The next checkpoint of the rally sent us to Fredonia, New York, where we located the first natural gas well in the USA. In 1821, William Hart dug a well at this location, and the Fredonia Gas Light Company was the first company in the country to distribute natural gas. While there is no longer a well here, the historical marker gives us the location.
Traveling up to Silver Creek, NY put us right at Lake Erie. In town, we needed to locate the Skew Arch as our checkpoint. A skew arch is part of a bridge which crosses the obstruction beneath at an angle.
Being only a block from Lake Erie, a few of us stopped for a break.
The next checkpoint took us to our final city destination–Buffalo, New York. Our first stop would be at Silo City, a campus of grain silos and elevators that commenced being built in the early 1900s. The site is located close to rail lines and the Buffalo River. The property is slowly being revamped as a site for tours and events and a pub, Duende, is located in the former office building of the American Malting Company.
But on my approach to Silo City, where I was traveling on the Buffalo Skyway and exiting at Ohio St., I spotted something through the fence, moored alongside one of the silo buildings. What were the chances??
That ship looked very familiar. Once I got into the Silo City campus, I managed to get a view of the stern of the ship. Again, what were the chances?
Zoomed in (sorry for the blur):
Yes, it was the SS Columbia! One never forgets a familiar face…or I should say, bow and stern.
Growing up in Detroit, this steamship, and its “sister,” the SS Ste. Claire, traveled daily up and down the Detroit River until the early 1990s. In the middle of the Detroit River was Bob-Lo Island (formally Bois Blanc Island), a Canadian amusement park which was reached only by watercraft. The Ste. Claire (launched 1910) and Columbia (launched 1902) made daily excursions to and from the dock in Detroit, an 18-mile, 90-minute boat ride each way. The boats were also available for evening cruises, featuring food, drink, and live bands. Ferries also reached the island from Amherstberg, Ontario and Gibraltar, Michigan.
With the massive Cedar Point amusement park being only a couple of hours from Detroit, attendance dwindled, and Bob-Lo Island stopped running its steamships in 1991. In 1992, they were both declared US National Historic Landmarks. By 1993 the amusement park had shut down, and the island was partially redeveloped for residential use.
The ships were docked in Ecorse at the Great Lakes Steel facility after they were retired, exposed to the elements. In 2004, the ships were finally shrink-wrapped to help prevent further damage and rot. 2006 saw the Columbia transferred to a New York-based non-profit group for eventual use on the Hudson River. It took until 2014 for the ship to be moved to Toledo for preparatory work prior to its relocation to Buffalo in September, 2015. Once restored, the ship is destined for the Hudson River.
Since arriving in Buffalo, the SS Columbia has been moored in the river behind Silo City.
The SS Ste. Claire fared worse. After being towed to Toledo in 2003 for restoration, it was towed back to the former Detroit Lime Dock on the Rouge River in 2015. While a crew had been slowly working on restoring the wooden decks of the steamship, progress was slow. In 2018 a welding accident, which caused a spark to land on the wooden deck, started a fire which destroyed all of the mahogany upper decks. The steel framework and hull of the ship remain intact, but little progress has been made in raising the funds for its restoration.
A small piece of trivia–in 2014, both boats were used in the film Transformers 4.
And Bob-Lo Island itself is part of history as well. Due to its location, and how it was accessed from both Canada and the US, anyone who visited the island did not have to go through Customs. For people who wanted to travel between the two countries, either illegally or to avoid being drafted (especially for the Vietnam War), they arrived as “visitors” to the island, and swapped their return tickets with others who were looking to travel in the opposite direction. This allowed them to skirt their way around the US/Canada border crossings.
I pulled away from Silo City and headed towards the next checkpoint. But the car smelled like Cheerios for a few minutes…
We had to locate the “convergence of the three Olmsted Parkways,” which turned out to be Soldier’s Circle. Easily found, and I also spotted another rally participant (in the red Reatta) taking a picture at the same intersection.
Let’s wrap this up! Our final checkpoint was Shark Girl, just across the street from the finish line.
And here was our finish line, and the location of the awards ceremony–the Pearl Street Grill & Brewery.
As the last line in our rally booklet said: #GodforsakenRallyIsOver.
Winners’ Circle
Winners on Points.
First place–Lemons Little Yikes, in their SmartForTwo.
Second place–The Egg Beaters, Toyota Previa
Third place–a tie between Nice Reliant Automobile (Plymouth Reliant), Escape from Buffalo (Plymouth Turismo), and Scrapyard Refugees (Plymouth Acclaim).
Additional trophy winners:
Random Acts of Stupidity–Smokey and the Vandits, Chevy G20 van
Judges’ Choice–Canucks on the Loose, Ford Fairmont
Organizer’s Choice–Team Smurf Car, Geo Metro.
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