Our Stories Told

A life raft recovered from the shipwreck of the doomed Edmund Fitzgerald. The bell that sounded as the Cortland sank into Lake Erie’s depths in 1868. The Christmas dinner menu from the USS Wolverine, the aircraft carrier that trained President George H.W. Bush to land at sea.

All are artifacts from the Great Lakes’ rich history that go on display in April at the new National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio. Operated by the Great Lakes Historical Society, it replaces the Inland Seas Maritime Museum in Vermilion, which closed in 2011 after nearly 60 years.

“We decided (about 10 years ago) we wanted to expand our facility, but we didn’t have enough property in Vermilion,” says Chris Gillcrist, the society’s executive director.

Feasibility studies showed the potential to attract more visitors at locations outside Vermilion, leading the society in 2008 to select its new home on 2.5 acres previously called the Toledo Maritime Center, an under-utilized Maumee River ferry terminal and marina. Gillcrist expects 41,000 to 65,000 visitors annually, as compared with the 5,000 to 7,500 annual visitors in Vermilion.

Through artifacts and interactive displays, this 15,680-square-foot, $12 million museum tells the stories of the Great Lakes’ early exploration and settlement, their role in industry and public safety, our region’s famed shipwrecks and the environmental challenges our lakes face today. There’s plenty that kids will enjoy, too, stresses Gillcrist. Use virtual technology to dive the Edmund Fitzgerald, load a steam engine boiler with artificial coal to generate steam or have your photo taken and superimposed on a vintage photograph from a ’20s-era passenger boat. “You’re putting yourself back in time,” Gillcrist says. “And then you can send it to your email or Facebook page.”

Docked outdoors is the restored freighter S.S. Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship. “Even if you are from Arizona or Texas or Virginia, you will understand how Great Lakes history has impacted our nation’s history,” Gillcrist says. “All of the Great Lakes have a part in a national story that hasn’t been told.”

10 Sights to See

1. John Sherwin Propeller. Created in one piece from a single cast, this propeller weighs 22 tons and is 23 feet in diameter. It was believed to be the largest cast propeller in history at the time.
2. Schoolcraft Snowshoes. These snowshoes belonged to 19th-century ethnologist Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, who was appointed as an Indian agent in Michigan in 1822. Schoolcraft was known for the treaties he negotiated with Native Americans across the upper Great Lakes.
3. Joseph Francis Lifesaving Boat. This 160-year-old Kelleys Island lifesaving boat is thought to be the last of its kind in its original condition in the world. Built in the 19th century, the boat was found in the 1970s on Kelleys Island, where it was used as a pig sty.
4. Edmund Fitzgerald Life Raft. One of two life rafts recovered from one of the most important shipwrecks in American history. The cargo ship Edmund Fitzgerald sunk in 1975 during a devastating storm on Lake Superior, taking the lives of its 29-member crew. Its empty lifeboats, which were automatically deployed, were the first evidence discovered by search vessels. “The boat sank so quickly,” says Chris Gillcrist, executive director of the Great Lakes Historical Society. “She probably came down a wave and submarined down 500 feet and was never able to recover. They never knew what hit them.”
5. Cortland Bell. This 100-pound bell from the shipwreck of the Cortland was recovered from Lake Erie by a team of archaeologists led by the Great Lakes Historical Society in 2006. The bell’s tones were the last thing heard by the ship’s crew before the Cortland collided with passenger steamer Morning Star in 1868. Both ships sank, and the collision claimed more than 30 lives.
6. Ship’s Wheel from the David Dows. The David Dows was the first five-masted schooner in world history. Built in 1881 in Toledo, she was the largest wooden boat at that time, with comfortable crew quarters and cargo capacity of 2,500 tons of coal — an effort to prove that wind could still measure up to steam, oil and diesel. The problem was the boat was so big that “when she was fully loaded she often couldn’t get into a harbor,” says Gillcrist. The boat was converted into a barge and sank, with no casualties, on Lake Michigan in 1889.
7. Christmas Dinner Menu from the USS Wolverine. Commissioned in 1942, the USS Wolverine is one of only two coal-fired, steam-powered, side-wheel aircraft carriers in world history. The ship trained more than 15,000 pilots to land at sea on Lake Michigan, including former President George H.W. Bush during World War II. 
8. Lawson Plaque. This plaque was replicated by the museum to replace one that originally hung at Northwestern University near Chicago and honors the student members of the Evanston Life Saving Station who served from 1875 to 1915. This station was the only lifesaving station in U.S. history manned by volunteers and was created after a terrible shipwreck off the coast of Chicago. “You could hear people screaming in the water,” says Gillcrist. “Students from Northwestern ran out to save people.” The station’s motto was: “We have to go out, but we don’t have to come back.” How the original plaque disappeared remains a mystery. “It’s probably stuffed in some fraternity closet in Northwestern,” jokes Gillcrist. “If it ever comes up on eBay, I’m buying it.”
9. Tashmoo Wheel and City of Erie Bell. Artifacts from these two boats tell the story of one of the most famous steamboat races in United States history. The two boats raced from Cleveland to Erie on June 4, 1901, with City of Erie winning by just 45 seconds, what in steamboat time would be considered a photo finish.
10. Capstan Cover from the V. H. Ketcham. This boat bore the name of Toledo’s first millionaire, who led a large bank in the town in the 1860s and 1870s. This artifact — a cover for the spool-shaped vertical axle used to wind ropes or cables — is one of about 20 that will be designated with a “Toledo Trail” icon, designating its connection to Toledo history.

If You Go

The National Museum of the Great Lakes

Toledo, Ohio

440-967-3467

inlandseas.org