Erie's History and Memorabilia

Before starting a successful car dealership in 1965, Erie native Louis John Porreco formed the Canadian Holiday Company of Erie in 1962, which would be in bankruptcy by 1964. The SS North American was purchased by the Erie Company in 1963 for cross-lake service between Erie, and Port Burwell, and Port Dover, Ontario, Canada. The North American operated out of the Port of Erie for less than a year, before she was retired in 1964. — Lou Porreco had ambitions to turn the ship into a casino. His ambition was never realized. On June 26, 1964, the ship’s mortgage was entered in foreclosure proceedings and the North American was attached by the United States Marshal. At the time of the Marshal's seizure of the ship, wharfage was supplied under a contract between the Canadian Holiday Company and the City of Erie Port Commission. This contract was terminated by written notice on August 17, 1964. The North American continued to lie at the dock when the United States Marsha...

Previous to the War of 1812, the principal business on the Great Lakes was the transfer of salt and furs. For example, in 1811, one hundred and twenty thousand dollars worth of salt was taken by Captain Dobbins in the schooner Salina  from Mackinaw, Michigan; 18,000 barrels destined for the Pittsburgh market arrived at Erie in a single season. In 1809, Daniel Dobbins became master and part owner, along with Rufus S. Reed, of the 90-ton salt-trade Schooner Salina. One of the most sought-after commodities in this era was salt, one of the few means available to preserve fish and meats before refrigeration. A dozen or more vessels comprised the whole merchant fleet of the lake, averaging about sixty tons each. The chief article of freight was salt from Salina, New York, which was brought to Erie, landed on the beach, then hauled in wagons to Waterford, and from there floated down on barges to Pittsburgh. Before canals, salt heading west left the shores...

The Erie and Western Transportation Company, known as the Anchor Line, established in 1865, with its terminal at the foot of Holland Street, and a passenger and commercial fleet of seventeen vessels, was by 1871 providing freight and weekly passenger service in the latter century to ports on the Great Lakes. Passenger service on the Great Lakes was prevalent in Erie throughout the nineteenth century. Several steamer ships were launched from Erie in the 1830s, accommodating up to 250 cabin passengers. The Anchor Line provided weekly passenger service in the latter century to ports such as Cleveland, Detroit, Port Huron, and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; with connections to Lake Superior, Milwaukee, and Chicago. The Erie & Port Dover Ferry offered regular (twice daily) passenger ferry service to Port Dover, Ontario, for a short time from 1927 to 1932. The ferry Keystone could carry 80 automobiles and 1,000 passengers, and provided stateroom accommodations for 200. The Anchor L...

The USS Michigan was the US Navy’s first iron-hulled warship and was designed by shipbuilder Samuel Hart. The ship was built in pieces at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1842 and was shipped overland to Erie, where she was put together. While being launched on 5 December 1843, the Michigan slipped down the ways but stopped short of the water. Hart and the builders tried to force the ship into the water throughout the rest of the day, but the ship would not budge. As darkness came, everyone gave up and left. But when they returned the following day, they discovered that during the night the Michigan had slid down the remaining section of the ways and was floating peacefully some distance offshore in Lake Erie! The ship was retrieved and final construction began on the steamer. The USS Michigan was commissioned on 29 September 1844 and was almost 164 feet long, 27 feet wide, and had a crew of 88 officers and men. The Great Lakes Patrol was carried out by American naval fo...