History
The JOHN B BREYMANN, formerly known as the MARINETTE, was a wooden tug (towboat) built in 1885 by Rand & Burger in Marinette, Wisconsin. It had a length of 71 feet, a beam of 18 feet, and a depth of 9 feet. The tug had a gross tonnage of 59 tons and a net tonnage of 40 tons.
On June 8, 1926, the John B Breymann was tied up at its moorings in a boneyard along the Maumee River in Toledo when a fire broke out on the property. The fire was likely caused by an ember from a passing locomotive. While the shipwatcher, his wife, and grandson were able to escape, a total of seven vessels, including the John B Breymann, were destroyed in the fire. Fortunately, there were no reported casualties in the incident.
The John B Breymann was owned by G. H. Breymann & Bros. Dredging, a company that had been involved in maintaining navigable river channels for at least fifteen years under a contract with the Corps of Engineers.
Throughout its history, the tug experienced various events. It was initially enrolled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 5, 1886. On April 19, 1900, the John B Breymann ran aground near North Bass Island in Lake Erie. In 1904, it underwent rebuilding and was remeasured in Toledo, Ohio, resulting in slightly modified dimensions. At some point, it was renamed the John B. Breymann, and by 1908, it was owned by G.H. Breyman. In 1910, the ownership transferred to John B. Breyman of Toledo.
However, on June 28, 1926, the John B Breymann was burned to a total loss in the Toledo boneyard located east of the Pennsy Railroad Bridge.
