Willis B Boyer in Toledo, Lucas County, United States | Museum

Welcome to the Willis B Boyer, Museum Ship,  Toledo, United States. On July 1st, 1911 just before noon, hundreds of onlookers stood along the shores, and aboard the vessels of an of an Ecorse, Michigan shipyard in the shadow of steel and supremacy. Whether attired in long, pastel-colored dresses, and broad brimmed flowery hats or the finest business suit of the day, women and men alike, had come to the Great Lakes Engineering Works to witness history. In the sultry heat of a summer afternoon, anticipation sat on the shoulders of the audience as did a ship, the COL. JAMES M. SCHOONMAKER, on her ways.

With the drop of a bottle, breaking of glass, and mist of cold champagne against warm steel, Gretchen V. Schoonmaker christened the vessel that had been named to honor her distinguished father, Colonel James M. Schoonmaker, Civil War hero, and railroad industry innovator. Sliding sideways down the ways, the steel leviathan smashed into the water with a mammoth splash officially becoming the “world’s largest bulk freighter” – the new “queen of the lakes”.

As the Willis B Boyer set sail under the Cleveland Cliffs flag in 1972, she began the final chapter of her active sailing career. A ship which was once, “The World’s Largest,” was soon dwarfed by the technologically advanced, self-unloading, 1,000 foot freighters of the 1970’s. Yet, highly revered by sailors and marine enthusiasts alike, the BOYER continued to sail further into history with each trip, as she would always embody the “Golden Age” of Great Lakes Shipping. In 1980 the BOYER was laid up at Toledo’s “Frog Pond” for the final time and faced an uncertain future.

In 1984, suffering a severe decline in tonnage commitments, the Cleveland Cliffs Steamship Co, over 100 years old, ceased operations. In 1986 the Willis B Boyer was “saved from the scrappers torches” when she was acquired by the City of Toledo for use as a Museum ship. As if by destiny,