48. Riverboats to Richmond
Hardly altered in two centuries of recorded history, the Kalamazoo River between Douglas and New Richmond is a grand piece of nature’s work. Slow, swirling waters, sheltered by green woods, slowly nibble at the shoreline until tall trees fall, their trunks lurking just below the surface like alligators stalking dinner.
New Richmond lies about seven miles upriver from Saugatuck and Douglas. Between 1840 and 1910, the Richmond run was a smooth way to move passengers, cargo, and fresh fruit from Richmond downriver to awaiting Lake steamers. With good conditions, a riverboat could make the trip in less than two hours – much preferable to a lurching wagon or stagecoach ride of the same duration. Riverboat cargo varied from sightseers to shingles. For fruit shipping, the connection with the railroad at Richmond was also a vital factor. But there was one snag, even though the draft of most riverboats was less than twenty inches, profit hinged on water level. As roads and rail improved in quality and reliability, the use of riverboats for cargo declined.
By the 1930s the trip between the (then) sleepy New Richmond and bustling Saugatuck was solely made for pleasure. In 1952, Dick Hoffman, a talented young man who had just finished a four-year hitch in the Coast Guard, was looking for a way to earn a living on the banks of the Kalamazoo. Gubby Gleason’s old beach launch Waugun was lying at the end of Lucy St. and was for sale cheap. In 1952, Dick converted Waugun into a stern-wheel paddle boat suitable for New Richmond trips and launched a cruise business that lives on today as the Star of Saugatuck.