April 12, 2025 • 16 mins
Step aboard the grand steamers that once ruled the Great Lakes. In this episode, we trace the story of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company — from its 19th-century founding to its peak as a fleet of luxurious passenger ships and, finally, to its quiet demise in the postwar era.
You’ll hear about moonlit voyages, the majestic City of Detroit III, legendary designer Frank E. Kirby, wartime conversions, and the final season marked by tragedy. A compelling look at the transportation network that connected Michigan and the Midwest — and what it meant to the generations who sailed those inland seas.
Read the full story at Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company: Remarkable Tales from Michigan’s Golden Age of Steam.
You’ll hear about moonlit voyages, the majestic City of Detroit III, legendary designer Frank E. Kirby, wartime conversions, and the final season marked by tragedy. A compelling look at the transportation network that connected Michigan and the Midwest — and what it meant to the generations who sailed those inland seas.
Read the full story at Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company: Remarkable Tales from Michigan’s Golden Age of Steam.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
[Music]
(00:08):
From the shores of Lake Eerie to the Docks of Detroit,
the Detroit and Cleveland navigation company once ruled the inland seas,
a fleet of floating palaces carrying travelers, dreamers, and cargo across the great lakes.
This is the end of the road in Michigan.
Today, we set sail into the golden age of steam travel,
when side-wheelers and steel giants brought comfort, elegance, and connection to Michigan's waterfront cities.
(00:31):
This is the story of the DNC line, its rise, romance, and final farewell.
Origins on the Great Lakes, 1850 to 1870s,
the Detroit and Cleveland navigation company, DNC, traces its roots to the mid-19th century,
when steam ships were vital connectors between growing Great Lakes cities.
In 1850, Captain Arthur Edwards launched the Detroit and Cleveland steamboat line,
(00:54):
beginning with two modest paddle wheel steamers, the southerner and the Baltimore,
offering overnight service between Detroit and Cleveland.
These early boat trains were humble compared to what followed,
but they met a pressing need, carrying travelers and freight across Lake Eerie
in an era when railroads were still sparse.
The enterprise was incorporated in 1868 as the Detroit and Cleveland steam navigation company,
(01:15):
which formalized a venture that would soon blossom into a regional institution.
Yet, growth did not come without perils.
In June 1868, the steamer morning star, one of the company's ships,
collided with a scooter in the darkness off Lorraine Ohio,
and sank with a heavy loss of life, the tragedy, which claimed at least 30 lives,
underscored the dangers of Great Lakes navigation in that era.
(01:37):
Despite such setbacks, the DNC line persevered,
its early captains and crews earned a reputation for grit and reliability,
building passenger trust.
By the 1870s, the company was poised to expand beyond its small beginning
and was poised to expand beyond its small beginnings,
buoyed by the Great Lakes growing importance as highways of commerce and travel.
A new captain at the helm, James McMillan and expansion,
(02:01):
1870s 1900 Atturning Point came in the late 1870s
when Detroit industrialist James McMillan set his sights on the steamship business.
About a decade after incorporation, McMillan, a railroad and shipbuilding magnet,
took control of the DNC line, under his leadership,
the company entered a golden age of expansion.
McMillan was already president of the Detroit DryDoc company,
(02:22):
a major shipyard, and wielded significant influence in business and politics.
His resources and vision helped transform DNC from a modest regional line
into one of the Great Lakes premiere passenger carriers.
The line not only survived financial panics in 1873 and 1893, but it thrived.
McMillan consolidated rival routes and upgraded the fleet,
ushering in larger and more luxurious vessels.
(02:45):
In 1878, the company launched the first city of Detroit, a steamer designed by the brilliant naval architect Frankie Kirby.
This began a naming tradition, city of Detroit, city of Cleveland, etc.
that would brand DNC's ships as floating extensions of their home cities.
By the turn of the 20th century, business was booming,
and DNC had earned a reputation for excellence.
(03:07):
McMillan's hand at the helm, followed by his family after he died in 1902,
ensured that DNC became synonymous with dependable service and expanding horizons.
The line's network grew to reach ports beyond Detroit and Cleveland,
including Buffalo, Toledo, and Maconac Island,
reflecting Detroit's emergence as a hub of Midwest travel,
floating palaces of the Great Lakes, 1900 to 1920s.
(03:29):
At the dawn of the 20th century, a trip on a DNC steamer was both practical transportation and a romantic adventure.
In an era before jetliners and freeways,
Michigan and Midwest travelers often relied on these floating hotels
to ferry them overnight to distant cities.
Each evening from spring through fall, passengers boarded DNC's palatial ships,
enjoyed dinner and music, and then drifted to sleep in cozy state rooms,
(03:53):
awakening the following day at their destination.
The DNC navigation company became famed as the greatest of the Great Lakes' nightlines,
a maritime equivalent of the Red Eye Train.
Its vessels were soon acclaimed as floating palaces and even honeymoon ships,
celebrated for their comfort and grandeur.
Company brochures boasted that no safety device, no matter how insignificant, is overlooked.
No item that adds to the comfort of the passenger is neglected.
(04:16):
Indeed, the experience could rival ocean liners.
One Detroit newspaper raved in 1908 that the newest DNC steamer city of Cleveland,
three, was the most luxuriously furnished and most completely equipped passenger vessel on the lakes,
not excelled in appointments or comforts by the best type of ocean-going steamers.
Travelers could stroll plush carpeted salons under crystal chandeliers,
(04:38):
relax in lounges like the elegant gothic room, or promenade on the deck under the stars.
During this heyday, DNC continually outdid itself with ever grander ships.
Naval architect Frankie Kirby, renowned as the greatest Great Lakes ship designer,
was commissioned to create a new generation of steamers for the line.
In 1907, the city of Cleveland III was launched, the third to bear that name,
(05:01):
and at 402 feet long, she was then the largest in the fleet.
With her twin tall stacks and side paddle wheels, the C3 could carry up to 4,500 passengers,
1,500 and overnight births, and boasted interiors by designer Luio Kyle that resembled a grand hotel.
In 1912, Kirby topped this achievement a few years later with the city of Detroit III,
(05:23):
a vessel many would call his "crowning masterpiece" at roughly 500 feet from stem to stern.
The city of Detroit III was the most expensive, largest, and most luxurious passenger freshwater vessel afloat at the time it was built,
as an engineering journal noted, "Nothing that money could buy has been omitted in its construction."
More than 6,000 spectators watched her launch at the Detroit Shipbuilding Yard in October 1911,
(05:46):
a spectacle of civic pride complete with mayoral and senatorial dignitaries in attendance.
The city of Detroit III, with five decks of cabins, ornate wood-carves salons,
and over 1,000 electric lights, truly earned the moniker queen of the Great Lakes,
not content with those triumphs, DNC pushed the limits of shipbuilding in the 1920s.
The company slogan that it operated the largest and finest fleet of side wheel steamers in the world was no idle boast.
(06:10):
In 1924, it introduced the greater Detroit and greater Buffalo, a pair of sister ships that were the world's largest side wheeler passenger steamers ever built up to that time.
Each stretched an astonishing 536 feet in length with a beam of 96 feet.
These behemoths could carry over 2,000 passengers and even had space to ferry over 100 automobiles in their hold,
(06:31):
a nod to the emerging age of the motorcar, with a fleet that now included the two graders, the city of Detroit III and city of Cleveland III,
and the earlier twin's eastern states and western states, the DNC line rained supreme on the Great Lakes by the mid-1920s.
These steamers were more than transportation, they were a defining feature of summer life in Michigan and the surrounding states, life aboard the nightboats.
(06:54):
A voyage on a DNC nightboat was an experience to savor.
After the lines were cast off from the docks of Detroit or Cleveland, passengers settled in for an evening of gentle travel by water.
The ships themselves were destinations, floating resorts appointed with rich Mahogany woodwork, stained glass accents, and plush furnishings.
They featured a grand salon or ballroom where an orchestra might play tunes of the day, waltzes, rags, and fox trots, while passengers in their finest evening were danced on hardwood floors.
(07:22):
Others preferred the simple pleasure of a stroll on the deck, under the glow of electric deck lamps, travelers would lean against the rail to feel the cool lake breeze and watch the ship's wake foaming under the paddle wheels.
The stars above and the distant lighthouse beacons guided the way as the steamer plied through the night.
Though seeking quieter pastimes could retire to the library or writing room or find a nook on the promenade with a deck chair to read and relax, at dinner time, white-jacketed stewards served hearty meals in the dining saloon.
(07:50):
Fresh-grate lakes whitefish, roast beef, and fanciful desserts, accompanied by the clink of fine China and silver.
Such comforts led business travelers and vacationers alike to choose the boats over the train.
Indeed, DNC became known for its excellent service and fine cuisine. As the night deepened, passengers retired to private state-rooms, lulled to sleep by the steady thump of the engines and the lakes rhythm.
(08:14):
Refreshing sleep was a selling point, many awoke at dawn, truly rejuvenated.
Sunrise found the steamers gliding into port, the busy wharf of Cleveland, the industrial harbor of Buffalo, or the peaceful Maconac Island dock, where travelers stepped ashore rested and charmed by the journey itself.
The tragedy is on the inland seas. Despite the gady and grandeur, the DNC line weathered share of storms and sorrow, the unpredictable great lakes could turn treacherous, and even the finest crew was not immune to misfortune.
(08:43):
One early incident, the wreck of the Morning Star in 1868, reminded every one of the risks inherent in maritime travel, the collision that sent the Morning Star to the bottom of Lake Eerie happened in the dead of night and with little warning.
The drivers clung desperately to debris until rescued hours later by a sister ship, but dozens of lives were lost in those dark waters.
Such tragedies haunted the memories of sailors and underscored the importance of ever improving safety measures.
(09:09):
Over the years, DNC ships also had other close calls in mishaps, even the majestic city of Detroit III endured a rocky start.
On her first voyage in May 1912, a miscommunication in the engine room caused the brand new Leviathan to accidentally ram a smaller vessel, the Joseph Seasu, at the Detroit dock.
The little wooden freighter sank, mercifully with no loss of life, and the embarrassed crew of the city of Detroit III quickly gained a lesson in caution.
(09:33):
The great ship went on to a long and storied career without further incident, but the tale of her minor scrape on launch day became part of DNC lore.
Fire was another constant worry on steam ships, the city of Cleveland III nearly met a dire fake before ever carrying a passenger when a mysterious blaze gutted her interior during construction in 1907, leading to her it rebuilding amid rumors of arson.
(09:55):
She rose from the ashes in splendid form, only to face tragedy decades later at the end of her life.
On a foggy morning in June 1950, the opening day of what would be DNC's final season, the city of Cleveland III was struck by an upbound Norwegian freighter.
The Ravenfgel, off Harbor Beach in Lake Huron. The pleasure crews had 89 passengers aboard, members of a Michigan chamber of commerce heading to Detroit for a baseball game, when the freighter loomed out of the mist and ripped into the steamer's port side.
(10:24):
In the chaos, four people lost their lives, including the police chief and a former mayor of Benton Harbor, who had been enjoying the outing.
Thanks to sturdy construction, the C-3 state of float and even managed to limp back to Detroit under her own power. Investigators found that her captain was at fault for sailing too fast in dense fog and too close to shore, violating safety rules.
The collision of 1950 cast a somber cloud over the line's final days. It was a bitter irony that a company known for safety and comfort met its end with a fatal accident.
(10:53):
Yet, throughout its century of operations, the DNC line had a strong safety record, given the millions of passengers carried.
The Twilight of Steamship Travel, 1930s/1950s, by the 1930s, the world around the DNC line was changing rapidly, the rise of the automobile, the spread of paved highways, and the growing convenience of inner-city trains and buses all began to chip away at the Steamship patronage.
(11:17):
The great depression of that decade also tightened the public's travel budgets, and the once full pleasure cruiser saw fewer passengers.
DNC continued to promote the romance of Lake Travel, but numbers began to slowly fall as the winds of human nature turned to new modes of transit. Still, the company fought to adapt, during World War II, the DNC line enjoyed an unexpected renaissance.
(11:38):
Gasoline was rationed and long-distance driving curtailed, prompting travelers to return to the lakes. The steamers once again carried near-capacity crowds, sometimes including servicemen or war workers on the move.
One of the fleet, the Greater Buffalo, was requisitioned by the U.S. Navy and converted into a training aircraft carrier on the Great Lakes, an astonishing second life for a former cruise ship, renamed USS Sable. She helped train naval aviators on Lake Michigan.
(12:04):
The remaining DNC vessels maintained civilian service through the war, offering an astalgic taste of luxury to those weary of wartime austerity. However, when the war ended in 1945, America's love affair with the automobile and airplane exploded.
New highways and post-war prosperity met families hit the road in their own cars or took to the skies for faster travel. The convenient overnight steamer was suddenly anachronistic to many.
(12:28):
By 1950, passenger bookings had plummeted to the point that only a few ships were still running, and those were often half empty. The tragic city of Cleveland III collision in June 1950 was, in effect, the final blow to accompany already on the brink.
DNC cancelled the remainder of that season's sailings, and on May 9, 1951, it formally announced the suspension of all service on the Great Lakes after 100 years of operation.
(12:52):
The Detroit and Cleveland navigation company quietly dissolved, ending an era. The graceful steamers that had once been the pride of Detroit's waterfront now faced uncertain fades, one by one, the proud fleet was sold off for scrap.
The greater Detroit, once the largest of them all, was towed to a remote spot on Lake Saint Claire and deliberately burned in 1956. Her charred hull later cut up for metal, the city of Detroit III and her remaining sisters were also scrapped that same year.
(13:19):
By 1959, almost nothing was left of the DNC line's floating palaces except memories. It was a poignant sunset for a fleet that had once ruled the lakes, a quiet end, watching from mothball berths as the world moved on. Legacy of the DNC line.
Though the steamers are gone, the legacy of the Detroit and Cleveland navigation company lives on in Michigan lore and maritime history.
(13:41):
For decades, the DNC nightboats had been an integral threat in the social and economic fabric of the Great Lakes region. Their schedules were as reliable as the sunrise, and their whistles were a familiar sound on summer nights.
In Detroit, the memory of those honeymoon ships and floating excursions remains a source of regional pride, a part of the city of Detroit III survives. The ornate wood-panelled gothic room, where so many passengers once gathered, was salvaged before the ship scrapping.
(14:07):
Its carved mahogany panels and stained glass details were reassembled and displayed in the Dacin Great Lakes Museum on Detroit's Bel Isle, preserving a piece of the grandeur for future generations.
The Greater Detroit's huge bow anchor, which was cut loose and sunk during the ship's fiery scrapping in 1956, was painstakingly recovered from the Detroit River by divers decades later.
(14:28):
Today, restored and gleaming, that 6,000 pound anchor sits outside the Detroit Wayne County Port Authority as a tangible link to the past.
Enthusiests and historians celebrate the DNC line's contributions throughout the Great Lakes, models of its ships, old company brochures, and black and white photographs of ladies with parasols on Sunlit decks are treasured in local archives.
(14:49):
The company's importance is also measured by its impact on travel patterns. It connected cities and people long before the interstate highways, fostering tourism and commerce between Michigan, Ohio, New York, and Ontario.
It was one of the major passenger shipping enterprises in America's inland waters. The story of the Detroit and Cleveland navigation company is thus preserved in artifacts and archives and the collective memory of Michigan.
(15:12):
It endures as a story of enterprise and elegance, of summer nights on calm waters and the ceaseless progress of technology. The DNC line became a legend.
Its legacy sales on in every nostalgic tale told of the great steamers, those fabulous floating palaces that once made the Great Lakes their home, the steam whistles are silent now. The decks are gone, but the spirit of the Detroit and Cleveland navigation company still lingers in Michigan's collective memory, in museum exhibits, in photographs, and in stories passed down through generations.
(15:42):
Thank you for joining me on this voyage.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a review. You've been listening to the end of the road in Michigan, where every story leads us somewhere worth remembering. Until next time, safe travels.
[Music]
[Music]
(00:08):
From the shores of Lake Eerie to the Docks of Detroit,
the Detroit and Cleveland navigation company once ruled the inland seas,
a fleet of floating palaces carrying travelers, dreamers, and cargo across the great lakes.
This is the end of the road in Michigan.
Today, we set sail into the golden age of steam travel,
when side-wheelers and steel giants brought comfort, elegance, and connection to Michigan's waterfront cities.
(00:31):
This is the story of the DNC line, its rise, romance, and final farewell.
Origins on the Great Lakes, 1850 to 1870s,
the Detroit and Cleveland navigation company, DNC, traces its roots to the mid-19th century,
when steam ships were vital connectors between growing Great Lakes cities.
In 1850, Captain Arthur Edwards launched the Detroit and Cleveland steamboat line,
(00:54):
beginning with two modest paddle wheel steamers, the southerner and the Baltimore,
offering overnight service between Detroit and Cleveland.
These early boat trains were humble compared to what followed,
but they met a pressing need, carrying travelers and freight across Lake Eerie
in an era when railroads were still sparse.
The enterprise was incorporated in 1868 as the Detroit and Cleveland steam navigation company,
(01:15):
which formalized a venture that would soon blossom into a regional institution.
Yet, growth did not come without perils.
In June 1868, the steamer morning star, one of the company's ships,
collided with a scooter in the darkness off Lorraine Ohio,
and sank with a heavy loss of life, the tragedy, which claimed at least 30 lives,
underscored the dangers of Great Lakes navigation in that era.
(01:37):
Despite such setbacks, the DNC line persevered,
its early captains and crews earned a reputation for grit and reliability,
building passenger trust.
By the 1870s, the company was poised to expand beyond its small beginning
and was poised to expand beyond its small beginnings,
buoyed by the Great Lakes growing importance as highways of commerce and travel.
A new captain at the helm, James McMillan and expansion,
(02:01):
1870s 1900 Atturning Point came in the late 1870s
when Detroit industrialist James McMillan set his sights on the steamship business.
About a decade after incorporation, McMillan, a railroad and shipbuilding magnet,
took control of the DNC line, under his leadership,
the company entered a golden age of expansion.
McMillan was already president of the Detroit DryDoc company,
(02:22):
a major shipyard, and wielded significant influence in business and politics.
His resources and vision helped transform DNC from a modest regional line
into one of the Great Lakes premiere passenger carriers.
The line not only survived financial panics in 1873 and 1893, but it thrived.
McMillan consolidated rival routes and upgraded the fleet,
ushering in larger and more luxurious vessels.
(02:45):
In 1878, the company launched the first city of Detroit, a steamer designed by the brilliant naval architect Frankie Kirby.
This began a naming tradition, city of Detroit, city of Cleveland, etc.
that would brand DNC's ships as floating extensions of their home cities.
By the turn of the 20th century, business was booming,
and DNC had earned a reputation for excellence.
(03:07):
McMillan's hand at the helm, followed by his family after he died in 1902,
ensured that DNC became synonymous with dependable service and expanding horizons.
The line's network grew to reach ports beyond Detroit and Cleveland,
including Buffalo, Toledo, and Maconac Island,
reflecting Detroit's emergence as a hub of Midwest travel,
floating palaces of the Great Lakes, 1900 to 1920s.
(03:29):
At the dawn of the 20th century, a trip on a DNC steamer was both practical transportation and a romantic adventure.
In an era before jetliners and freeways,
Michigan and Midwest travelers often relied on these floating hotels
to ferry them overnight to distant cities.
Each evening from spring through fall, passengers boarded DNC's palatial ships,
enjoyed dinner and music, and then drifted to sleep in cozy state rooms,
(03:53):
awakening the following day at their destination.
The DNC navigation company became famed as the greatest of the Great Lakes' nightlines,
a maritime equivalent of the Red Eye Train.
Its vessels were soon acclaimed as floating palaces and even honeymoon ships,
celebrated for their comfort and grandeur.
Company brochures boasted that no safety device, no matter how insignificant, is overlooked.
No item that adds to the comfort of the passenger is neglected.
(04:16):
Indeed, the experience could rival ocean liners.
One Detroit newspaper raved in 1908 that the newest DNC steamer city of Cleveland,
three, was the most luxuriously furnished and most completely equipped passenger vessel on the lakes,
not excelled in appointments or comforts by the best type of ocean-going steamers.
Travelers could stroll plush carpeted salons under crystal chandeliers,
(04:38):
relax in lounges like the elegant gothic room, or promenade on the deck under the stars.
During this heyday, DNC continually outdid itself with ever grander ships.
Naval architect Frankie Kirby, renowned as the greatest Great Lakes ship designer,
was commissioned to create a new generation of steamers for the line.
In 1907, the city of Cleveland III was launched, the third to bear that name,
(05:01):
and at 402 feet long, she was then the largest in the fleet.
With her twin tall stacks and side paddle wheels, the C3 could carry up to 4,500 passengers,
1,500 and overnight births, and boasted interiors by designer Luio Kyle that resembled a grand hotel.
In 1912, Kirby topped this achievement a few years later with the city of Detroit III,
(05:23):
a vessel many would call his "crowning masterpiece" at roughly 500 feet from stem to stern.
The city of Detroit III was the most expensive, largest, and most luxurious passenger freshwater vessel afloat at the time it was built,
as an engineering journal noted, "Nothing that money could buy has been omitted in its construction."
More than 6,000 spectators watched her launch at the Detroit Shipbuilding Yard in October 1911,
(05:46):
a spectacle of civic pride complete with mayoral and senatorial dignitaries in attendance.
The city of Detroit III, with five decks of cabins, ornate wood-carves salons,
and over 1,000 electric lights, truly earned the moniker queen of the Great Lakes,
not content with those triumphs, DNC pushed the limits of shipbuilding in the 1920s.
The company slogan that it operated the largest and finest fleet of side wheel steamers in the world was no idle boast.
(06:10):
In 1924, it introduced the greater Detroit and greater Buffalo, a pair of sister ships that were the world's largest side wheeler passenger steamers ever built up to that time.
Each stretched an astonishing 536 feet in length with a beam of 96 feet.
These behemoths could carry over 2,000 passengers and even had space to ferry over 100 automobiles in their hold,
(06:31):
a nod to the emerging age of the motorcar, with a fleet that now included the two graders, the city of Detroit III and city of Cleveland III,
and the earlier twin's eastern states and western states, the DNC line rained supreme on the Great Lakes by the mid-1920s.
These steamers were more than transportation, they were a defining feature of summer life in Michigan and the surrounding states, life aboard the nightboats.
(06:54):
A voyage on a DNC nightboat was an experience to savor.
After the lines were cast off from the docks of Detroit or Cleveland, passengers settled in for an evening of gentle travel by water.
The ships themselves were destinations, floating resorts appointed with rich Mahogany woodwork, stained glass accents, and plush furnishings.
They featured a grand salon or ballroom where an orchestra might play tunes of the day, waltzes, rags, and fox trots, while passengers in their finest evening were danced on hardwood floors.
(07:22):
Others preferred the simple pleasure of a stroll on the deck, under the glow of electric deck lamps, travelers would lean against the rail to feel the cool lake breeze and watch the ship's wake foaming under the paddle wheels.
The stars above and the distant lighthouse beacons guided the way as the steamer plied through the night.
Though seeking quieter pastimes could retire to the library or writing room or find a nook on the promenade with a deck chair to read and relax, at dinner time, white-jacketed stewards served hearty meals in the dining saloon.
(07:50):
Fresh-grate lakes whitefish, roast beef, and fanciful desserts, accompanied by the clink of fine China and silver.
Such comforts led business travelers and vacationers alike to choose the boats over the train.
Indeed, DNC became known for its excellent service and fine cuisine. As the night deepened, passengers retired to private state-rooms, lulled to sleep by the steady thump of the engines and the lakes rhythm.
(08:14):
Refreshing sleep was a selling point, many awoke at dawn, truly rejuvenated.
Sunrise found the steamers gliding into port, the busy wharf of Cleveland, the industrial harbor of Buffalo, or the peaceful Maconac Island dock, where travelers stepped ashore rested and charmed by the journey itself.
The tragedy is on the inland seas. Despite the gady and grandeur, the DNC line weathered share of storms and sorrow, the unpredictable great lakes could turn treacherous, and even the finest crew was not immune to misfortune.
(08:43):
One early incident, the wreck of the Morning Star in 1868, reminded every one of the risks inherent in maritime travel, the collision that sent the Morning Star to the bottom of Lake Eerie happened in the dead of night and with little warning.
The drivers clung desperately to debris until rescued hours later by a sister ship, but dozens of lives were lost in those dark waters.
Such tragedies haunted the memories of sailors and underscored the importance of ever improving safety measures.
(09:09):
Over the years, DNC ships also had other close calls in mishaps, even the majestic city of Detroit III endured a rocky start.
On her first voyage in May 1912, a miscommunication in the engine room caused the brand new Leviathan to accidentally ram a smaller vessel, the Joseph Seasu, at the Detroit dock.
The little wooden freighter sank, mercifully with no loss of life, and the embarrassed crew of the city of Detroit III quickly gained a lesson in caution.
(09:33):
The great ship went on to a long and storied career without further incident, but the tale of her minor scrape on launch day became part of DNC lore.
Fire was another constant worry on steam ships, the city of Cleveland III nearly met a dire fake before ever carrying a passenger when a mysterious blaze gutted her interior during construction in 1907, leading to her it rebuilding amid rumors of arson.
(09:55):
She rose from the ashes in splendid form, only to face tragedy decades later at the end of her life.
On a foggy morning in June 1950, the opening day of what would be DNC's final season, the city of Cleveland III was struck by an upbound Norwegian freighter.
The Ravenfgel, off Harbor Beach in Lake Huron. The pleasure crews had 89 passengers aboard, members of a Michigan chamber of commerce heading to Detroit for a baseball game, when the freighter loomed out of the mist and ripped into the steamer's port side.
(10:24):
In the chaos, four people lost their lives, including the police chief and a former mayor of Benton Harbor, who had been enjoying the outing.
Thanks to sturdy construction, the C-3 state of float and even managed to limp back to Detroit under her own power. Investigators found that her captain was at fault for sailing too fast in dense fog and too close to shore, violating safety rules.
The collision of 1950 cast a somber cloud over the line's final days. It was a bitter irony that a company known for safety and comfort met its end with a fatal accident.
(10:53):
Yet, throughout its century of operations, the DNC line had a strong safety record, given the millions of passengers carried.
The Twilight of Steamship Travel, 1930s/1950s, by the 1930s, the world around the DNC line was changing rapidly, the rise of the automobile, the spread of paved highways, and the growing convenience of inner-city trains and buses all began to chip away at the Steamship patronage.
(11:17):
The great depression of that decade also tightened the public's travel budgets, and the once full pleasure cruiser saw fewer passengers.
DNC continued to promote the romance of Lake Travel, but numbers began to slowly fall as the winds of human nature turned to new modes of transit. Still, the company fought to adapt, during World War II, the DNC line enjoyed an unexpected renaissance.
(11:38):
Gasoline was rationed and long-distance driving curtailed, prompting travelers to return to the lakes. The steamers once again carried near-capacity crowds, sometimes including servicemen or war workers on the move.
One of the fleet, the Greater Buffalo, was requisitioned by the U.S. Navy and converted into a training aircraft carrier on the Great Lakes, an astonishing second life for a former cruise ship, renamed USS Sable. She helped train naval aviators on Lake Michigan.
(12:04):
The remaining DNC vessels maintained civilian service through the war, offering an astalgic taste of luxury to those weary of wartime austerity. However, when the war ended in 1945, America's love affair with the automobile and airplane exploded.
New highways and post-war prosperity met families hit the road in their own cars or took to the skies for faster travel. The convenient overnight steamer was suddenly anachronistic to many.
(12:28):
By 1950, passenger bookings had plummeted to the point that only a few ships were still running, and those were often half empty. The tragic city of Cleveland III collision in June 1950 was, in effect, the final blow to accompany already on the brink.
DNC cancelled the remainder of that season's sailings, and on May 9, 1951, it formally announced the suspension of all service on the Great Lakes after 100 years of operation.
(12:52):
The Detroit and Cleveland navigation company quietly dissolved, ending an era. The graceful steamers that had once been the pride of Detroit's waterfront now faced uncertain fades, one by one, the proud fleet was sold off for scrap.
The greater Detroit, once the largest of them all, was towed to a remote spot on Lake Saint Claire and deliberately burned in 1956. Her charred hull later cut up for metal, the city of Detroit III and her remaining sisters were also scrapped that same year.
(13:19):
By 1959, almost nothing was left of the DNC line's floating palaces except memories. It was a poignant sunset for a fleet that had once ruled the lakes, a quiet end, watching from mothball berths as the world moved on. Legacy of the DNC line.
Though the steamers are gone, the legacy of the Detroit and Cleveland navigation company lives on in Michigan lore and maritime history.
(13:41):
For decades, the DNC nightboats had been an integral threat in the social and economic fabric of the Great Lakes region. Their schedules were as reliable as the sunrise, and their whistles were a familiar sound on summer nights.
In Detroit, the memory of those honeymoon ships and floating excursions remains a source of regional pride, a part of the city of Detroit III survives. The ornate wood-panelled gothic room, where so many passengers once gathered, was salvaged before the ship scrapping.
(14:07):
Its carved mahogany panels and stained glass details were reassembled and displayed in the Dacin Great Lakes Museum on Detroit's Bel Isle, preserving a piece of the grandeur for future generations.
The Greater Detroit's huge bow anchor, which was cut loose and sunk during the ship's fiery scrapping in 1956, was painstakingly recovered from the Detroit River by divers decades later.
(14:28):
Today, restored and gleaming, that 6,000 pound anchor sits outside the Detroit Wayne County Port Authority as a tangible link to the past.
Enthusiests and historians celebrate the DNC line's contributions throughout the Great Lakes, models of its ships, old company brochures, and black and white photographs of ladies with parasols on Sunlit decks are treasured in local archives.
(14:49):
The company's importance is also measured by its impact on travel patterns. It connected cities and people long before the interstate highways, fostering tourism and commerce between Michigan, Ohio, New York, and Ontario.
It was one of the major passenger shipping enterprises in America's inland waters. The story of the Detroit and Cleveland navigation company is thus preserved in artifacts and archives and the collective memory of Michigan.
(15:12):
It endures as a story of enterprise and elegance, of summer nights on calm waters and the ceaseless progress of technology. The DNC line became a legend.
Its legacy sales on in every nostalgic tale told of the great steamers, those fabulous floating palaces that once made the Great Lakes their home, the steam whistles are silent now. The decks are gone, but the spirit of the Detroit and Cleveland navigation company still lingers in Michigan's collective memory, in museum exhibits, in photographs, and in stories passed down through generations.
(15:42):
Thank you for joining me on this voyage.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a review. You've been listening to the end of the road in Michigan, where every story leads us somewhere worth remembering. Until next time, safe travels.
[Music]
Popular Podcasts
Boysober
Have you ever wondered what life might be like if you stopped worrying about being wanted, and focused on understanding what you actually want? That was the question Hope Woodard asked herself after a string of situationships inspired her to take a break from sex and dating. She went "boysober," a personal concept that sparked a global movement among women looking to prioritize themselves over men. Now, Hope is looking to expand the ways we explore our relationship to relationships. Taking a bold, unfiltered look into modern love, romance, and self-discovery, Boysober will dive into messy stories about dating, sex, love, friendship, and breaking generational patterns—all with humor, vulnerability, and a fresh perspective.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com