At the time of the U.S. Civil War, thousands of sailing ships worked the Great Lakes. Despite their impressive numbers, these sailing vessels struggled hardly able to keep pace with the enormous demands for bulk cargos generated by America's fast-growing population and industry. In 1869, larger and more efficient wooden bulk freighters were introduced to satisfy these needs. Bulk freighters were characterized by the placement of the pilot house at the front of the ship and all the machinery toward the stern, leaving a continuous hold specifically for bulk cargo. Large and swift, bulk freighters could carry three times the amount of cargo carried by the average schooner and journeyed three times as fast. Bulk freighters often towed barges behind them, which carried their own cargo as well. In the face of such competition, traditional schooners quickly became obsolete.

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Show me all markers in:  Alpena, MI  |  Alpena County  |  49707  |  Michigan  |  United States of America

A Shipbuilding Revolution
Fast Steel Flyer: The Bulk Freighter Grecian
Steaming Open the Frontier
Research Vessels
Rising from the Ashes: The New Orleans
The Fletcher Coal Piers
Propellers
The Loss of the Pewabic
Squeezing The Profit Margin
International Shipmaster's Association

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