The Algomah

The Algomah. Mackinaw City Historical Pathway. , The Algomah sank at the Cheboygan docks in July 1942 and was raised two years later. She was towed to Mackinaw City, filled with stone, and sunk to form the breakwall at the end of Shelpler's ferry dock. In 1947, Captain William Shepler, Jr., founded Shepler's ferry service. Several times a day, Shepler's ferries pass near the resting place of the Algomah, the first ship to offer scheduled ferry service across the Straits. , , The Algomah was built in Detroit in 1881 to transport freight across the Straits of Mackinac. She towed a barge that could carry four rail cars but was eventually replaced by the St. Ignace which could carry ten rail cars. The Algomah, piloted by Captain William Shepler, was used as a ferry to Mackinac Island until 1936 when she was retired and converted to a barge. , , Henry Ford was a young machinist at the Detroit Dry Dock Company when he helped build and install the Algomah's engine. In 1936, when the Algomah was retired, he removed the engine for display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.