[1] Monarch (Official Number 96843) was a wooden passenger-cargo ship built in 1890 in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, by John Dyble[3] for the Northwest Transportation Company.

[3][4] Monarch was used to transport both passengers and packages on the Great Lakes throughout her career,[6] primarily running between Sarnia, Thunder Bay, Ontario, and Duluth, Minnesota.

[3] In 1899, Northwest Transportation merged with another company to form the Northern Navigation Company, Ltd.[3] On December 6, 1906, the Monarch finished loading a cargo of wheat, oats, salmon, and general merchandise and departed Thunder Bay for Sarnia in a blinding snowstorm.

[3][4] For some reason, the ship headed off her planned course, and that night she ran at full speed into the palisade area on the north side of Blake Point on Isle Royale.

[4] The survivors camped on Isle Royale for four days, salvaging food from the wreck and keeping signal fires alight, before they were rescued on December 10, 1906.