William DuLac and Shipbuilding in Mount Clemens

Shipbuilding was an important industry in Mount Clemens from the early days of the town's settlement. Before the railroads were laid and inland roads were developed, the Clinton River and Lake St. Clair were vital transportation routes. In the last quarter of the 19th century, when Mount Clemens was booming and the river was being used to bring lumber, coal and other important freight to the area, an enterprising local citizen named William DuLac saw a fortune to be made in lumbering and shipping.

William DuLac was born in nearby Harrison Township on December 27, 1837. He began sailing the lakes as a cabin boy in 1849 when he was only 12 years old. In 1881, by then a seasoned lake captain, DuLac began building vessels for the Tonawanda Barge Line, a company in which he had a financial interest. Tonawanda operated saw mills in Manistique, Michigan. The first ship launched from the DuLac shipyard was the tow barge Jennette, registered on May 6, 1881 and built for Tonawanda.

Vessel name	Build date	Type	Other Names	Disposition
Jennette	1881	tow barge
A. Weston	1882	steam barge	Congercoal	burned May 11, 1917
Nellie	1882	schooner	Luna	burned May 18, 1903
Elmer	1882	tug
City of Mount Clemens	1884	steam barge		dismantled 1920
Eleanor	1885	tow barge
Canisteo	1886	steam barge		burned 1920
Annabell Wilson	1887	tow barge		sank July 12, 1913
Aloha	1888	tow barge		sank October 28, 1917
F.R. Buell	1888	steam barge	Nagaho	foundered October 27, 1922
A. Stewart	1889	tow barge	H. J. McAvoy, Keuka	sank, Lake Charlevoix, 1932
Benjamin Harrison	1889	tow barge
Adele	1889	tug
Lily	1889	steam barge		foundered July 31, 1924
Exilda	1889	scow		abandoned 1914
Byron Whitaker	1890	steam barge	Marian W.	burned March 6, 1920
J.B. Lozen	1890	tow barge	Richard Burns	sank November 4, 1921
Norwalk	1891	steam barge
Mineral City	1895	excursion steamer		scrapped, Chicago, 1931
Clinton	1898	steam barge

The business interests of William DuLac were many and varied. In addition to his interest in Tonawanda Barge Line, he was part owner, with several other Mount Clemens capitalists, in the Shoal Water Transportation Company. He had financial interests in several lake vessels, operated a lumber mill and shipyard in Mount Clemens with his sons, and served as a director of the Ullrich Savings Bank.

Some of DuLac's boats were well-known on the Mount Clemens riverfront. One was the beloved Mineral City, built by the DuLac yard in 1895 for son Burton G. DuLac. Mineral City was a 200-passenger excursion steamer, built exclusively for the tourist trade. She carried hotel guests and local citizens to Walpole Island, the St. Clair Flats, and other prime fishing and recreational spots on Lake St. Clair.

Another familiar site in Mount Clemens was the steam barge Lily. Built in 1889 for Captain Albert H. Tucker, the Lily worked freight on the Clinton River and was regularly seen delivering coal to the various bathhouses along Front Street.

The tow barge A. Stewart, built by DuLac in 1889 and renamed Keuka in 1925, was in service until the 1930s but met an ignoble end. Keuka was used as a floating blind pig during the Prohibition era, and sank from neglect on Lake Charlevoix in 1932. Salvage operators made attempts to raise her in later years, but they were unsuccessful. Keuka is currently a popular dive wreck.

The DuLac children were also connected to their father's business interests. William DuLac married the former Nancy Eleanor Peltier in 1863 and the couple had six children. Adele, born September 22, 1866, married Capt. William Lynn, a scion of Great Lakes sailors. William Arthur, born September 22, 1867, and Burton George, born August 22, 1870, both worked with their father in the shipyard and lumber business. Emma Elizabeth, born December 5, 1868, married Caspar Czizek, a local businessman. Two other DuLac sons, Joseph and Louis, died in infancy.

When Captain Du Lac died on October 19, 1902, he left behind an estate with an estimated value of half a million dollars. In 1905, part of the old shipyard was purchased from his estate by Capt. William J. "Jim" Wood, a subsequent owner of the steamer Mineral City, who operated the Mount Clemens Boat Works at the site until his own death in 1924.

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