The steamer TRAVELLER met a tragic fate when it caught fire and burned at Eagle Harbor on Lake Superior on August 17, 1865. The fire broke out in the fire hold and spread quickly, resulting in the total destruction of the vessel. Fortunately, no lives were lost in the incident.
The TRAVELLER was a paddle-wheel steamer of 600 tons burthen, built in Newport, Michigan, in 1853. It came under the ownership of the Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad Co. and was later purchased by John Hutchings, Esq., of Detroit, in 1862. Mr. Hutchings extensively rebuilt the vessel, and it ran regularly in the Lake Superior Line, only missing one trip in three years. The vessel was valued at $40,000 and insured for $20,000 in three different companies.
Efforts were made to raise the machinery of the TRAVELLER from the sunken wreck at Eagle Harbor, but the task proved challenging due to the vessel’s position and the weather conditions. Eventually, the machinery was successfully recovered by Mr. Gilbert Martin of Eagle Harbor.
The TRAVELLER was one of several vessels lost in the Detroit district in 1865, along with the steamer CANADA, propeller PEWABIC, propeller STOCKMAN, tug PILOT, steamer WINDSOR, brig ROBERT HOLLISTER, schooner H.H. BROWN, schooner L.D. COMAN, schooner E.C. BLISH, schooner K.L. LANSING, and schooner ILLINOIS.
The vessel had a significant history and was an unfortunate loss in the maritime trade of Lake Superior.
