Arnold Transit Company was a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...

boat company serving

Mackinac Island Mackinac Island ( ; french: Île Mackinac; oj, Mishimikinaak ᒥᔑᒥᑭᓈᒃ; otw, Michilimackinac) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac a ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

for 140 years. In late 2016 Arnold Line's Assets including the boats, docks along with its name were purchased by Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Service , who continues to operate it today.

History

Arnold Transit Company was started in 1878 by George Arnold (1846-1921). Coal-fire steamboats transported passengers and goods for almost 70 years to various

ports and islands. Mrs. Arnold brought in Otto Lang and

Prentiss Brown Prentiss Marsh Brown (June 18, 1889December 19, 1973) was a Democratic U.S. Representative and Senator from the state of Michigan. Biography Brown was born in St. Ignace, Michigan and attended the public schools there. He attended the Univ ...

to manage the business. After World War II, Arnold Transit Company, now owned by Lang and Brown, started to add modern diesel boats to its fleet. In June 1946, Arnold, which ran from Mackinaw City to Mackinac, merged with Island Transportation Company which ran a St. Ignace to Mackinac Island route. In 1984, a long-standing competitor, the

Mackinac Transportation Company The Mackinac Transportation Company was a train ferry service that shuttled railroad cars across the Straits of Mackinac from 1881 until 1984. It was best known as the owner and operator, from 1911 until 1984, of the SS ''Chief Wawatam'', an icebr ...

, ended operations. In 1987, the first of three catamaran ferries was added to the Arnold Line fleet. In 2010, after decades of ownership, the Brown family announced the sale of Arnold Transit parent company Union Terminal Piers to James Wynn. In 2014, the company suffered financially and the investment group backing Wynn foreclosed. The foreclosure resulted in the public auction of two catamarans. Competitor Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Service purchased one of the Catamarans, the ''M/V Mackinac Express'', Pictured Rocks Cruises purchased the ''M/V Island Express'' and was renamed ''M/V Pictured Rocks Express'', the ''M/V Straits Express'', is now in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

being used as a commuter ferry for

Hornblower Cruises Hornblower Cruises & Events NOW City Experiences is a San Francisco-based charter yacht, dining cruise and ferry service company. History The company began in 1974 in Berkeley, California with two ships. In 1980 the original owner, Ward Proesc ...

. Wynn was removed as president and from his position on the board of directors, and operations were taken over by the original investment group out of Cincinnati, Ohio. In September 2015, an agreement was reached to ensure the company's continued access between its

dock and Main Street, which had been lost in a land deal engineered by Wynn. In November 2016, competitor Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Service announced it would be purchasing the majority of the assets of Arnold Transit Company, including boats, boatyard, its docks and name. The Arnold assets were incorporated into the Star Line fleet for the 2017 season and Arnold Line continues to operation under the Star Line Ferry Company name after 140 years.Mackinac Island's longest-running ferry Arnold Transit to stop service
''Detroit Free Press'', November 3, 2016

Fleet

*Traditional Ferries: ''M/V Chippewa, M/V Algoma, M/V Huron, M/V Ottawa, and M/V Straits of Mackinac II''. *Non-Passenger Freight: ''M/V Corsair'' , '' M/V The Senator'', and ''M/V Mackinac Islander''. *Catamaran: ''M/V Mackinac Express'', ''M/V Island Express'', and ''M/V Straits Express''.

References

External links

* http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2015/01/arnold_ferry_adds_luxury_boat.html * http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=1035105 * https://web.archive.org/web/20150924110733/http://www.stignacenews.com/news/2014-01-16/News/Matt_Stuck_Veronica_Dobrowolski_Take_on_New_Roles_.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20150924110820/http://www.stignacenews.com/news/2014-10-16/News/Isle_Royale_Queen_III_Makes_Island_Run_for_Arnold_.html {{Authority control Ferry companies of Michigan Mackinac Island Transportation in Cheboygan County, Michigan Transportation in Mackinac County, Michigan Companies based in Michigan Transportation companies of the United States

History

Fleet

See also

References

External links