SS Keewatin - Last of Her Kind by Conn1321 on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

The SS Keewatin is a Edwardian era passenger liner launched in 1907 at the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Glasgow, Scotland.

Sailing from 1908 until 1965 the Keewatin along with her sister ship Assiniboia carried passengers, immigrants and cargo between Port McNicoll, Ontario and the twin cities of Port Arthur and Fort William (Now Thunder Bay, Ontario) running almost continuously during that time until 1965 when the ship was retired from service.

In 1967 the ship was bought by West Michigan entrepreneur Roland J. Peterson Sr who opened the ship up as a museum and attraction in Douglas, Michigan and she would stay there until 2012 when it was bought by Skyline International Developments Inc who had her towed back to Port McNicoll to become a museum in her home port. This museum would sadly shut down during covid both due to the government lockdowns and a change in management at Skyline who wished to remove the ship.

In 2023 the ship was given to the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes (now known as the Great Lakes Museum) in Kingston, Ontario and that summer it went to Heddle Shipyards in Hamilton to get an overhaul and repaint. This is where I saw her and took this picture.

Now the last Edwardian era passenger liner left in the world, the Keewatin is now open for public tours in Kingston, Ontario opening in May, 2024.