A Scottish immigrant, Great Lakes captain, inventor[5] and entrepreneur, McDougall developed the idea of the whaleback as a way to improve the ability of barges to follow a towing vessel in heavy seas.

[6] The rounded contours of whalebacks gave them an unconventional appearance,[1] and McDougall's ship and barge designs were received with considerable skepticism, resistance, and derision.

[6][7] After McDougall was unable to persuade existing shipbuilders to try his designs, he founded the American Steel Barge Company in Superior, Wisconsin in 1888, and built them himself.

[8] When the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, to be held in Chicago, Illinois, was in the planning stages, McDougall recognized another opportunity to publicize his design.

The Columbus, conceived as an elaborate ferry, was intended to demonstrate that the whaleback design would work well in passenger service,[1][5] and would be able to travel at high speed.

The job was undertaken at McDougall's American Steel Barge Company works in Superior, Wisconsin, starting in the fall of 1892.

Her grand saloon and skylighted promenade deck contained several fountains and a large aquarium filled with trout and other fish of the lakes.

The cabins and public spaces were fitted out with oak paneling, velvet carpets, etched glass windows, leather furniture and marble.

[10][13] McDougall's American Steel Barge Company had committed in the contract that the Columbus would be built and delivered in three months, making her one of the fastest-built large ships of her time.

Painted in all white livery, the Columbus made multiple round trips per day, sailing along the Lake Michigan shoreline from the Randolph Street/Van Buren Street dock to the Jackson Park site of the World's Columbian Exposition's Beaux arts "White City" exposition fairgrounds.

[15] In recognition of that success, the commissioners of the exposition presented Captain McArthur with a gold watch engraved with a representation of the ship.

[15] After the exposition ended the Columbus entered passenger service, and an additional deck (third superstructure, fifth total) was added during the 1899–1900 winter season.

[3] Her livery was at some point between 1906 and 1909 changed to a black hull with yellow accents, and she was placed in service on the route between Chicago and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Milwaukee River current caught her, spinning her sideways, and her bow sheared off two legs of the Yahr-Lang Drug Company's water tower, toppling it and flooding Columbus' decks with about 25,000 US gallons (95,000 L).

Officials subsequently ordered many passenger ships to undergo stability testing, which the Columbus passed easily.