In the late 1820s and 1830s Huron’s shipbuilding industry surpassed that of any other town in Ohio. The newly improved harbor, the close proximity of the Huron River and a plentiful supply of cheap lumber all contributed to Huron’s designation as “leading Ohio builder of steamships in the 1830s.”
Valentine Fries and captains Charles Fairbanks Church, Charles Peterson, John Shook, Augustus Walker, Charles Montague and John F. Squier were a few of the more prominent men involved in Huron’s shipbuilding business. (Video: Capt. Charles Fairbanks Church, Afternoon in the Huron Cemetery, 2017)
The grave marker of Captain Fairbanks Church in Huron Cemetery. The marker is no longer standing.One of the last and largest boats built in the area was the Golden Age, launched in Huron in 1888. It was built by Valentine Fries who had been born in Germany in 1826 and came to the U.S. five years later with his family. He built several boats at his boat yard, Fries Landing, near the corner of Mason Rd. and Rt. 13, including the Golden Age. The ship was launched in Huron in 1883 after being guided down the Huron River. Hundreds of spectators watched as the 287 foot long boat made her way to Huron.The steamer the Great Western was commissioned in 1839. She was built in Huron by Captain Augustus Walker, who was also her captain. The boat was the first steamer on the Great Lakes with an upper cabin. Unfortunately, she burned a year later. while docked in Detroit. Capt. Walker, who had sailed the Great Lakes since he was 17, moved to Huron from Buffalo, N.Y. in 1830 and built several steamers under the name of his business, Wickham, Walker and Company. He returned to Buffalo in 1842 and continued to sail the Great Lakes. He died in 1865.Capt. Charles Z. Montague was born in Huron in 1857 to Capt. Robert and Sarah Johnson Montague. A captain on the Great Lakes and farmer, he died in 1922 while on his vessel the John B. Cowle. The photo is of him and his daughter Edith's son, Charles Washburn.
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