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Beaver Island Boat Company

Also Beaver Island Boat Co. · B.I. Boat Company

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

Locator map: Saint James highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago
Within Saint JamesLocator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.
TypeCompany
Founded1954
Coordinates45.7468° N, 85.5188° WGoogle MapsDownload KML
WithinSaint James
ErasModern era
On this page
Locator map: Saint James highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago
Within Saint JamesLocator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.
Company
Founded
1954
Coordinates
45.7468° N, 85.5188° WGoogle MapsDownload KML
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
maritimeshippingtourismtransportationeconomy
Within
Saint James
Media
The US-31 bridge closes after the Beaver Island ferry, 2011 · The US-31 bridge opens for the Beaver Island ferry, 2011
Map: Charlevoix–Beaver Island ferry-route context (2019).
Charlevoix–Beaver Island ferry-route context (2019)Drawn from the archive's own data in EPSG:3078. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); USGS GNIS, USGS 3DEP, and NOAA NCEI Great Lakes bathymetry (public domain).; U.S. DOT NTAD ferry-route geometry (2019). · CC BY 4.0 for the drawing; underlying data under its own terms (see credit)

Summary

The Beaver Island Boat Company operated the scheduled ferry service between Charlevoix and Saint James, Michigan, from the mid-1950s. The held record dates its incorporation to either 1954 or 1955 — the same subject-card chronology gives both — and describes its purchase of the Emerald Isle, the first vessel built specifically for the run, put in service in April 1955. A larger ferry, the Beaver Islander, replaced her in 1962. The company ran the route through the 1960s and 1970s, expanded into Charlevoix real estate, and passed to outside ownership before a group of island businessmen organized a 1984 buyback, raising $450,000 from several hundred shareholders to return the ferry to island-connected control. It succeeded a string of independently owned vessels that had worked the route since 1895.

Beaver Island Harbor Light (U.S. Coast Guard archive photograph)
The harbour light at Saint James, the island end of the runWikimedia Commons (per-file credit in the sidecar) · Public domain

Current operation

The company operates the passenger and freight ferry between Charlevoix and Beaver Island from 26210 Main Street, and was listed and operating as of August 2026.1

History

Map: Charlevoix–Beaver Island ferry-route context (2019).
Charlevoix–Beaver Island ferry-route context (2019)Drawn from the archive's own data in EPSG:3078. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); USGS GNIS, USGS 3DEP, and NOAA NCEI Great Lakes bathymetry (public domain).; U.S. DOT NTAD ferry-route geometry (2019). · CC BY 4.0 for the drawing; underlying data under its own terms (see credit)

Before the modern company, the route was worked by separately owned boats: the 60-foot Nellie from 1895; Capt. Peter D. Campbell’s Erie L. Hackley, sold 1906–07, after which Campbell ran the Beaver until it burned at the dock in 1915; the Bruce, retired 1920; a renamed James E. Sanford, to 1930; the Ossian Bedell, 1931–1933, moved that year to a Chicago River excursion trade; the coaster Ramblar; and, from later 1933, the Marold II. The North Shore, owned by the Lyons brothers, was eventually sold to the Boat Company itself, undated.23 A newly formed Beaver Island Transit Company bought the Marold II in September 1935; its head, Everett Cole, died with four others when the vessel exploded during a salvage operation on 1 January 1937, leaving Lloyd McDonough its sole surviving member.45 No held source connects that company to the modern Beaver Island Boat Company, incorporated two decades later.

The company’s own founding date is contested: the Collar cards date incorporation to “fall 1954” and, in the same entry, say it “formed” in 1955 and bought the Emerald Isle for $100,000, while a March 1961 Beacon notice on Karl Erber’s succession to the presidency instead states outgoing president Henry C. Allen “served in that capacity since the company was formed in [19]44” — a date found nowhere else, presented here as printed, not resolved.26 Rogers W. Carlisle, who moved to the island in 1946, is credited both in a September 1960 account of his own remarks and in his October 1971 obituary with helping establish the company and serving as its first president.78

The Emerald Isle arrived from the Christy Corporation yard at Sturgeon Bay on 21 April 1955, made her maiden voyage to Charlevoix that afternoon under Capt. Mark Cross, and was christened at Saint James on 23 April by Mrs. Dan P. Boyle. Henry C. Allen conducted the ceremony as president; the Beacon names board members Lloyd McDonough (vice president), Dr. Harry F. Vail, Karl J. Erber and Theodore Hine, with Carlisle credited for “considerable assistance.”9 The company ran a Monday–Wednesday–Friday winter schedule, weather permitting, laying the ferry up in Charlevoix once ice closed the harbor, with a Charlevoix flying service carrying mail during the deepest layup weeks.1011 The board named James W. Gallagher Charlevoix dock manager in 1959, succeeding Capt. Joseph Howard, and elected Archie LaFreniere to the board in September 1960.121314

In March 1961 Karl Erber of Charlevoix succeeded Allen as president, whose resignation the Beacon attributes to his own business relations with company members.6 The following year the company replaced the Emerald Isle with a larger ferry, bid 10 February 1962 to a design by naval architect Hartell.15 By March the board had accepted Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Corporation’s $187,000 bid for the new Beaver Islander — 95 feet and 1,020 horsepower against the Emerald Isle’s 72 feet and 360.16 Coast Guard approval of shop drawings delayed delivery; the ferry reached Saint James harbor 27 July and was christened 5 August, under Capt. Lawrence McDonough.1718 The Emerald Isle, herself eighteen days late on her final crossing, was sold conditionally to Arnold Transit Lines for $68,000 for the Mackinac Island run, contingent on the Beaver Islander’s delivery.19

The Beaver Islander carried the route through the following two decades. A January 1969 Charlevoix Courier account describes her 299th and final trip of the 1968 season, a storm crossing carrying winter supplies; a July 1969 notice confirms an operating stock corporation.2021 The 1970s brought a 1972 water-pump failure and five-year Soo dry-dock inspection; a July 1973 clutch failure that sent the company to charter the former Emerald Isle back from Arnold Line; a 1974 offer of either vessel for no-charge emergency evacuation; a classified advertisement offering shares through Norman Gallagher of Port Huron; and, in January 1975, purchase of the former Erber Auto Company property on Clinton Street in Charlevoix for passenger parking.2223242526 It pledged $500 to the island’s Bicentennial fund in November 1975 — the same season it reported hauling 96 deer off the island for hunters — and a February 1976 report gave 1975’s totals: about 300 trips, six missed to weather, a season 15 April to 27 December.2728

By the early 1980s the company had passed out of island-connected ownership: John McGoff took a controlling interest in it in 1981, and by 1984 it operated as Beaver Island Navigation Co. A committee of seven island businessmen, organized by Bill McDonough and Ed Wojan, approached McGoff in January 1984; on 27 February a newly incorporated Beaver Island Boat Co. signed a contingent asset-purchase agreement for the Beaver Islander, the South Shore, the dock and related assets, contingent on raising $450,000 cash, and on 27 March received state approval to sell stock. Its seven-member founding board — Ed Wojan, Bill McDonough, Ron Wojan, Tim McDonough, William Cashman, Richard Speck and Richard Gillespie — appealed to islanders and property owners for support.29 The purchase closed 29 June 1984; by 21 August, 4,016 of 5,000 offered shares had sold to 267 stockholders, and about 175 people attended the first annual shareholders’ meeting on 1 September. Ed Wojan was re-elected president, Bill McDonough vice president and Rick Speck secretary-treasurer; Marilyn Hofbauer continued running the company from the Charlevoix office.30

Significance

The record documents the company as the scheduled ferry operator on the Charlevoix–Beaver Island route across three decades, carrying passengers, vehicles, freight, mail and, each fall, the hunting season’s deer harvest. Its officers were also island civic figures — Carlisle helped found the Medical Center, Telephone Co-operative and Civic Association alongside the Boat Company — and Erber, Allen and the McDonough family recur across the board and other island institutions. The 1984 buyback returned ownership to several hundred island-connected shareholders after a period under Beaver Island Navigation Co.

Open questions

  • Which record settles the founding date: “fall 1954,” the same Collar entry’s 1955 “formed,” or the March 1961 Beacon’s printed 1944?
  • What is the full list of directors, officers and shareholders across each decade?
  • When did John McGoff take his controlling interest, and under what name(s) did the company operate before 1984?
  • What is the company’s relationship, if any, to the Beaver Island Transportation Authority, established in 1993?
  • What became of the Beaver Islander and the South Shore after 1984, and does the company still run the route?
  • Do any records connect the 1930s Beaver Island Transit Company to the Boat Company beyond the shared route?

See also

Footnotes

  1. Google Maps, Beaver Island Boat Company place listing, retrieved 14 August 2026. ↩

  2. Helen Collar Papers, “Ships and Boats,” Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. ↩ ↩2

  3. Beaver Beacon, November 1975 and February 1976, “Beaver Tales (Cont. Boats to B.I.).” ↩

  4. Beaver Beacon, April 1976, “Beaver Tales (Cont. Boats to B.I.).” ↩

  5. Charlevoix County Herald, January 8, 1937, “Coast Guards Abandon Search for Three Men Missing in Marold II Explosion.” ↩

  6. Beaver Beacon, March 1961, “Boat Company News.” ↩ ↩2

  7. Beaver Beacon, September 1960. ↩

  8. Beaver Beacon, October 1971, “Rogers W. Carlisle Passes.” ↩

  9. Beaver Beacon, April and May 1955, “Day of the Month for April Is Boat Day” and “The Emerald Isle.” ↩

  10. Beaver Beacon, December 1960, “Summer Is Over — definitely.” ↩

  11. Beaver Beacon, January 1961, “Winter Is Here To Stay.” ↩

  12. Beaver Beacon, February 1959, “N.B. Important.” ↩

  13. Beaver Beacon, March 1959, “Gee Whiz..Gee Whiz.” ↩

  14. Beaver Beacon, September 1960. ↩

  15. Beaver Beacon, February 1962, “Boat Company.” ↩

  16. Beaver Beacon, March 1962, “Bigger, Better Boat for Beaver.” ↩

  17. Beaver Beacon, June 1962, “Boat Company Progress.” ↩

  18. Beaver Beacon, August 1962, “Welcome, Beaver Islander!” ↩

  19. Beaver Beacon, May 1962, “Better Late Than Never” and “Beaver Islander.” ↩

  20. Charlevoix Courier, January 1, 1969, “Friday’s storm fails to halt final run for boat” and “Beaver Islander’s last trip.” ↩

  21. Beaver Beacon, July 1969, annual meeting notice. ↩

  22. Beaver Beacon, May 1972, “Hectic Season Start.” ↩

  23. Beaver Beacon, July 1973, “Emerald Isle Returns.” ↩

  24. Beaver Beacon, March 1974, “First Boat” and “Boat News.” ↩

  25. Beaver Beacon, February 1974, classified advertising, “For Sale.” ↩

  26. Beaver Beacon, January 1975, “Beaver Island-Boat Company Buys Parking at Charlevoix.” ↩

  27. Beaver Beacon, November 1975, “Bicentennial Report.” ↩

  28. Beaver Beacon, February 1976, “Boat Company.” ↩

  29. Beaver Beacon, April 1984, “Good News - Boat Company To Come Back To Island People.” ↩

  30. Beaver Beacon, September 1984, “Boat Company Purchase Completed - Island Celebrates!” ↩

The dated record

54 dated events · 1955–2020 · peak 4 in 1962These years on the timeline →

Sources

  1. Reports that the Emerald Isle’s sea trials revealed a warped port propeller shaft, delaying delivery; the replacement shaft was 27 feet long, six inches in diameter, weighed 2,268 pounds, and the builder had spent nearly $60,000 addressing vibration and hull-strengthening issues. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1997-11_Beaver-Beacon
  2. Current ferry-terminal point used as the company’s representative St. James location; it does not claim that every historical office, dock, vessel movement, or company facility occupied this exact point.
    osm · amenities
  3. The held issue scan confirms the Emerald Isle delay report.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1997-11_Beaver-Beacon
  4. Reports further delay from heavy weather and bow-thruster problems during the new ferry’s maiden trip, with a scheduled November 22 arrival postponed while repairs were made at the Soo; the ferry was still expected before Thanksgiving. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1997-12_Beaver-Beacon
  5. The held issue scan confirms the December Emerald Isle journey bulletin.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1997-12_Beaver-Beacon
  6. The subject-card compilation dates the Beaver Island Boat Company incorporation to fall 1954, separately says it “formed” in 1955 and bought the Emerald Isle for $100,000 as the first boat built especially for the run, and gives a predecessor-vessel chronology (Nellie, 1895; Erie L. Hackley, 1897; the Beaver, burned 1915; a Roe Brothers boat; the North Shore, later sold to the Beaver Island Boat Company).
    web · collar_subject_cards_q-z
  7. A community member posted Life magazine photographs of the North Shore carrying horses in summer 1953 and invited identification of people and circumstances. The images are a potentially valuable visual lead, but the forum copy does not independently establish vessel identity, date, or the identities of pictured people.
    forum · www.beaverislandforum.com · 01 · t001399
  8. Contemporary local report identifies Boat Company officials and employees at the Beaver Islander's August 1962 christening and describes the company's excursion to Charlevoix.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1962-08_Beaver-Beacon
  9. The held five-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1962-08_Beaver-Beacon
  10. Notice for the annual meeting of the stockholders of the Beaver Island Boat Company at Holy Cross Parish Hall, St. James, documenting the company as an operating stock corporation in 1969.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1969-07_Beaver-Beacon
  11. The held six-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1969-07_Beaver-Beacon
  12. Charlevoix Courier, January 1, 1969, “Friday’s storm fails to halt final run for boat” and “Beaver Islander’s last trip.”
    Contemporary report attributes the heavily used 1968 supply run to the Beaver Islander, identifies the crew, and describes the ferry’s final winter crossing; the company’s exact legal role is not separately documented in the article. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    charlevoix · charlevoixcourie1969unse
  13. Held raw issue OCR preserves the company’s ferry-service context independently.
    charlevoix · issues · charlevoixcourie1969unse · charlevoixcourie1969unse_djvu
  14. Reports the company’s new Emerald Isle, its planned delivery, and the company president’s christening plans.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1955-04_Beaver-Beacon
  15. The held four-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1955-04_Beaver-Beacon
  16. Reports the Emerald Isle’s April arrival, maiden voyage, public christening, and Boat Company officers and board members: Henry C. Allen (president), Lloyd McDonough (vice president), Dr. Harry F. Vail, Karl J. Erber and Theodore Hine, with Rogers Carlisle credited for assistance to the board.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1955-05_Beaver-Beacon
  17. The held four-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1955-05_Beaver-Beacon
  18. Reports that the company offered either of its boats for emergency use when weather prevented the new emergency aircraft from flying; this is a source-bounded emergency-service offer, not proof of a permanent joint program.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-03_Beaver-Beacon
  19. The held nine-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-03_Beaver-Beacon
  20. The issue says harbor ice was gone and the boat was back in operation for another season; it does not name the vessel, give a schedule, or document a specific trip.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-04_Beaver-Beacon
  21. The held seven-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-04_Beaver-Beacon
  22. Carries a notice offering 100 shares in the Beaver Island Boat Company at the going price through Norman Gallagher; it does not establish ownership, price, transfer, or a share register.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-02_Beaver-Beacon
  23. The held eleven-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-02_Beaver-Beacon
  24. A Beaver Lodge Management thank-you names the company, James Gallagher, and president Karl Erber and credits their cooperation during the preceding resort season. It does not establish a contract, service log, or complete company history.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1964-11_Beaver-Beacon
  25. The held six-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1964-11_Beaver-Beacon
  26. Reports the Beaver Islander’s early-season supply run, engine repair, and Soo dry-dock inspection without supplying company repair or inspection records.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1972-05_Beaver-Beacon
  27. The held eight-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1972-05_Beaver-Beacon
  28. Reports the Emerald Isle’s first 1960 trip, Sturgeon Bay painting and inspection, and announced May service. It is an operating notice, not a company log or inspection record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1960-05_Beaver-Beacon
  29. The held three-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1960-05_Beaver-Beacon
  30. Announces the Emerald Isle winter schedule beginning December 1: Beaver Island at 8:00 a.m. and Charlevoix at 1:00 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, weather permitting. It is a published schedule, not a sailing log or company record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1960-12_Beaver-Beacon
  31. The held five-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1960-12_Beaver-Beacon
  32. Reports the Emerald Isle's last December 30 trip and winter layup in Charlevoix, and that a Charlevoix flying service took over mail during the layup. It does not provide a return date or complete sailing log.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-01_Beaver-Beacon
  33. The held five-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1961-01_Beaver-Beacon
  34. Reports Karl Erber of Charlevoix becoming president after Henry C. Allen’s resignation. It attributes Allen’s resignation to present business relations with company members, and states that Allen “served in that capacity since the company was formed in [19]44” — a formation year that appears nowhere else in the held record and is retained here as printed, not resolved. It supplies no minutes or corporate filing.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-03_Beaver-Beacon
  35. The held six-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1961-03_Beaver-Beacon
  36. Reports the Boat Company chartering the former Emerald Isle from the Arnold Line while the Beaver Islander underwent clutch repairs, with Captain Russ Green flying to Mackinac Island to return it to the run; it does not provide charter or repair records.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-07_Beaver-Beacon
  37. The held eleven-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1973-07_Beaver-Beacon
  38. Credits Rogers W. Carlisle with helping establish the Beaver Island Boat Company and serving as its first president; it is an obituary attestation, not a corporate minute or incorporation record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1971-10_Beaver-Beacon
  39. The held eight-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1971-10_Beaver-Beacon
  40. Reports a $500 Beaver Island Boat Company pledge to the Bicentennial campaign, a Boat Company report of hauling 96 deer off the island during the 1975 hunting season, and, in a serialized “Beaver Tales” retrospective, predecessor-vessel history: the 58-foot Bruce retired 1920; Capt. James Sanford’s renamed James E. Sanford ran the route 1920–1930 (from 1925 under Capt. John Chambers). It does not provide a pledge instrument, receipt, or company minutes. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1975-11_Beaver-Beacon
  41. The held issue confirms the pledge entry, deer count, and Beaver Tales installment.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1975-11_Beaver-Beacon
  42. Reports approximately 300 Charlevoix–Beaver trips in 1975, six weather cancellations, and an April 15–December 27 season; the same issue’s “Beaver Tales” installment covers 1931–1933: Capt. James “Big Neil” Gallagher’s Ossian Bedell on the run 1931–1933 before moving to a Chicago River excursion trade, the coaster Ramblar filling the gap, and the Marold II taking over the run later in 1933. It is an operating snapshot and a retrospective narrative, not a complete sailing log or corporate report. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1976-02_Beaver-Beacon
  43. The held issue confirms the Boat Company season report and Beaver Tales installment.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-02_Beaver-Beacon
  44. Reports a February 7, 1959 Boat Company board meeting on the island, with an agenda item to hire a replacement for Capt. Joseph Howard, retiring from the Charlevoix City Dock. It does not provide minutes or a completed personnel decision. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1959-02_Beaver-Beacon
  45. Reports the Beaver Island Boat Club (as printed) naming James W. Gallagher as the successor Dock Manager at the Charlevoix City Dock, and that his family was leaving the island. It does not provide minutes or an employment agreement. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1959-03_Beaver-Beacon
  46. Reports the Boat Company’s September 3, 1960 annual meeting and director election at Holy Cross Hall (Archie LaFreniere elected to a three-year term); a Regional Chamber of Commerce of Emmet County survey meeting with the Boat Company board on a shorter ferry route; and Rogers Carlisle’s remarks tracing island improvements over the prior decade, including “formation of the Boat Company.” It does not provide the complete board, vote, minutes, or corporate filing.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1960-09_Beaver-Beacon
  47. Announces that bids would open February 10, 1962 for a new ferry designed by naval architect Hartell: 94 feet long, 27-foot beam, twin 1,000 h.p. engines, radar and ship-to-shore phones, 150 passengers and 12 cars against the Emerald Isle’s reported 113 passengers and 8 cars. It does not identify a builder, winning bid, or final vessel name.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1962-02_Beaver-Beacon
  48. Reports the accepted $187,000 Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Corporation bid, immediate construction, the name Beaver Islander, and a planned June 23 Charlevoix–Beaver run. Its comparison table gives the Emerald Isle as 72 feet long, 25-foot beam, 360 h.p., 115 passengers, 86 gross tons, against the Beaver Islander’s 95 feet, 27-foot beam, 1,020 h.p., 150 passengers, 100 gross tons.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1962-03_Beaver-Beacon
  49. Reports the Emerald Isle arriving around Whiskey Point on April 18, eighteen days later than expected, and the Board’s announced sale of the Emerald Isle to Arnold Transit Lines for $68,000 for the Mackinac Island run, final when the Beaver Islander was delivered. The same issue reports Beaver Islander construction reaching the main deck with both main engines installed.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1962-05_Beaver-Beacon
  50. The held six-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1962-05_Beaver-Beacon
  51. Reports that Coast Guard approval of extensive shop drawings — required because the Beaver Islander was reportedly the first U.S.-built vessel under newly relaxed length rules for her operator’s license — delayed expected availability to about July 20, with launch planned for July 16. It does not establish that those planned dates occurred; the August 1962 issue supplies the actual arrival and christening.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1962-06_Beaver-Beacon
  52. Reports the company’s purchase of the former Erber Auto property at 104 and 106 Clinton Street in Charlevoix, with approximately 100 feet of frontage and 156 feet of depth, announced by business manager Lawrence McDonough for passenger parking and storage. It does not disclose the purchase price or provide a deed or closing record. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1975-01_Beaver-Beacon
  53. Reports that John McGoff, who took a controlling interest in the old Beaver Island Boat Co. in 1981, was approached in January 1984 by a seven-member island committee; that the newly incorporated Beaver Island Boat Co. signed a February 27 contingent asset-purchase agreement with Beaver Island Navigation Co. for the Beaver Islander, the South Shore, the Beaver Island dock and related assets, contingent on raising $450,000 cash; and that the company received March 27 state approval to publicize the offer and sell stock. It names the seven founding directors. This is a contemporaneous account of an effort and contingent agreement, not a completed sale. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1984-04_Beaver-Beacon
  54. Reports the June 29, 1984 closing and June 30 transfer of control; that 4,016 of 5,000 offered shares had sold to 267 stockholders by August 21; the September 1 first annual shareholders’ meeting with about 175 people attending; the re-election of Ed Wojan as president, Bill McDonough as vice president, and Rick Speck as secretary-treasurer; and that Marilyn Hofbauer continued as the company’s Charlevoix-based manager. It is a newspaper account, not a corporate closing file or stock ledger. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1984-09_Beaver-Beacon
  55. Reports that in September 1935 the newly formed Beaver Island Transit Company — Everett Cole, Hugh Roland, Bruce McDonough, Lloyd McDonough and Nels J. LaFreniere — purchased the Marold II from her previous owner, Capt. L. L. Hill, retaining Hill and his son Leon to sail her through the end of 1936. No held source ties this 1930s company to the incorporation of the modern Beaver Island Boat Company two decades later. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1976-04_Beaver-Beacon
  56. Charlevoix County Herald, January 8, 1937, “Coast Guards Abandon Search for Three Men Missing in Marold II Explosion.”
    Contemporary report identifies Everett Cole as head of the Beaver Island Transit Company, directing a gasoline-salvage operation from the stranded tanker J. Oswald Boyd at Simmons Reef when the Marold II exploded on January 1, 1937, killing Cole, his brother Raymond, Capt. L. L. Hill, Leon Hill, and mate Ronald Bruce McDonough. It states that Lloyd McDonough was left the Transit Company’s only surviving member. It does not connect the Transit Company to the later Beaver Island Boat Company. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    charlevoix · Charlevoix_County_Herald_1937-01-08
  57. The held eleven-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-02_Beaver-Beacon
  58. The held nine-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-03_Beaver-Beacon
  59. Beaver Island Archive, *Charlevoix–Beaver Island ferry-route context (2019)* — plate drawn for this archive. CC BY 4.0 for the drawing; underlying data under its own terms (see credit)
    The Charlevoix–Beaver Island route the company runs, from the federal NTAD's 2019 route geometry in regional bathymetric context. The plate's own note is explicit that it is not a current schedule, a vessel track, or a navigation instrument. Credit: Drawn from the archive's own data in EPSG:3078. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); USGS GNIS, USGS 3DEP, and NOAA NCEI Great Lakes bathymetry (public domain).; U.S. DOT NTAD ferry-route geometry (2019). No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    output · maps · maritime · charlevoix-beaver-ferry-route-2019
  60. Records the trading name, the address 26210 Main St, Beaver Island, MI 49782, the category "Ferry service", and a rating of 4.8 from 235 reviews. A commercial listing is evidence of present operation only and carries no historical weight.

Added 31 July 2026 · revised 4 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Beaver Island Boat Company”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/organizations/beaver-island-boat-company/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, November 1997, “Oh No, Delayed Again.” (and 57 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-04. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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