U110774 FELLOWCRAFT

x U110774 MILLS, ROBERT (1888, Bulk Freighter) #

• Barge
• 256ft 80m Lengths
• unknown
• Detroit River
• Scuttled/Abandoned

Chronological History #

The bulk freighter Fellowcraft was enrolled in Buffalo in June 1881. In May 1888, it was launched in Buffalo for the purpose of transporting coal, iron ore, and grain. However, in the same year, during the spring season, the Fellowcraft was involved in a collision that resulted in the sinking of the schooner William Keller and its cargo on Lake Michigan.

In October 1889, the Fellowcraft towed the barge S.K. Kimball. Unfortunately, on November 27, 1891, the ship sank in 19 feet of water off Bar Point while carrying a load of coal destined for Chicago. Subsequently, in 1893, the vessel underwent reboilering, with two scotch boilers measuring 11.5 x 13 feet and operating at 130 pounds of steam, installed by the Lake Erie Boiler Works in Buffalo.

Further misfortune befell the Fellowcraft in the following years. In September 1894, the ship ran ashore near Waugohance Light in the Straits of Mackinaw while carrying a load of coal. In June 1897, it ran aground near Bois Blanc Island in the Detroit River. Then, in November 1897 or 1898, the engine of the Fellowcraft became disabled near Chicago, Illinois. Continuing the streak of mishaps, in April 1899, the ship went aground near Amherstburg, Ontario.

By 1906, the Fellowcraft had undergone alterations, resulting in dimensions of 256 feet in length, 40.2 feet in beam, and 23.5 feet in depth. It had a gross tonnage of 2,070 and a net tonnage of 1,712. The vessel was owned by L.E. Geer of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in 1917. In 1918, it was renamed Fellowcraft and sold by Brown & Co in Buffalo to Nicholson Transit Co for service in the automobile trade.

The final chapter of the Fellowcraft’s history unfolded in 1932 when it was abandoned and subsequently dismantled in Ecorse, Michigan, located in the Detroit River.