90. S.S. Keewatin and Red Dock

Location: Lake Kalamazoo, Blue Star Highway, Douglas

In the early 1900s, the Red Dock was an important Douglas fruit shipping and storage point that avoided the necessity of ships squeezing through the Douglas swing bridge. It was, as well, easily accessible for the many fruit farmers coming to market from south of Douglas. However, over time the problem of the silting of Lake Kalamazoo made large ship movement even to this dock difficult. The dock exists today as a seasonal outdoor bar.

The SS Keewatin, a 300-foot passenger and freight steamship, was built in the famous Fairfield shipyard of Glasgow, Scotland in 1907. A prime example of the bygone Great Lakes passenger steamship era, the Keewatin featured grand accommodations including staterooms, lounges, and a walnut-paneled dining room. Mr. R. J. Peterson brought the vessel to Saugatuck in 1967, after it had been retired from the Canadian Pacific Railway Company in 1965. The ship arrived with all the dinnerware, glasses, silverware and linens still aboard. The S. S. Keewatin found a new use in Douglas as a maritime museum. It was a beloved landmark.

In June 2012 the ship was sold and moved to Port McNicoll, Ontario, its former home port. In 2024, after a stint in dry dock for repairs, the Keewatain found a new home port at the Great Lakes Museum in Kingston, Ontario.