SS Keewatin

Keewatin is a passenger liner that when built, measured {{GRT|3856|disp=long}} and {{NRT|2470}}.{{csr|register=MSI|id=5184538|shipname=Keewatin|accessdate=31 May 2021}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EWpWAAAAMAAJ&q=SS+Keewatin+%2B+scotch+boilers |title=Telescope |publisher=University of Michigan |year=1996 |volume=44–46 |page=72}} The ship has a length between perpendiculars of {{convert|102.6|m|ftin}} and a beam of {{convert|13.3|m|ftin}} with a draught of {{convert|23|ft|7|in|m|1|order=flip}}. The vessel was powered by four coal-fired scotch boilers, each {{convert|14|ft|1|in|m|order=flip|1}} by {{convert|11|ft|m|order=flip|1}}, providing steam to a quadruple expansion steam engine turning one screw creating {{convert|3,000|hp|lk=on}} nominal. This gave the ship a maximum speed of {{convert|16|kn|lk=in}} and a cruising speed of {{convert|14|kn}}.

The ship had 108 staterooms with berths for 288 passengers. The vessel was manned by 86 officers and crew.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EWpWAAAAMAAJ&q=SS+Keewatin+%2B+museum+ship |title=Telescope |publisher=University of Michigan |year=1996 |volume=44–46 |page=71}}

Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland as yard number 453, Keewatin was launched on 6 July 1907 and completed in September. The vessel sailed on her maiden voyage docking in the Davie shipyard at Lévis, Quebec on 5 October to be halved because the canals below Lake Erie, specifically the Welland Canal could not handle ships as long as Keewatin. The ship was reassembled at Buffalo, New York, where she resumed her delivery voyage under her own power on 19 December 1907.{{cite book |author-link=Mark Bourrie |last1=Bourrie |first1=Mark |title=Chicago of the North, A History of Port McNicoll |publisher=The Port McNicoll Historical Society |date=1993}} She began service from Owen Sound, Ontario on 7 October 1908.

File:Photographer- Arthur Bloomfield Dawson (6189631922).jpg

Keewatin was originally designed to supplement the Great Lakes link in the Canadian Pacific Railway's continental route. Together with her sister ship Assiniboia, she joined three others, Manitoba, Athabaska, and Alberta (the latter two also built in Scotland).{{cite book |last1=Musk |first1=George |title=Canadian Pacific: the story of the famous shipping line |date=1981 |publisher=David & Charles |location=Newton Abbot |isbn=0-7153-7968-2 |pages=107–108}} She served this purpose by linking the Railroad's Owen Sound depot to Fort William Port Arthur on Lake Superior. In 1912 Port McNicoll, Ontario, was established as the new 'super port' and rail terminus and the ships moved there. The ships took two and a half days to make the trip each way, including half a day traversing the Soo Locks. Port McNicoll was known as the "Chicago of the North" until the trains and ships were discontinued in 1965 following the completion of the Trans Canada Highway through northern Ontario, causing the town to stagnate and diminish, as all of the rail and ship jobs left.

In the last fifteen years of her working life, like many passenger ships of that era on the Great Lakes, Keewatin and Assiniboia operated under stringent regulations imposed for wooden cabin steamships following the {{SS|Noronic||2}} disaster in 1949. In December 1950, a sprinker system and fire bulkheads were installed, and the three wooden masts were replaced by two of steel. Doomed by their wooden cabins and superstructures, these overnight cruisers lasted through the decline of the passenger trade on the Great Lakes in the post-war years, as travellers opted for more reliable and faster modes of travel. To continue in service beyond the 1965 season, rebuilding of the ships' wooden superstructures was required, so they were withdrawn from the passenger trade. Keewatin{{'}}s final passenger service ended on 29 November 1965.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EWpWAAAAMAAJ&q=SS+Keewatin+%2B+rooms |title=Telescope |publisher=University of Michigan |year=1996 |volume=44–46 |page=71|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606002717/https://books.google.com/books?id=EWpWAAAAMAAJ&q=SS+Keewatin+%2B+rooms |archive-date=6 June 2023}} The following year they operated a freight–only service, and on 8 November 1966 Keewatin was sold to Marine Salvage Ltd of Port Colborne for demolition.{{cite book |last1=Musk |first1=George |title=Canadian Pacific: the story of the famous shipping line |date=1981 |publisher=David & Charles |location=Newton Abbot |isbn=0-7153-7968-2 |pages=261–262}} Assiniboia retired in November 1967 and was sold for conversion to a restaurant in 1968, but gutted by fire at Philadelphia on 9 November 1969.

Along with {{SS|South American||2}} and {{ship||Milwaukee Clipper}}, Keewatin and Assiniboia were among the last of the turn-of-the-century style overnight passenger ships of the Great Lakes.

After languishing for a few years, in January 1967 Keewatin was bought by West Michigan entrepreneur Roland J. Peterson Sr.{{cite web |url=http://www.thetimmelcollection.com/saugatuc.htm |title=A Short History of Sagatuck |website=thetimmelcollection.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330232946/http://www.thetimmelcollection.com/saugatuc.htm |archive-date=30 March 2012 |access-date=1 June 2021}} for $37,000, $2,000 more than it would have sold for scrap. It arrived on the Kalamazoo River in Douglas, Michigan, on 27 June 1967. The ship was known as Keewatin Maritime Museum, permanently docked across the river from the summer retreat Saugatuck, Michigan, from 1968 until its relocation in 2012. In July 2011 Keewatin was purchased by Skyline Marine and dredged from the Kalamazoo River with a {{convert|1|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} long, {{convert|10|ft|m|adj=on|spell=in}} deep, {{convert|50|ft|m|adj=on}} wide excavation and dredged channel and moved to the mouth of the river and Lake Michigan on 4 June. Keewatin, manned with a crew of ten was towed back to Canada and arrived in Port McNicoll on 23 June 2012.

File:2023 SS Keewatin in Toronto.jpg

In August 2011 it was announced the vessel had been sold to Skyline International Developments Inc.,{{cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/property-report/titanic-era-ship-anchors-port-redevelopment/article4549172/|title=Titanic-era ship anchors port redevelopment|access-date=9 April 2018|work=The Globe and Mail |last=Kryhull |first=Angela |date=17 September 2012}} and was moved back to Keewatin{{'}}s home port of Port McNicoll, Ontario, on 23 June 2012, for restoration and permanent display as a maritime museum and event facility. This was possible due to cooperation of the local and provincial and federal officials in obtaining permissions and permits to dredge the harbour where Keewatin sat for 45 years to allow the ship to be moved. A not for profit foundation, the Diane and RJ Peterson Keewatin Foundation, was formed to operate the ship and restore her. Skyline Developments, a publicly held corporation that was rebuilding the {{convert|12000|acre|adj=on}} Port McNicoll site, funded the project.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

Keewatin was moved from Kalamazoo Lake on 31 May 2012, and docked about {{convert|1|mi|spell=in}} down river just inside the pier for continued maintenance before entering Lake Michigan. The vessel departed Saugatuck for the lake on 4 June 2012, to continue its journey northward to Mackinaw City. There Keewatin had a temporary layover before the final leg of the trip to Port McNicoll.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

On 23 June 2012, a celebration marked Keewatin{{'}}s return and the rebirth of a new planned community surrounding her.{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1216374--ss-keewatin-returns-home-to-port-mcnicoll|title=SS Keewatin returns home to Port McNicoll |work=Toronto Star |last=Phillips |first=Andrew |date=23 June 2012 |access-date=9 April 2018}} It was 45 years after Keewatin left Port McNicoll on 23 June 1967 and 100 years after 12 May 1912, the date that the ship began working from the same dock.

In late 2017 plans were discussed to move Keewatin to Midland, Ontario. By March 2018 it became clear that Keewatin would remain in Port McNicoll for another summer pending further relocation options.{{cite web |url=https://www.simcoe.com/news-story/8345346-ss-keewatin-not-relocating-to-midland-will-spend-summer-in-port-mcnicoll/|title=SS Keewatin not relocating to Midland, will spend summer in Port McNicoll |first=Andrew |last=Mendler |work=simcoe.com |date=23 March 2018 |access-date=9 April 2018}} In 2019, development company CIM committed to incorporating Keewatin into a redevelopment plan at the Port McNicoll site; the plans called for the ship to remain as a museum in a park adjacent to the proposed mixed-use (residential and commercial) development.{{cite news |title=Transforming the historic SS Keewatin in Port McNicoll |url=https://barrie.ctvnews.ca/transforming-the-historic-ss-keewatin-in-port-mcnicoll-1.4335119 |work= CTV News |date=13 March 2019 |access-date=29 September 2019}} But by June 2020, Skyline Investments (owner of Keewatin and surrounding development properties) indicated CIM had defaulted on mortgage payments,{{cite web |url=https://www.toronto.com/news-story/10040942-skyline-investments-looking-to-sell-donate-or-dismantle-ss-keewatin |title=Skyline Investments looking to sell, donate or dismantle SS Keewatin |last=Sarvis |first=Gisele Winton |work=toronto.com |date=23 June 2020 |access-date=1 June 2021 |archive-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112183831/https://www.toronto.com/news-story/10040942-skyline-investments-looking-to-sell-donate-or-dismantle-ss-keewatin/ |url-status=dead }} and would instead be pursuing plans to donate the ship to the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston, Ontario.{{cite web|url=https://www.orilliamatters.com/midland-news/the-end-seems-nigh-for-ss-keewatins-port-stay-2902926|title=The end seems nigh for SS Keewatin's Port stay |last=Phillips |first=Andrew |work=orilliamatters.com |date=24 November 2020 |access-date=1 June 2021}} Local reaction to the relocation from Port McNicoll was mixed,{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2021/01/05/georgian-bay-community-fights-to-keep-its-titanic-era-steamship.html|title=Georgian Bay community fights to keep its Titanic-era steamship |last=Brennan |first=Pat |work=Toronto Star |date=6 January 2021 |access-date=1 June 2021}}{{cite web |title=Keep Keewatin Home |url=https://keepkeewatinhome.ca/ |website=keepkeewatinhome.ca/ |access-date=27 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313101340/https://keepkeewatinhome.ca/ |archive-date=13 Mar 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thewhig.com/news/group-says-kingston-is-ss-keewatins-best-option-for-survival |title=Group says Kingston is SS Keewatin's best option for survival |last=Ferguson |first=Elliot |work=Kingston Whig Standard |date=27 March 2023}} but ultimately the Marine Museum completed their acquisition of Keewatin in March 2023.{{cite web|url=https://www.thewhig.com/news/marine-museum-of-the-great-lakes-acquires-ss-keewatin-steamship |title=Marine Museum of the Great Lakes acquires SS Keewatin steamship |last=Ferguson |first=Elliot |work=Kingston Whig Standard |date=3 March 2023}}

Keewatin left Port McNicoll on 24 April 2023{{cite web|url=https://www.thewhig.com/news/ss-keewatin-to-leave-port-mcnicoll-tuesday |title=SS Keewatin departs early from Port McNicoll Monday afternoon |last=Ferguson |first=Elliot |work=Kingston Whig Standard |date=24 April 2023}} after weeks of preparation for her relocation by volunteers from The RJ and Diane Peterson Keewatin Foundation.{{cite web|url=https://friendsofkeewatin.ca/ |title=Friends of Keewatin}} The ship arrived at Heddle Shipyards in Hamilton Harbour on 29 April 2023{{cite tweet|url=https://twitter.com/McKeilMarine/status/1654501299956727809 |title=The S.S. Keewatin, an Edwardian-era steamliner older than the Titanic, arrived in Hamilton on April 29. |user=McKeilMarine |author=McKeil Marine |number=1654501299956727809 |date=5 May 2023 |access-date=20 September 2023}} for retrofitting and repairs prior to the move to Kingston.{{cite news |date=1 May 2023 |title=Titanic-era steamship wows crowds in Burlington Canal |url=https://www.thespec.com/photos/2023/04/30/hamilton-harbour-ss-keewatin.html |work=The Hamilton Spectator |access-date=14 May 2023}} Keewatin arrived at Kingston on 26 October while under tow by tugboats. The ship was placed in a dry dock and received a heritage designation.{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ss-keewatin-kingston-museum-ship-arrives-october-2023-1.7010141 |title=Titanic-era steamship arrives at new home in Kingston |work=CBC News |date=29 October 2023 |access-date=25 June 2024}} On 17 May 2024, Keewatin was opened for public tours.{{cite web |url=https://obj.ca/steamship-ss-keewatin-open-tours-at-new-home-in-kingston/ |title=Titanic-era steamship SS Keewatin open for public tours at new home in Kingston |last=MacFarlane |first=Sarah |work=The Ottawa Business Journal |date=17 May 2024 |access-date=25 June 2024}}

The ship has become a set for a number of maritime-related documentaries and television docudramas, including subjects involving the torpedoed ocean liner {{RMS|Lusitania||2}}, the burned-out Bahamas cruise ship {{SS|Yarmouth Castle||2}}, Canadian Pacific's {{ship||Empress of Ireland}}, as well as {{RMS|Titanic||2}}. She was also used extensively in the opening episode of Season Seven of Murdoch Mysteries, "Murdoch Ahoy".{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/murdochmysteries/m/videos/making-murdoch/murdoch-ahoy-aboard-the-ss-keewatin |title=Making Murdoch: Murdoch Ahoy - Aboard the SS Keewatin |work=CBC |date=30 September 2013 |access-date=1 June 2021}} A documentary on the efforts to save Keewatin called "Bring Her on Home: The Return of S.S. Keewatin" was broadcast on CBC Canada.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=6427&vessel=KEEWATIN Scottish Built Ships database (ss Keewatin)]
• [http://sskeewatin.com/ Official website]

{{Coord|44.22513|-76.48325|type:landmark_region:CA-ON|display=title}}

{{National Historic Ships}}

{{Oldest surviving ships (pre-1919)}}

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Category:Passenger ships of the Great Lakes

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