The C.F. Bielman, a bulk freighter, was constructed in 1892 at West Bay City, Michigan. The vessel, featuring three masts, one stack, diagonal steel straps, and internal steel arches, was built by the F.W. Wheeler Company. The original owner of the C.F. Bielman was the Stewart Transportation Company, based in Detroit, Michigan.
Powered by a screw propulsion system, the C.F. Bielman was equipped with a triple expansion engine consisting of three cylinders and two scotch boilers. The engine, manufactured by Frontier Iron Works in Detroit in 1892, had cylinder dimensions of 20 inches, 33 inches, and 54 inches, and operated at 42 revolutions per minute, providing 1,000 horsepower. The scotch boilers, measuring 11 feet 9 inches by 12 feet and producing steam at 160 pounds, were constructed by Wickes Brothers in Saginaw, Michigan.
The hull of the C.F. Bielman had a length of 291 feet, a beam of 41 feet, and a depth of 19.8 feet. It had a gross tonnage of 2056 and a net tonnage of 1709.
In 1934, the C.F. Bielman met its final fate when it was intentionally scuttled on Great Duck Island in Lake Huron. It was used as a gravel dock at that location.
Throughout its history, the C.F. Bielman went through various ownership changes and had different uses. From 1893 to 1902, it was owned by the Stewart Transportation Company in Detroit. In 1896, it was owned by George Peck in Detroit and towed the barge Mary E. McLachlan. In 1900, the vessel ran aground at Fisherman’s Shoal in Lake Michigan but was successfully lightered and released. In 1902, ownership transferred to the McLachlan Transportation Company in Port Huron, Michigan.
On January 14, 1916, the enrollment of the C.F. Bielman was surrendered in Port Huron, and it was officially considered “abandoned.” Subsequently, the vessel was dismantled in Port Huron in 1916. In 1918, it came under the ownership of the Reid Wrecking Company in Port Huron and was repowered with a double steeple compound engine consisting of cylinders measuring 18 inches, 18 inches, 52 inches, and 42 inches, manufactured by King Iron Works in Buffalo, New York. Modifications were made, including the addition of eight hatches and special accommodations below decks for automobiles.
Ownership changed again in 1920, with the Spokane Steam Ship Company in Port Huron acquiring the vessel. In October 1926, the C.F. Bielman was dismantled once more, this time in Port Huron. On June 28, 1927, the enrollment of the vessel was surrendered, once again marked as “abandoned.” Finally, in 1934, the C.F. Bielman was towed to Great Duck Island in Lake Huron, where it found its ultimate purpose as a scuttled gravel dock.
