Great Lakes Bulk Carriers 1869 - 1985

In the 1850's the Great Lakes and their many ships provided a transportation system that carried anything and everything that needed to be transported. The goods that were moved by horse-drawn vehicles over dirt roads were negligible. There were three general types of ships operating on the lakes at this time. The great sidewhellers primarily carried passengers and their belongings. The propeller driven ships, ussually refered to as just "propellers" carried passengers, but also carried a large variety of good and supplies that were needed on the farms and in the industries of the rapidly developing midwest. The little schooners carried bulk cargoes and just about anything else. These schooners seldom exceeded 135 feet, the available length in the locks of the Welland Canal, and were about as large a ship as could be handled by a small crew. However, such a schooner could carry 100 to 200 tons which even today is a large quantity.