Edward L. Ryerson

July 28, 1960 marked a landmark date for Manitowoc. On that date, Manitowoc Shipbuilding’s last lake freighter, the Edward L. Ryerson, left its birthplace at Manitowoc Shipbuilding. By August 4, the Edward L. Ryerson was leaving Manitowoc to be delivered to Inland Steel Company for its debut in the Great Lakes. 

The steel carrier’s keel was laid on April 20th, 1959, and throughout the rest of that year, construction was conducted on the body of the vessel.  On January 21st, 1960, the steamer was launched on wooden rollers into the icy Manitowoc River.  Construction continued on the quarters, offices, and other spaces within the ship, leading up to its official commission on August 4th.  At its completion, the steamer was 730 feet long, containing 4 cargo holds and reaching a service speed of 16.75 miles per hour.  Its crew totaled 37, and the steamer could accommodate 8 additional guests.  By the end of its construction, the Edward L. Ryerson was coated with 10,500 gallons of paint.

The Edward L. Ryerson was named in honor of Edward Larned Ryerson, a big name in the steel and iron business.  He was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1886, and graduated from Yale University with a Ph.D. in 1908, following which he was president of his family’s iron and steel company Joseph T. Ryerson & Son, Inc.  Ryerson’s company merged with the Inland Steel Company, the commissioner of the carrier, in 1935, and Ryerson himself continued as chairman of both companies until 1953.   Ryerson also led the delegation of American steel and ore mining representatives to the USSR, and served on many councils and commissions around Chicago.  The Inland Steel Company named the steamer after him to honor his time on the board of their company, and Ryerson himself lived to see the steamer in action, attending the keel laying in April 1959, and seeing it at work on the Great Lakes until his death in 1971.

Upon the completion of construction on August 4, 1960, the Edward L. Ryerson set out from Manitowoc for Escanaba, Michigan, where it loaded ore and embarked on its maiden voyage to Indiana Harbor, Indiana.  In its first couple years on the water, the steamer set a new peak iron ore cargo record of 23,378 tons, and then broke another record in Superior, Wisconsin in 1962, taking on 25, 018 tons. 

Today, the Ryerson is in long-term layup in Superior, Wisconsin