In 1917, the 550' x 58' Louis W. Hill was launched in Lorain, Ohio for the National Steel Corporation. The Hill was a work-horse for 38 years hauling iron ore and coal.
In 1955, she was sold to the Wilson Marine Transit Company and was renamed the Valley Camp in honor of the Valley Camp Coal Company.
In addition to iron ore and coal, the Valley Camp delivered stone, grains and other bulk goods.
The Valley Camp was officially retired in 1966, but not because of the age of the freighter.
Instead, it was issues with her triple expansion engine that was still being fed by coal-burning boilers that led her to an early retirement.
From 1917 until its last voyage in 1961, the 11,500 ton ship logged some 3 million miles and carried in excess of 16 million tons of cargo.
Instead of sending the Valley Camp off to the scrap yard (which is common practice nowadays), it was purchased by Le Sault de Sainte Marie Historical Sites, Inc. for $10,000.
In early July 1968, the Valley Camp was towed from Wisconsin to Sault Ste. Marie during the city's tri-centennial celebration.
The following year, the Valley Camp was restored into a museum ship and opened for tours.
As a museum for decades now, the Museum Ship Valley Camp keeps improving every year.
Visitors are allowed to explore just about every part of the ship. There are hundreds of artifacts, paintings, shipwreck items, models and other objects on display inside including large fish aquariums.
Maybe the most striking and viewed items on display are the artifacts recovered from the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald including two lifeboats. The freighter sank off Whitefish Point in Lake Superior in November 1975.
You can expect to spend several hours on the museum ship to experience the rich history of all the exhibits.
The Valley Camp was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It is also considered a Michigan State Historic Site.
While the Museum Ship Valley Camp is currently closed for the season, it will reopen in mid-May.
It is located at 501 E. Water St. next to Kemp Marina.
For more information, click here.
