List of Great Lakes museum and historic ships

This is a list of Great Lakes museum and historic ships, including surviving hulls, museum or historic ships at risk, other surviving historic hulls and notable partial ships.
Museum ships and boats, surviving hulls.
Lakers: bulk carriers.
Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels which ply the Great Lakes. The best-known variety is the oreboat, depicted in songs from Gordon Lightfoot, Stan Rogers and others. Some classic-design lakers still operate, including a few with steam engines.
SS "Col. James M Schoonmaker" (Toledo, Ohio).
"Col. James M. Schoonmaker" sailed from 1911 to 1980. She was first owned by the Shenango Furnace Company under her present name and was sold to the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company, which renamed her "Willis B Boyer". "Col. James M. Schoonmaker" was the largest bulk freighter in the world when commissioned. In an ambitious restoration, "Col James M. Schoonmaker" was re-christened with its original name July 1, 2011, on the 100th anniversary of the ship's launching in Toledo, Ohio. In October 2012, she was moved with great fanfare from her longtime berth at International Park in Toledo downriver to a site next to the new home of the National Museum of the Great Lakes. Ship and museum are scheduled to open to the public in Spring 2014.
SS "William G Mather" (Cleveland, Ohio).
"William G. Mather" was a laker built in 1925 and a former flagship for the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company. It is now a maritime museum, open to the public, in Cleveland's North Coast Harbor.
SS "William A Irvin" (Duluth, Minnesota).
 was named for the president of U.S. Steel at the time of its launching. It was the first laker with a welded design, and served as the flagship of US Steel's Great Lakes fleet from her launch in 1938 until 1975. It is open for tours at the Great Lakes Floating Maritime Museum in Duluth.
SS "Meteor" (1896—Superior, Wisconsin).
 is the last surviving ship using whaleback design; she is a museum in Superior, home of the American Steel Barge Company (where 33 out of the 44 total whalebacks were built starting in 1891).
SS "Valley Camp" (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan).
 was a typical oreboat, who served the National Steel Corporation, Republic Steel Corporation and Wilson Transit Co. during her 1917–1966 working life. In 1968, she became a museum ship on the waterfront of Sault Ste. Marie, downstream of the Soo Locks. She holds many relics from (including two of "Edmund Fitzgerald"s mauled lifeboats).
Passenger-freight steamers.
SS "Keewatin" (Port McNicoll, Ontario).
 is a former Canadian Pacific passenger liner. Built in Scotland in 1907, the boat steamed between Fort William and Port McNicoll for over 50 years until she was sold for scrap in 1967. Saved from the wrecker's torch, "Keewatin" was towed to Saugatuck, Michigan for use as a museum in 1968. She is the last unmodified Great Lakes passenger liner in existence, and an example of Edwardian luxury. "Keewatin" is one of the world's last coal-fired steamships. A June 24, 2007 "Toronto Star" article documented a Canadian effort to see the steamer returned to Dominion waters as a museum ship at Port McNicoll. The effort to repatriate "The Kee" bore fruit on June 23, 2012 (100 years to the day after she first entered Port McNicoll), when the ship returned to her former berth before a crowd of thousands.
SS "Milwaukee Clipper" (Muskegon, Michigan).
, another passenger steamer, was built in 1904. She served as a passenger-package freighter for the Pennsylvania Railroad marine division (the Anchor Line) as the steamer "Juniata". In 1940, after several years of layup, she was sold and converted to an excursion steamer between Muskegon and Milwaukee. Laid up again in the 1970s, she lingered for 30 years before returning to Muskegon as a museum.
MS "Norgoma" (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario).
MS "Norgoma", berthed in the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, was built as a steamer carrying freight and passengers in 1950. She ran from Owen Sound to Sault Ste. Marie from 1950 to 1963 on the "Turkey Trail". In 1963 "Norgoma" was converted to a car ferry, her former role taken over by trucks, buses and automobiles, and she ran between Tobermory and Manitoulin Island. At this time, "Norgoma" was converted to diesel power. She became a museum ship in 1977.
SS "Norisle" (Manitoulin Island, Ontario).
 is a museum ship berthed permanently at the Manitowaning Heritage Complex. It is one of three surviving ships, the others being "Norgoma" and "Normac". It was built in 1946, the first ship built in post-World War II Canada using engines intended for a Royal Canadian destroyer. "Norisle" ran until 1974, when it was replaced by MS "Chi-Cheemaun". Plans call for towing and scuttling "Norisle" as a tourist dive site. A 200-member group, Friends of The Norisle, has formed to oppose her sinking and supportive articles and letters to the editor have appeared in the "Manitoulin Expositor".
Passenger and excursion steamers.
SS "Columbia" (Detroit, Michigan).
 is a former Boblo Island excursion boat, built in 1902, which has been in storage since 1991. A New York City group intends to save "Columbia" and use it on the Hudson River, like the old Hudson day steamers (all of which have been lost).
SS "Ste Claire" (Detroit).
, a former Boblo Island excursion boat, was built in 1910. Like her Bob-Lo Amusement Park running mate "Columbia", she was designed by Frank Kirby. In July, 2018 an apparently accidental fire destroyed most of her remaining wooden superstructure. Her future afterward was unassuaged.
Railroad and auto ferries.
SS "City of Milwaukee" (Manistee, Michigan).
 was a railroad ferry of the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company which was built in 1931 to replace a previous ferry (, lost in 1929 with all hands). She sailed for the company for 40 years (and another five for the Ann Arbor Railroad) before laying up in Frankfort in 1982, where she remained until being sold as a museum. Later moved to her present berth in Manistee, she is open for tours as the last unmodified, classic railroad ferry.
"Trillium" (Toronto, Ontario).
The side-wheel steam ferry (1910), reactivated in 1976, calls Toronto home. Several vintage 1930s screw ferries serve alongside her.
Tugboats and workboats.
Their small size and hardy construction make tugboats a favorite as museum ships. Their smaller size means lower maintenance costs (and maintenance can often be performed by volunteer crews). Three steam tugs survive, in addition to three former Army tugs later used for other purposes.
Steam tug "Edna G" (Two Harbors, Minnesota).
The steam tugboat "Edna G" is in retirement as a floating display. Built in 1896, it was one of the last operating steam tugboats on the Great Lakes and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Steam tug "Ned Hanlan" (Toronto).
The steam tug has been preserved ashore as a static display on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition. Launched in 1932, the tug is one of three preserved Great Lakes steam tugs (the others are "James Whalen" and "Edna G". It was named for the rower Ned Hanlan.
United States Army tug "LT-5" (Oswego, New York).
The former World War II United States Army tugboat "Major Elisha K. Henson", built in 1943, participated in the Normandy landings. An operational floating display, it worked as a commercial tug ("Nash") for 30 years.
Tug "Ohio" (Toledo, Ohio).
United States Army Corps tug "Bayfield" (Duluth, Minnesota).
A United States Army Corps of Engineers tugboat, "Bayfield", serves as a popular photo shoot at Duluth's Canal Park.
United States Army Corps "Tug Ludington" (Kewaunee, Wisconsin).
The former United States Army Corps of Engineers tugboat "Ludington", built as an Army tug in 1943, also partook in the D-Day invasion at Normandy. A non-operational floating display, it is supervised by ex-Major Wilbur Browder.
Tug "John Purves" (Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin).
The 1919 tug "Butterfield" was built for World War I, but was sold for the Lake Superior pulpwood trade. During World War II, the boat was taken into government service as the USAT "Butterfield", LT-145, serving in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. The Roen Steamship Company acquired the tug, renaming it "John Purves" (after the firm's general manager) and using it as a salvage vessel. It was later donated to the Door County Maritime Museum.
Steam tug "James Whalen" (Thunder Bay, Ontario).
The 1905 icebreaking tugboat "James Whalen" serves as a popular photo shoot at Kaministiquia Park. She was rescued in 1977, after she was slated for scrapping.
Naval ships.
The Great Lakes are home to a large number of naval craft serving as museums (including five submarines, two destroyers and a cruiser). The Great Lakes are not known for submarine activity, but the undersea service fires the imagination of many. Three former army tugs are museums, having come to the lakes in commercial roles.
USS "Cobia" (Manitowoc, Wisconsin).
The World War II submarine is operated by the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, and is a good example of submarine restoration. It features the oldest radar set in the world.
USS "Cod" (Cleveland, Ohio).
The World War II submarine was brought to Cleveland in 1976. It is a National Historic Landmark and a memorial to the 3,900 submariners lost in their nation's service during the century of the US Navy's Submarine Force. It was awarded seven battle stars for its wartime service.
USS "Croaker" (Buffalo, NY).
The World War II submarine was brought to Buffalo in 1988, where it serves alongside USS "Sullivans" and USS "Little Rock". It was modernized in 1953 as a hunter-killer submarine during the Cold War, and resides at the Buffalo Naval and Military Park.
HMCS "Haida" (Hamilton, Ontario).
The destroyer is one of two surviving Canadian World War II warships.
USS "Little Rock" (Buffalo).
A Cold-War-era cruiser, is one of three cruisers preserved as museum ships in the US. It resides at the Buffalo Naval and Military Park.
"LST-393" (Muskegon, Michigan).
"LST-393", a World War II tank landing ship launched in 1943, is available for tours at West Michigan Dock and Market in Muskegon. With the camouflage paint she wore at the end of the war, the ship worked as an automobile ferry between 1947 and 1973 as M/V "Highway 16" (after US Route 16, which was bridged by the ship between Muskegon and Milwaukee, Wisconsin). It was awarded three battle stars for war service.
HMCS Ojibwa "S72" (Port Burwell, Ontario).
S72 HMCS Ojibwa S72 was an Oberon-class submarine, laid down as HMS Onyx at Chatham Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, UK. It was purchased by Canada in 1962 and commissioned into the Canadian navy in 1965, served primarily in the Maritime Forces Atlantic until its decommissioning in 1998.
USS "Silversides" (Muskegon).
The World War II submarine was displayed at Chicago's Navy Pier. It moved to Muskegon in 1987.
USS " The Sullivans" (Buffalo).
The World War II was named for five brothers killed in the line of duty. It earned nine battle stars in World War II and two for Korean War service. It resides at the Buffalo Naval and Military Park.
U-boat "U-505" (Chicago, Illinois).
The was captured during World War II, allowing the Allies to capture its code books and the German Enigma code machine. Slated for sinking after the war for gunnery practice, the sub was instead donated to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. It was later moved inside to a climate-controlled environment (undergoing an extensive restoration), and was re-opened to the public in 2005.
Large government vessels.
USCGC "Acacia" (Manistee, Michigan).
 is a retired buoy tender with icebreaking capabilities serving as a museum ship moored near the railroad car ferry, SS "City of Milwaukee". The World War II-vintage vessel is a tribute to the black-painted workhorses of the United States Coast Guard. A ribbon-cutting (announcing the ship's new role as a museum ship) was celebrated in Manistee on August 13, 2011.
BFD "Edward M Cotter" (Buffalo).
This 1900 Buffalo Fire Department fireboat, still in use for firefighting and icebreaking, is a National Historic Landmark.
MS "Georgian Queen" (Penetanguishene, Ontario).
"Georgian Queen" is a former Canadian Coast Guard icebreaking cutter which has been converted into a tour boat.
CCG "Alexander Henry" (Kingston, Ontario).
Former Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker resides at the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes as a display and a bed-and-breakfast. Launched in 1958, she and the former USCGC "Mackinaw" serve as the Great Lakes' two surviving large red-hulled icebreakers.
USCGC "Mackinaw" (Mackinaw City, Michigan).
 is a vessel designed for icebreaking duties on the Great Lakes. "Mackinaw" was home-ported in Cheboygan, Michigan during its active service. Due to "Mackinaw"s age and expensive upkeep, the cutter was decommissioned and replaced with a smaller multipurpose cutter (, which was commissioned in Cheboygan the same day). The old "Mackinaw" moved under its own power on June 21, 2006 from the port of its decommissioning to a permanent berth (at the dock) at the ship's namesake port, Mackinaw City, Michigan, where she now serves as the Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum.
USCGC "McLane" (Muskegon, Michigan).
USCGC "McLane" (WSC-146) was a "buck and a quarter" cutter designed to chase rum-runners during Prohibition. During World War II it served out of Ketchikan, Alaska and is credited with sinking the Japanese submarine "RO-32". A Chicago-based Sea Scout troop acquired "McLane" after it was decommissioned in 1969, and the Great Lakes Naval Memorial and Museum acquired the cutter in 1993.
Port Huron Lightship.
Located ashore at the head of the St Clair River in Port Huron, it is the Great Lakes' one surviving lightvessel.
At-risk vessel.
The following historic museum ship did face an uncertain future:
Failed museum attempts (ships scrapped).
Several other lakers nearly became museums but, due to funding, political opposition or other causes, were scrapped: