Michigan
Michigan Marvels: The ghosts of the Davidson Shipyard
Michigan Marvels: The Davidson Shipyards
Michigan Marvels: The Davidson Shipyards
Bay City — If you take a stroll through Bay City’s Veterans Memorial Park along the shores of the Saginaw River, you might see the ghosts of ships from more than a hundred years ago.
You could even be standing right on top of one of them. A shipyard that once laboriously produced wooden ships stood on the site of the park.
“The shipyard literally sits under us,” said Don Comtois, a historian with the Saginaw River Marine Historical Society.
Before the hulking shapes of the ships were lost to history, there was Capt. James Davidson, who started the Davidson Shipyard in 1873. By 1900, he was building some of the largest wooden ships ever made, according to a 1995 report by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin’s State Underwater Archeology Program.
Davidson, who was born in Buffalo in 1841, spent his 20s learning about the shipping business while working on cargo ships that moved between New York and England. By 1870, he began to build ships at sites including Toledo and Saginaw, before settling on a site in West Bay City (before the city was absorbed by Bay City in 1905).
Almost a thousand men worked on the ships in the heyday of the early 1890s, said Comtois.
The ships were built by hand. There was no automation except in the saw mills, and builders could turn out eight to 10 ships in a season.
“It would take approximately 28 acres of oak trees to build one of those big wooden boats,” said Comtois.
Even after other shipyards began to build steel hulled ships, Davidson kept building wooden ones.
“He had a love for it, I think. Like a guy who collects only ’57 Chevys. Why does he do that? He has a love for it and he has a passion. I think Captain Davidson had that passion for the wooden ships. There were still people buying them, so he kept on building them.”
In its 30 years, the yard built dozens of wooden ships, with names like Oceania, Montezuma, and Wahnapitae. The last one launched in 1903.
Davidson died in 1929 and the yard was abandoned. Several ships, like the Sacramento, sat, rotting for decades.
“When they covered this yard over, the Sacramento was covered over,” said Comtois.
“She sat here in this yard and over the years she gradually burned to the water’s edge in the slip where she was launched,” said Comtois. “She sat there and over the years, it just fell apart. In 1976 she was completely taken apart.”
Visitors to Veterans Memorial Park can see a piece of the Sacramento on display. The rudder from the 300-foot ship sits in the middle of the park, not far from the volleyball courts where the hull is buried.
“We’re literally standing on history,” said Comtois.
Many other vessels built by Davidson sitting abandoned in the river eventually burned to the waterline. When the water is low on the Saginaw River, you can see the hulls of several big wooden freighters. One of the easiest to spot is the Shenandoah, with her two boilers peeking out of the top of the water. Built in 1894, the 320-foot wood steamer eventually was abandoned in 1924 after a life of hauling various cargo on the Great Lakes.
“What we see here is history that will never happen again,” said Comtois.
dguralnick@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @davidguralnick
Instagram: @groovnick
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Michigan State Police say a kayaker who went missing on White River northeast of Montague and Whitehall on Sunday, June 14, has been located safe, after a three-day search.
The man, Justin Wolfiss, 44, entered the river in a kayak at Sischo Bayou around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday with a friend, but did not arrive with his friend at the end point of their trip.
Wolfiss was located safe near Pines Point, officials announced on Tuesday, June 16.
He is currently being medically evaluated, officials say.
Wolfiss and his friend were traveling downstream toward the Happy Mohawk Canoe Livery, near Diamond Point, when they were separated early in the 3- to 4-hour trip, police said.
The friend, police said, waited several hours for Wolfiss to arrive after reaching Diamond Point around 7 p.m.
“The Michigan State Police would like to thank Blue Lake Township Fire Department, Hesperia Fire Department, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, MSP Aviation, MSP K-9, partnering agencies, volunteers, and members of the public who assisted in the search effort and shared information.”
Michigan
Report: Michigan cancels volleyball game vs. Texas Tech, to discuss prohibiting other contests
The fallout from the Brendan Sorsby saga continues. On Monday, Michigan canceled a scheduled volleyball game against Texas Tech, according to a report from Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger.
According to Dellenger, Michigan “plans to hold further discussions with its athletic staff on prohibiting contests against the Red Raiders.” The program becomes the latest to expressly state intent not to schedule Texas Tech amid the ongoing Sorsby saga.
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The controversy involves legal rulings that have made Sorsby eligible to play after Texas Tech and the NCAA declared him ineligible over sports wagering. Sorsby was granted an injunction against the NCAA that restored his eligibility temporarily, allowing him to play in 2026 after serving a two-game suspension.
Many, including the Big 12 itself, have come out staunchly against the ruling. They argue it presents an existential threat to the integrity of college athletics.
Sorsby placed dozens of sports bets while a student-athlete, including bets on his own program while at Indiana. The NCAA prohibits such activity.
Because of the legal posturing by Sorsby, the Big 12 and even programs outside the conference, like Michigan, have explored various avenues to state their own intent. Already, programs like Georgia and Nebraska have taken steps to avoid scheduling Texas Tech in athletics contests as a form of protest.
Last week, reports emerged from both athletic departments about their intent. Dellenger provided much of the reporting.
“Based on recent developments, Georgia Athletics will not schedule future contests against Texas Tech until further notice,” Georgia’s internal message read.
“Please review your sport’s current schedules and future scheduling plans. If you have any contests currently scheduled against Texas Tech, or are actively engaged in scheduling discussions with Texas Tech, please notify your sport administrator as soon as possible so we can evaluate the situation and determine next steps.
“Effective immediately, no new contests should be scheduled against Texas Tech without prior approval from the Athletics Department.”
The message from Nebraska was a bit briefer. But it carried the same directive.
“I want to reach out to let you know we will not schedule any contests vs. Texas Tech in any sport,” the memo read. “If you currently have a future contest already scheduled, please connect with (Nebraska athletic director) Troy (Dannen) immediately.”
Now Michigan has reportedly actively taken a step to cancel a contest against Texas Tech. It may not be the last, either.
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