | (shared) | 432 | 131.7 | Bulk carrier | July 25, 1896 | sank in collision | April 27, 1944 | |
| Sir William Fairbairn | August 1, 1896 | April 13, 1898 | 445 | 135.6 | Bulk carrier | August 1, 1896 | scrapped | | |
| Robert Fulton | September 10, 1896 | (shared) | 445 | 135.6 | bulk carrier | September 10, 1896 | scrapped, Hamilton, Ontario | 1948 | |
| Superior City | April 13, 1898 | July 31, 1898 | 450 | 137.2 | Bulk carrier | April 13, 1898 | sank in collision | August 20, 1920 | |
| Samuel F.B. Morse | July 31, 1898 | January 20, 1900 | 475 | 144.8 | Bulk carrier | July 31, 1898 | scrapped, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin | 1975 | |
| Douglas Houghton | June 3, 1899 | (shared) | 475 | 144.8 | Bulk carrier | June 3, 1898 | sunk as breakwater, Toronto | 1969 | |
| John W. Gates | January 20, 1900 | April 9, 1904 | 497 | 151.5 | Bulk carrier | January 20, 1900 | scrapped, Conneaut, Ontario | 1961 | |
| James J. Hill | January 24, 1900 | (shared) | 497 | 151.5 | Bulk carrier | January 24, 1900 | sunk as breakwater, Cleveland, Ohio | 1961 | |
| Isaac L. Ellwood | May 5, 1900 | (shared) | 497 | 151.5 | Bulk carrier | May 5, 1900 | scrapped, Conneaut, Ontario | 1961 | |
| William Edenborn | May 20, 1900 | (shared) | 497 | 151.5 | Bulk carrier | May 20, 1900 | sunk as breakwater, Cleveland, Ohio | 1961 | |
| Augustus B. Wolvin | April 9, 1904 | May 8, 1905 | 560 | 170.7 | Bulk carrier | April 9, 1904 | scrapped, Santander, Spain | September 24, 1967 | First to have telescoping steel hatch covers |
| Elbert H. Gary | May 8, 1905 | May 26, 1906 | 569 | 173.4 | Bulk carrier | May 8, 1905 | scrapped, Santander, Spain | July 1973 | |
| William E. Corey | June 24, 1905 | (shared) | 569 | 173.4 | Bulk carrier | June 24, 1905 | sunk as breakwater, Port Credit, Ontario | 1970 | |
| George W. Perkins | June 26, 1905 | (shared) | 569 | 173.4 | Bulk carrier | June 26, 1905 | scrapped, Ashtabula, Ohio | November 3, 1981 | |
| Henry C. Frick | August 26, 1905 | (shared) | 569 | 173.4 | Bulk carrier | August 26, 1905 | sank on way to scrapper | November 15, 1972 | |
| J. Pierpont Morgan | May 26, 1906 | August 18, 1906 | 601 | 183.2 | Bulk carrier | May 26, 1906 | scrapped, Lauzon, Quebec | March 30, 1979 | First "standard design" |
| Henry H. Rogers | June 16, 1906 | (shared) | 601 | 183.2 | Bulk carrier | June 16, 1906 | scrapped, Duluth, Minnesota | 1975 | |
| Norman B. Ream | August 18, 1906 | (shared) | 601 | 183.2 | bulk carrier | August 18, 1906 | scrapped, Turkey | 1990 | |
| Edward Y. Townsend | August 18, 1906 | December 29, 1906 | 603 | 183.8 | Bulk carrier | August 18, 1906 | sank on way to scrapper | October 7, 1968 | |
| Daniel J. Morrell | August 22, 1906 | December 29, 1906 | 603 | 183.8 | bulk carrier | August 22, 1906 | sank in a storm | November 29, 1966 | |
| William B. Kerr | December 29, 1906 | May 1, 1909 | 605 9 | 184.6 | bulk carrier | Dec. 29. 1906 | scrapped, Santander, Spain | July 21, 1974 | |
| Legrande S. DeGraff | May 1, 1907 | (shared) | 605 9 | 184.6 | bulk carrier | May 1, 1907 | scrapped | 1975 | |
| William M. Mills | July 17, 1907 | (shared) | 605 9 | 184.6 | bulk carrier | July 17, 1907 | scrapped | 1976 | |
| Shenango | May 1, 1909 | July 1, 1911 | 606 | 184.7 | bulk carrier | May 1, 1909 | scrapped, Port Maitland, Ontario | November 1, 1984 | |
| SS Col. James M. Schoonmaker | July 1, 1911 | April 14, 1914 | 617 | 188.1 | bulk carrier | July 1, 1911 | later named SS Willis B. Boyer, now a museum ship as SS Col. James M. Schoonmaker in Toledo, Ohio | Out of service, 1980; Museum ship, 1987 | Oldest Queen still afloat |
| William P. Snyder Jr. | January 27, 1912 | (shared) | 617 | 188.1 | bulk carrier | January 27, 1912 | scrapped, Port Colborne, Ont. | Jan. 1988 | |
| W. Grant Morden | April 14, 1914 | June 23, 1926 | 625 | 190.5 | bulk carrier | April 14, 1914 | scrapped, Bilbao, Spain | July 12, 1969 | |
| Glenmohr/Lemoyne | June 23, 1926 | April 9, 1927 | 634 | 193.2 | bulk carrier | June 23, 1926 | scrapped, Santander, Spain | June 1969 | Third Canadian Queen |
| SS Carl D. Bradley | April 9, 1927 | June 28, 1949 | 640 | 195.1 | bulk carrier | April 9, 1927 | sank in storm | November 18, 1958 | Second longest reign |
| SS Wilfred Sykes | June 28, 1949 | Nov. 1952 | 678 | 206.7 | bulk carrier | June 28, 1949 | still active | present | First streamlined design |
| Joseph H. Thompson | Nov. 1952 | November 7, 1953 | 714 3 | 217.7 | bulk carrier | 1944 | converted to barge 1991 | present | Queen by lengthening |
| T.R. McLagan | November 7, 1953 | 1957 | 714 6 | 217.8 | bulk carrier | November 7, 1953 | scrapped, India | 2004 | renamed Oakglen |
| SS Cliffs Victory | 1957 | June 7, 1958 | 716 3 | 218.3 | bulk carrier | 1945 | scrapped, Taiwan | 1987 | Queen by lengthening |
| SS Edmund Fitzgerald | June 7, 1958 | September 17, 1959 | 729 3 | 222.3 | bulk carrier | June 7, 1958 | sank in storm | November 10, 1975 | Largest ship to have sunk on the Lakes; Most well known Queen; most recent lake freighter to sink |
| Murray Bay | September 17, 1959 | December 7, 1962 | 730 | 222.5 | bulk carrier | September 17, 1958 | renamed Comeaudoc | Out of service December 4, 1996; scrapped, Port Colborne, Canada 2002 | First 730 ft vessel on the Lakes |
| SS Arthur B. Homer | November 7, 1959 | (shared) | 730 | 222.5 | bulk carrier | November 7, 1959 | scrapped | 1987 | sister ship of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald |
| SS Edward L. Ryerson | January 26, 1960 | (shared) | 730 | 222.5 | bulk carrier | January 26, 1960 | Laid up, Superior, Wisconsin | Out of service, 2009 | most streamlined |
| Whitefish Bay | November 16, 1960 | (shared) | 730 | 222.5 | bulk carrier | November 16, 1960 | Scrapped | Out of service 1990s | |
| Red Wing | 1960 | (shared) | 730 | 222.5 | bulk carrier | 1960 | scrapped | 1986 | |
| Leecliffe Hall | September 10, 1961 | (shared) | 730 | 222.5 | bulk carrier | September 10, 1961 | sank after collision | September 5, 1964 | |
| Leon Falk, Jr. | 1961 | (shared) | 730 | 222.5 | bulk carrier | 1945 | scrapped, Spain | 1985 | Queen by lengthening |
| Paul H. Carnahan | 1961 | (shared) | 730 | 222.5 | bulk carrier | 1945 | scrapped, Taiwan | 1987 | Queen by lengthening |
| Pioneer Challenger | 1961 | (shared) | 730 | 222.5 | bulk carrier | 1943 | Renamed American Victory | Scrapped, Turkey, August 2018 | |
| Lake Winnipeg | 1961 | (shared) | 730 | 222.5 | bulk carrier | November 28, 1943 | scrapped, Lisbon, Portugal | May 1985 | Queen by lengthening |
| SS Walter A. Sterling | 1962 | (shared) | 730 | 222.5 | bulk carrier | 1942 | Renamed MV Lee A. Tregurtha | present | Queen by lengthening |
| Montrealais | April 12, 1962 | (shared) | 730 | 222.5 | bulk carrier | April 12, 1962 | scrapped | 2015 | |
| Hamiltonian | April 7, 1962 | (shared) | 730 | 222.5 | bulk carrier | April 7, 1962 | scrapped, Alang, India | 1997 | |
| Black Bay | September 20, 1962 | (shared) | 730 | 222.5 | bulk carrier | September 20, 1962 | Scrapped, India | 2002 | |
| Baie St. Paul | November 30, 1962 | (shared) | 730 | 222.5 | bulk carrier | November 30, 1962 | scrapped, Taiwan | May 1995 | |
| Frankcliffe Hall | December 7, 1962 | April 14, 1965 | 730 2 | 222.6 | bulk carrier | December 7, 1962 | Renamed Halifax | Scrapped, Turkey, June 22, 2001 | |
| Lawrencecliffe Hall | April 14, 1965 | January 1, 1972 | 730 4 | 222.6 | bulk carrier | April 14, 1965 | Renamed Canadian Venture | Scrapped, India, 2004 | |
| MV Stewart J. Cort | January 1, 1972 | August 7, 1976 | 1,000 | 304.8 | bulk carrier | January 1, 1972 | still active | present | Last "classic" Queen |
| Presque Isle | 1973 | (shared) | 1,000 | 304.8 | bulk carrier | 1973 | still active | present | Integrated barge |
| MV James R. Barker | August 7, 1976 | April 25, 1981 | 1,004 | 306.0 | bulk carrier | August 7, 1976 | still active | present | First stern-ender Queen |
| MV Mesabi Miner | February 14, 1978 | (shared) | 1,004 | 306.0 | bulk carrier | February 14, 1978 | still active | present | |
| George A. Stinson | July 15, 1978 | (shared) | 1,004 | 306.0 | bulk carrier | July 15, 1978 | still active | present | |
| Edwin H. Gott | July 19, 1978 | (shared) | 1,004 | 306.0 | bulk carrier | July 19, 1978 | still active | present | |
| Edgar B. Speer | May 8, 1980 | (shared) | 1,004 | 306.0 | bulk carrier | May 8, 1980 | still active | present | |
| MV William J. Delancey | April 25, 1981 | present | 1,013 6 | 308.9 | bulk carrier | April 25, 1981 | Renamed MV Paul R. Tregurtha | present | Longest reigning queen |
| 1. First with stanchion-less hold, side ballast tanks, and telescoping hatches |||||||||