The SS ''William G. Mather'' (Official Number 224850) is a retired Great Lakes bulk freighter now restored as a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, one of five in the Great Lakes region. She transported cargo such as ore, coal, stone, and grain to ports throughout the Great Lakes, and was nicknamed "The Ship That Built Cleveland" because Cleveland's

steel mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finish ...

s were a frequent destination.

History

It was built in 1925 by

Great Lakes Engineering Works The Great Lakes Engineering Works (GLEW) was a leading shipbuilding company with a shipyard in Ecorse, Michigan, that operated between 1902 and 1960. Within three years of its formation, it was building fifty percent of the tonnage of all ships ...

, Ecorse, Michigan, as the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

for Cleveland-Cliffs and was named in honor of the then-company president,

William Gwinn Mather William Gwinn Mather (September 22, 1857 – April 5, 1951) was an American industrialist. Mather was born in Ohio and attended Trinity College for his undergraduate and MA degrees. Mather headed the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company for 50 years f ...

. SS ''William G. Mather'' remained the Cliffs'

until SS ''Edward B. Greene'' (now MV ''Kaye E. Barker'' of the

Interlake Steamship Company The Interlake Steamship Company is an American freight ship company that operates a fleet on the Great Lakes in North America. It is now part of Interlake Maritime Services. The company is chaired by James R. Barker, with his son, Mark W. Bark ...

fleet) was built in 1951–52. It remained an active part of the Cliffs' fleet until the end of the 1980 navigation season. In order to supply the Allied Forces need for steel during World War II, SS ''William G. Mather'' led a convoy of 13 freighters in early 1941 through the ice-choked Upper Great Lakes to Duluth, Minnesota, setting a record for the first arrival in a northern port. This effort was featured in the April 28, 1941 issue of '' Life''. It was one of the first commercial Great Lakes vessels to be equipped with radar in 1946. In 1964, it became the very first

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

vessel to have an

automated boiler system Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

, manufactured by Bailey Controls of

. In 1985, Cleveland-Cliffs sold its two remaining operating steamers to

Rouge Steel Company Rouge is the French word for "red" and may refer to: Compounds * Rouge (cosmetics), a cosmetic used to color the cheeks and emphasize the cheekbones * Jeweler's rouge or iron(III) oxide * Rouging, a form of corrosion applicable to stainless ...

, and gradually sold off its idle vessels until only SS ''William G. Mather'' remained, laid up in Toledo, Ohio where she had been since 1980. On December 10, 1987, Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc. donated the steamer SS ''William G. Mather'' to the

Great Lakes Historical Society The National Museum of the Great Lakes is a museum in the Toledo Maritime Center, a heritage location on the banks of the Maumee River on the east side of Toledo, Ohio. Operated by the Great Lakes Historical Society, it celebrates the natural an ...

to be restored and preserved as a

and floating maritime museum. After it was brought to Cleveland in October 1988 and funding was acquired from local foundations, corporations, and individuals, restoration began. Fire damage to SS ''William G. Mather''s

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

and after cabin spaces required a major restoration effort. All over the vessel, most of the work was supplied by volunteers who repaired, cleaned, chipped, painted, and polished brass in order to restore SS ''William G. Mather''s former elegance. In October 1990, it was moved to its permanent berth at the East Ninth Street Pier on Cleveland's North Coast Harbor. In September 1994 the Great Lakes Historical Society divested itself of the museum. Due, in large part, to a groundswell of local support to keep the Mather in Cleveland, the

Harbor Heritage Society A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

was created to negotiate a new lease agreement with the city. Incorporated in June 1995, Harbor Heritage formally acquired SS ''William G. Mather'' on July 22, 1995, and in 1996 continued to oversee ''William G. Mather''s ongoing restoration, promotion, and development as a historic vessel. After ten years of negotiations, the City of Cleveland, represented by Mayor

Jane L. Campbell Jane Louise Campbell (born May 19, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 56th and first female Mayor of Cleveland, mayor of Cleveland, Ohio from January 1, 2002, to January 1, 2006. Early life and education Campbell was born on May ...

signed a 40-year lease on June 15, 2003, allowing ''William G. Mather'' to stay at its East 9th Street berth. On July 30, 1995 the steamship SS ''William G. Mather'' was dedicated as an

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark for its 1954 installation of a single

marine boiler Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Militar ...

and

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

engine, its 1964 installation of the

Bailey 760 Boiler Control System Bailey may refer to: People and fictional characters * Bailey (surname) * Bailey (given name) Castles and bridges * Bailey (castle), or ward, a courtyard of a castle or fortification, enclosed by a curtain wall * Bailey bridge, a portable prefa ...

and American Shipbuilding AmThrust dual propeller bow thruster—all firsts for U.S.-flagged Great Lakes vessels. It had a

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

of the same class, SS ''Joseph H. Frantz'', which was later converted to

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

, and was

scrapped Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

in 2005 after 80 years of continuous use. Image:William G Mather.jpg, A front view of the maritime museum Image:Mather Room 1.jpg, Interior view of cabin aboard SS ''William G. Mather'' Maritime Museum

Current location

On September 24, 2005, the museum was moved from the East Ninth Street Pier to Dock 32, just west of the East Ninth Street Pier, closer to the

Great Lakes Science Center The Great Lakes Science Center is a museum and educational facility in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Many of the exhibits document the features of the natural environment in the Great Lakes region of the United States. The facility inc ...

and the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

. In October 2006, SS ''William G. Mather'' was acquired by the

. Today, the ship is a focal point for interpreting the relationship between technology, history, commerce, and the environment.

Notes

References

External links

*
The Steamship ''William G. Mather'' Museum
- Great Lakes Science Center

{{DEFAULTSORT:William G. Mather Maritime Museum Great Lakes freighters

William G. Mather William Gwinn Mather (September 22, 1857 – April 5, 1951) was an American industrialist. Mather was born in Ohio and attended Trinity College for his undergraduate and MA degrees. Mather headed the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company for 50 years fr ...

Museums in Cleveland 1925 ships Downtown Cleveland Ships built in Ecorse, Michigan Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Cleveland, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Cuyahoga County, Ohio History of Cleveland Cleveland Lake Erie

History

Current location

See also

Notes

References

External links