Queen of the Lakes

Since 1981, the title has been held by MV Paul R. Tregurtha, a lake freighter of the 1000-foot category operated by the Interlake Steamship Company.

[6] It has been applied to the United States Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw for its long and significant role in facilitating Great Lakes shipping and safety.

Many say it was Le Griffon, built by LaSalle through the winter and spring of 1678 and 1679, and launched in May of that year to sail the upper lakes (above Niagara).

[9] Other sources say the first ship was a smaller vessel built by LaSalle at Fort Frontenac beginning in September 1678, for the purpose of conveying supplies and material to Niagara.

This vessel, which is called Frontenac in some reports,[10] is said to have been about 10 tons burthen, measuring from 35 to 45 feet (11 to 14 m) long.

It departed Fort Frontenac under La Motte's and Louis Hennepin's leadership on November 18, 1678, and arrived at the east bank of the Niagara River on December 6, 1679.

Shortly thereafter, LaSalle and Tonty came with more supplies, and their vessel (carrying the anchor, rigging, and guns for Le Griffon) foundered in the surf less than thirty miles (48 km) from Niagara.

Supplies and extra clothing were lost, but LaSalle and his men rescued material for the ship, dragged them to the mouth of the Niagara, rested a few days in an Indian village, and arrived at the settlement above the falls on January 20.

According to the Detroit Tribune, the vessels Gladwin, Lady Charlotte, Victory, and Boston were on the lakes in 1766 and Brunswick, Enterprise, and Charity were launched in 1767, 1769, and 1770, respectively, but no dimensions are given.

Mississippi, Plymouth Rock, and Western World were all out of service by 1859, and the Queens that had not already been lost by 1862 were rebuilt as barges or schooners or dismantled within a year.

Nebraska was a propeller-driven steamer for freight and passenger use, but given what had happened to her predecessors, she was likely not so richly appointed.

At 283 feet, she was longer than both Nebraska and David Dows, but her service was on the St. Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec, not on the Great Lakes proper.