Howard L. Shaw was a 451-foot (137 m) long propeller driven freighter that operated on the Great Lakes of North America from her launching in 1900 to her retirement 1969.

On 1 November 1900, Howard L. Shaw loaded 260,000 bushels of flax in Duluth, Minnesota which was a new port record.

Howard L. Shaw was the last vessel to see the wooden steamer John Owen on 12 November 1919 before she was lost in a storm on Lake Superior.

On 26 April 1926, Howard L. Shaw ran aground in Mud Lake while downbound from the St. Marys River.

On 4 July 1969 she was sunk as a breakwater at Ontario Place along with her fleet mates the steamers Douglas Houghton and Victorius.