Introduction to the Society

The Marine Historical Society of Detroit, a non profit organization founded in 1944 provides a focal point for individuals and organizations interested in and concerned with the history of the Great Lakes and its maritime heritage. The Society is comprised of over 800 members throughout the United States, Canada, and around the world.

Membership includes the Society's monthly publication, The Detroit Marine Historian, which explores the various shipping activities around the Great Lakes. Feature articles include Great Lakes fleet listings, introduction of new vessels, profiles of interesting Great Lakes vessels as well as accounts of shipwrecks and ships that have left the lakes to ply the world’s waterways. Every Historian features "The Log" a compendium of current developments in the shipping industry and the Great Lakes maritime community as well as quality pictures that support the featured articles and current events covered in the "Log". Along with "The Historian" each member receives the Society's handsome full color calendar of Great Lakes ships, sure to please any ship buff.

"Historians" dating back to 1947 (beginning with volume 1) and a limited number of past calendars are available at a modest cost. The Society has written and produced three outstanding hard cover books, entitled "Great Lakes Ships We Remember" - Volumes I, II, and III, covering hundreds of favorite ships that have sailed the Great Lakes. These include wood, iron and steel bulk freighters, schooners, lumber hookers, railroad ferries, tugs and passenger vessels to name a few. Many of the photographs used in these publications are rare and are not available elsewhere. These books are out of print and no longer can be ordered from Freshwater Press but may be available in small book stores around Michigan. Also the society published the book "Ahoy & Farewell" in 1969 and a follow-up book "Ahoy & Farewell II" in 1996. The first book covered Great Lakes ships, built, scrapped or that had left the Great Lakes during the period from 1955 to 1969 and is out of print. A substantially revised "Ahoy & Farewell Revised Edition" published in 2001 is now available. The original "Ahoy and Farewell" was a book of 89 pages plus 49 photos. The revised edition contains 178 pages of text plus 90 photos. Also available, the expansive "Ahoy & Farewell II", recounts the history of some 440 Great Lakes vessels which sailed the “freshwater seas” during the twenty-five year period ending in 1994; our 50th anniversary.  New also from the Society is the soft-covered book "Historic Lake Boats in Color - Collector Photo Series #1", the first of a series of books featuring rare color photographs of Great Lakes ships. The book features twenty-four photos plus those shown on the front and back covers, all taken in the 1950's and 1960's..

A highlight of our calendar of events is our Annual Dinner Meeting which has been held most recently at Port Huron's Seaway Terminal and prior to that at the St Clair Inn, both overlooking the beautiful St Clair River. This annual affair, held in late April or early May, features excellent food, interesting company and entertainment programs presented by outstanding speakers connected to the shipping industry. A really enjoyable benefit of this event is the shipping traffic that passes during the evening.

In accordance with the Society's objective to further interest and preservation of Great Lakes history, we have provided financial support to worthy projects and museums around the Great Lakes, such as the lightship Huron Museum, the G.A. Boeckling restoration project, the William G. Mather Museum, the Great Lakes Maritime Institute's William Clay Ford pilothouse and Edmund Fitzgerald anchor raising projects. The Society has also given scholarship support to Great Lakes Maritime Academy at Traverse City. Our archival collection had been donated to The Historical Collections of the Great Lakes (formerly the Institute for Great Lakes Research) at Bowling Green, Ohio, where it is available to society members, researchers and historians.

Membership in the Marine Historical Society of Detroit is an excellent way to gain insight into the Great Lakes shipping scene. We would be pleased to have you join us.  Membership dues are $30.00 U.S. annually. Our membership and fiscal year begins September 1 of each year. Current issues of "The Historian" starting with the September issue along with the current calendar will be sent to those who join in midyear.