S.S. Tashmoo

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• That's a whole lot of history that we are missing in this area, is our marine history. But then this is Windsor, we have no real official history, it is almost as if we treat the river and lakes as a sterile object to be viewed behind steel barriers (parks)

• I think I might know where that is. I'll talk to my dad tonight when I get home from work. If it is where I think it is, it might be just in front of my aunt and uncles house that is if it is indeed still there if so I'll get up early and take pictures of it if I can.

• I just go off the phone with my dad. He is not 100% sure if it is in fact the wheel house off the Tashmoo but what I can confirm is that my aunt and uncle live in a house owned by Captain McQueen and in front of it was a cottage on the water that resembled a wheelhouse. Sadly the house that it was property too (not the same as the McQueen house that my aunt and uncle own) was sold to new owners and the new owners tore the wheel house down and put up in its place a gazebo on the same foot print it is out on Dalhousie Street in Amherstburg. Least thats what I gathered from talking to my dad.

• A'Burg Dave - Thanks for the detective work!

  If you come up with any photos let me know, I'd be happy to post them.

• There's a reference to it in "Great Lakes Ships We Remember" (revised, 1984) by The Marine Historical Society of Detroit, edited by Rev. Peter Van der Linden that implies that the sturcture is gone. I quote:

  "The Wreck was scrapped soon after (her 6/18/1936 sinking) although her pilot housed served as a summer cottage near Wallaceburg, Ontario for many years and the ship's bell is preserved in Greenfield Village Museum......."

  I don't know if Wallaceburg is a typo or misprint or what, but I've found that the info in the "Great Lakes Ships..." series to be reliable. It would seem fitting that the upper works ended up near Harsen's Island. It would have been close to Tashmoo Park........

• Well that is always possible as well. I will see if I can find more information on the possibility of the wheel house winding up down in Amherstburg. I remember a number of years ago being told something about the wheel house looking cottage when I was hanging out down at the river back when the "Calcite II" ran aground in the river right in front of my aunt and uncles house (former McQueen residence) My parents may still have pictures of that ship being stuck which may have included my mystery cottage.

• An interesting historical question, what? I shot an e-mail off to the Wallaceburg & District Historical Museum. Wonder what the response will be.....

• cool! i'm not sure why but i had searched and searched for pics of the tashmoo for the past 2 weeks collecting them on my computer lol. i honestly don't know why. i've been reading some really great articles on her as well. guess she's been in a couple races for tile of fastest excursion vessle on the lakes.

• Aaron, she was apparenty quite the ship!

  Doug, seeing as she ran aground at Amherstburg, it would seem more likely that's where the pilot house ended up, espcially givien the link to the captain... Wallaceburg, given the reasons you stated does make sense, but that would have been a heck of a journey by land in 1936 for that hunk of steel...

• agreed andrew! she just looked like she was ready for a race!

  something about this: Captain McQueen intends to convert the structure into a summer cottage, only minor changes being necessary to accomplish this. The cottage will face out into the waters of the river and will remain a link with the past, for the Tashmoo plied these waters for almost 40 years.
  tells me she stayed in a'burg. and i'm probly totally wrong, but i'm having a faint recolection of seeing something like this pilot house many-a-time on my way to mu aunts in willow beach as a kid. along front road i beleive just north of where the town actually begins. like i said....i'm probly way off.