Douglas County Historical Society

12/14/2024

Craft fair 1101 John Avenue 9am - 3pm

12/07/2024

DCHS is open today from 10am - 2pm. Please stop in and check out items in our book store gift shop. We can also talk about local history and see some photos of my travels this year to other museums and historical society around Wisconsin and Minnesota.

11/30/2024

During the holiday season visit the gift shop at Douglas County Historical Society. Open Wednesday - Friday 10am-6pm and Saturday 10am-2pm. Don't miss our Craft Fair on December 14th from 9am-3pm.

11/27/2024

11/16/2024

Craft Fair today from 9 am - 3pm. 1101 John Avenue.

11/01/2024

If you ventured out on Halloween yesterday you can surely relate to this advertisement! On this day 141 years ago, in 1883, the Superior Inter-Ocean published this front page ad warning “WINTER IS COMING”.

Indeed it is!

10/16/2024

Interior photographs are more limited than exterior in our archives-not certain why. There’s been recent activity on social media about The Library and Zona Rosa restaurants so wanted to share a few interior photos we have from The Library, which opened in 1978 at 1408 Tower Avenue. Enjoy!

10/09/2024

The only passenger whaleback ship built right here in West Superior!

The whaleback Christopher Columbus with the logo and lettering of the World’s Fair Steamship Co. on its bow, circa 1893 (Image Source: University of Wisconsin Madison Libraries Digital Collection – The Great Lakes Maritime History Project).

The date, location and name of the photographer are not included in the collection notes for the image Based on the history of the vessel, it was taken circa 1893. The photograph is from the collection of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society. of Milwaukee, Wis.

Additional Historical Information

Launched in 1893, the Christopher Columbus was built in West Superior, Wis. by the American Steel Barge Co. for the World’s Fair Steamship Co. of Chicago, Ill. The 362-foot vessel (LOA) was the only whaleback designed solely for use in passenger service.

The ship was initially used to shuttle people between downtown Chicago and the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair. Located on a 630-acre site on the city’s south side, the event attracted an average of 150,000 visitors per day.

During the Exposition’s six-month run, the Columbus reportedly carried over two million passengers, including 6,300 people on one run. When the event ended on Oct. 30, 1893, the vessel was transferred to the Columbian Whaleback Steamship Co. of New York, N.Y.

From 1894 to 1897, the ship was chartered by the Harrison Line of Chicago and operated in the excursion trade between Chicago and Milwaukee, Wis. It was sold to the Chicago & Milwaukee Steamship Co. of Milwaukee in 1898.

The whaleback was then chartered by the Goodrich Transportation Co. of Chicago. For the next 30 plus years, the vessel continued to operate in the excursion trade between Chicago and Milwaukee. It soon became known as the “Marriage Ship of the Lakes.”

During 1902 sailing season, the ship made 72 round trips between the two cities and carried 18,500 passengers. It was sold to Goodrich Transportation in 1909. On June 30, 1917, the vessel collided with a shore-side water tower on the Milwaukee River.

The whaleback was being turned by a tug at the time of the incident. Its superstructure partially collapsed onto its forward deck leading to the loss of 16 lives. The vessel was repaired at Manitowoc, Wis., and returned to service in 1918.

In 1930, Goodrich Transportation declared bankruptcy and went into receivership. After the end of the 1932 sailing season, the ship was laid up at Manitowoc. It was purchased at auction by William F. Price of Chicago in 1933 but remained in layup.

The whaleback continued to be laid up in Manitowoc after it was sold to the Chriscarala Corp. of Duluth, Minn. in 1934. Two years later, the vessel was sold for scrap and dismantled at Manitowoc by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.

A number of artifacts salvaged from the Christopher Columbus later became part of the permanent collection of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc.

Information Sources:
https://greatlakes.bgsu.edu/item/434499
https://greatlakeships.org/2904877/data?n=2
https://greatlakeships.org/3648383/data?n=1
https://www.greatlakesvesselhistory.com/histories-by-name/c/christopher-columbus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World’s_Columbian_Exposition
https://www.architecture.org/learn/resources/architecture-dictionary/entry/world-s-columbian-exposition-of-1893/

10/07/2024

Monday, October 14th at the Amnicon Town Hall 8985 E U.S. Highway 2. Learn about the early settlement of Clevedon.

10/05/2024

Thanks to The City of Superior's Public Art Commission, we'll be able to collaborate on a new temporary exhibit that discusses collections with the community through the work of local artist Susanna Gaunt. We'll keep you posted as we develop a timeline for the project and how you can be involved in the discussions :-)

Art restoration, workshops, ukulele lessons and interactive art installation hit the mark for public art funding.

09/17/2024

There's a special behind the scenes of the SS Meteor fundraiser on Sat, the 28th. We'll be there to support Superior Public Museums: Fairlawn, SS Meteor, Firehouse & Police Museum. Tickets are going quick, we hope to see you there.... tickets are available on their website at: https://superiorpublicmuseums.org/tours/

09/10/2024

Today we hosted University of Wisconsin Superior and their Leadership Superior Douglas County program. It was great to have so many engaged community members for behind the scene tours and a conversation about operating a museum.