The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

HISTORY OF STEAMER GORDON ae CAMPBELL. a ~- When the old steamer Gordon Campbell perished by fire on the bleak shore of Michipicoten Island, TAE MARINE REVIEW and would have survived had not fire started in her hold. a The old steamer Gordon Campbell was built by Campbell & Owen, in De- troit, in. 1871, for their own account, 1 STEAMER GORDON CAMPBELL Lake Superior, last November, one of the famous old vessels of the lakes passed away. At the time of the ca- tastrophe her. identity was concealed during a period of semi-activity in their ship yard, and was operated by them until sold to the Anchor line in 1873. She was 205 ft. keel, 32 ft. beam under the name of Strathmore, she having been purchased by George Plunkett, of Cobourg, Ont. after lying at moorings at Chicago for a_ long time. -She was driven ashore in a ter- 'tific gale, but weathered it splendidly, Vs GORDON CAMPBELL. Le .and 22 ft. deep. She had two com- pound engines, 22 and 32 in. diameters, -by 26-in. stroke, supplied with steam from two fire box boilers, 7 ft. diame- ter, and 16 ft. long, allowed 100 lbs. pressure. Her engines were built by the Detroit Dry Dock Engine Works, and her boilers by Johnston & Don- aldson, of Detroit. The steamer was rebuilt in 1888 and was operated con- tinuously by the Anchor line until 1899, when she was 'sold to Barry Bros, of Chicago. Atter that. her career was one of vicissitudes and idle- ness until she was purchased by George Plunkett, of Cobourg, Ont., who operated her under the name of Strathmore. As an Anchor liner she was known to thousands upon thousands of trav- elers who had gone up and down the lakes on her. Named after Gordon Campbell, she could not be other than -conspicuous, and was in her early days the most popular liner on the lakes. The man who built her and gave her his name, was one of the leading men in lake trade in its early days, and continued for many years to be one of its foremost figures. Gordon Campbell was born at Wel- lington Square, Canada, on Sept. Ft; 1827, of parents in poor circumstances. He was left an orphan at the age of fifteen, by the death of his mother. He remained in his native villaze for a year or two thereafter, and then took up sailing. At the age of twenty-two he was master of a vessel. In the in- terim, whatever education .he got was by going to school during the win- ters, while working nights and morn- ings for his board. During this period he won the respect and friendship of many persons, which was retained throughout all of his life. Blessed with excellent health and boundless energy, he did a tremendous amount of work before his thirtieth year. In 1852 he went into the ship building and ship repairing business in Detroit, this business being the nucleus of the present plant of the Detroit Ship Building Co, The 'first large vessel ever' built in Detroit was launched from the yard of Gordon Campbell & Co., in 1852. About 1862 Mr. John Owen, of Detroit, became interested in the company which then became known as Campbell & Owen, until the property. was incorporated in July, 1872, as the Detroit Dry Dock Co. During the last few years of his life, Mr. Campbell was compelled, by fail- ing health, due to overwork, both mentally and physically, to relinquish active attention to the business which he had established, but he retained his interest in it until his death which oc- curred on Aug, 18, 1874. His last days were spent at Aiken, S. C., where he had purchased a plantation, and lived on it in the hope of. benefiting his health. Mr. Campbell was married in 1856, { |