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A weekly look at life on the Great Lakes, in 90 seconds or less, from IPR News.

Maritime Time: The Marine City fire

Remains of the boiler and other machinery lie exposed at the wreck site of the paddle wheel steamer Marine City. Photo: Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Remains of the boiler and other machinery lie exposed at the wreck site of the paddle wheel steamer Marine City. (Photo: Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary)

On Aug. 29, 1880, the steamship Marine City burned near Alcona.

The 192-foot vessel was just off Sturgeon Point when some passengers and crew noticed smoke coming from the engine room.

The steamship quickly became engulfed in flames. Thick smoke poured from the engine room as passengers panicked. Many leapt from the ship into Lake Huron to escape the fire.

Historic image of the steamer Marine City at the dock. Photo: Great Lakes Maritime Collection, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library.
Historic image of the steamer Marine City at the dock. Photo: Great Lakes Maritime Collection, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library.

Crew members, nearby vessels and the Sturgeon Point Lifesaving Station worked quickly to prevent a total disaster. Of the 150 people on board the Marine City, five died.

The steamship burned all the way to the waterline on Sturgeon Point. The headline in the Sarnia Observer newspaper in 1880 got right to the point — “BURNED ON LAKE HURON.”

Some of the Marine City remains, a boiler and other machinery lie on the beach to this day.

Fire devoured most of the ship's hull. But the lower hull, including boiler fragments and more machinery, remain in the water, available for exploration by divers and snorkelers.

Tyler Thompson is the Morning Edition host and reporter at Interlochen Public Radio.