View source for SS William G. Mather (1925)

{{short description|Museum ship in Cleveland, Ohio}}
{{Other ships|SS William G. Mather}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = [[Image:SteamshipWilliamGMather.jpg|300px|William G. Mather]]
| Ship caption = SS ''William G. Mather'' at Dock 32, [[Cleveland, Ohio]] in 2006
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship country = United States
| Ship flag = {{USN flag|1924}}
| Ship name = SS ''William G. Mather''
| Ship namesake = [[William G. Mather]]
| Ship owner = [[Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company]]
| Ship operator = [[Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company]]
| Ship registry = [[Cleveland, Ohio]]
| Ship route = 
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship builder = [[Great Lakes Engineering Works]], [[Ecorse, Michigan]]
| Ship laid down = 
| Ship launched = May 23, 1925
| Ship sponsor = 
| Ship christened = 
| Ship completed = 
| Ship acquired = 
| Ship in service = 1925
| Ship out of service = 1980
| Ship renamed = 
| Ship reclassified = 
| Ship refit = 
| Ship struck = 
| Ship reinstated = 
| Ship identification = {{IMO Number|5390577}}
| Ship motto = 
| Ship nickname = 
| Ship honors = 
| Ship fate = 
| Ship status = [[Museum ship]]
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship type = [[Lake freighter]]
| Ship tonnage = {{GRT|8,662}}
| Ship displacement = 
| Ship length = {{convert|618|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|62|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship draft = {{convert|32|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship depth = 
| Ship hold depth = 
| Ship propulsion = *Coal-fired [[quadruple expansion steam engine]] (1925)
*DeLaval oil-fired [[steam turbine]] (1954)
*{{convert|5000|shp|0|abbr=on}}
| Ship speed = 
| Ship range = 
| Ship boats = 
| Ship capacity = 14,000 tonnes of cargo
| Ship crew = *37 (1925–1964)
*29 (1965–1980)
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}
The '''SS ''William G. Mather''''' (Official Number 224850) is a retired [[Great Lakes]] bulk [[lake freighter|freighter]] now restored as a [[museum ship]] in [[Cleveland, Ohio]]. One of five in the Great Lakes region. She transported cargo such as ore, coal, stone, and grain to ports throughout the Great Lakes, and was nicknamed "The Ship That Built Cleveland" because Cleveland's [[steel mill]]s were a frequent destination.{{efn|From 1905 till 1925 the [[Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company]] had another vessel named SS ''William G. Mather'' (O.N. 202542) in their fleet, also built by [[Great Lakes Engineering Works]]. This former SS ''William G. Mather'' was renamed SS ''J. H. Sheadle'' in 1925, and SS ''H. L. Gobeille'' in 1955. After she had been sold to Gartland Steamship Co. she was renamed SS ''Nicolet'' in 1965.}}

==History==
It was built in 1925 by [[Great Lakes Engineering Works]], [[Ecorse, Michigan]], as the [[flagship]] for [[Cleveland-Cliffs]] and was named in honor of the then-company president, [[William Gwinn Mather]]. SS ''William G. Mather'' remained the Cliffs' [[flagship]] until SS ''Edward B. Greene'' (now [[Kaye E. Barker|MV ''Kaye E. Barker'']] of the [[Interlake Steamship Company]] fleet) was built in 1951–52. It remained an active part of the Cliffs' fleet until the end of the 1980 navigation season.

In order to supply the [[Allies of World War II|Allied Forces]] need for steel during [[World War II]], SS ''William G. Mather'' led a convoy of 13 [[cargo ship|freighters]] in early 1941 through the ice-choked Upper Great Lakes to [[Duluth, Minnesota]], setting a record for the first arrival in a northern port. This effort was featured in the April 28, 1941 issue of ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]''. It was one of the first commercial Great Lakes vessels to be equipped with [[radar]] in 1946. In 1964, it became the very first [[United States|American]] vessel to have an automated boiler system, manufactured by [[ABB|Bailey Controls]] of Cleveland.

In 1985, Cleveland-Cliffs sold its two remaining operating steamers to Rouge Steel Company, and gradually sold off its idle vessels until only SS ''William G. Mather'' remained, laid up in [[Toledo, Ohio]] where she had been since 1980. On December 10, 1987, Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc. donated the steamer SS ''William G. Mather'' to the [[Great Lakes Historical Society]] to be restored and preserved as a [[museum ship]] and floating maritime museum. After it was brought to Cleveland in October 1988 and funding was acquired from local foundations, corporations, and individuals, restoration began. Fire damage to SS ''William G. Mather''{{'}}s [[galley (kitchen)|galley]] and after cabin spaces required a major restoration effort. All over the vessel, most of the work was supplied by volunteers who repaired, cleaned, chipped, painted, and polished brass in order to restore SS ''William G. Mather''{{'}}s former elegance. In October 1990, it was moved to its permanent berth at the East Ninth Street Pier on Cleveland's [[North Coast Harbor]].

In September 1994 the Great Lakes Historical Society divested itself of the museum. Due, in large part, to a groundswell of local support to keep the Mather in Cleveland, the Harbor Heritage Society was created to negotiate a new lease agreement with the city. Incorporated in June 1995, Harbor Heritage formally acquired SS ''William G. Mather'' on July 22, 1995, and in 1996 continued to oversee SS ''William G. Mather''{{'}}s ongoing restoration, promotion, and development as a historic vessel. After ten years of negotiations, the City of Cleveland, represented by Mayor [[Jane L. Campbell]] signed a 40-year lease on June 15, 2003, allowing SS ''William G. Mather'' to stay at its East 9th Street berth.

On July 30, 1995 the steamship SS ''William G. Mather'' was dedicated as an [[American Society of Mechanical Engineers]] [[National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark]] for its 1954 installation of a single marine boiler and [[steam turbine]] engine, its 1964 installation of the Bailey 760 Boiler Control System and American Shipbuilding AmThrust dual propeller bow thruster—all firsts for U.S.-flagged Great Lakes vessels. It had a [[sister ship]] of the same class, SS ''Joseph H. Frantz'', which was later converted to [[Diesel fuel|diesel]], and was [[Ship breaking|scrapped]] in 2005 after 80 years of continuous use.

<gallery perrow="2" widths="300" heights="200">
{{Cleanup gallery|date=December 2016}}
File:1998_Collision_Bend.jpg| SS ''William G. Mather'' at collision bend, in her Cleveland Cliffs livery
Image:William G Mather.jpg|View of the forward structure and pilothouse
Image:Mather Room 1.jpg|Interior view of cabin aboard SS ''William G. Mather'' Maritime Museum
</gallery>

==Current location==
On September 24, 2005, the museum was moved from the East Ninth Street Pier to Dock 32, just west of the East Ninth Street Pier, closer to the [[Great Lakes Science Center]] and the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{google maps |title=Steamship William G. Mather |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=cleveland+&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=17&ll=41.509606,-81.695366&spn=0.005495,0.013561&t=k&iwloc=A|accessdate= September 14, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url= http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_topdoc=1&p_docnum=1&p_sort=YMD_date:D&p_product=NewsBank&p_text_direct-0=document_id=(%2010CE07CA429CB768%20)&p_docid=10CE07CA429CB768&p_theme=aggregated5&p_queryname=10CE07CA429CB768&f_openurl=yes&p_nbid=N73T5BVYMTIwNDA3MjA0MC4zOTE0MDY6MToxMjoxOTguMzAuMjI4LjA&&p_multi=CPDB |title= Mather Tugged to New Dock |work= [[The Plain Dealer]] |location= Cleveland, OH |date= September 25, 2005}}</ref>

In October 2006, SS ''William G. Mather'' was acquired by the [[Great Lakes Science Center]]. Today, the ship is a focal point for interpreting the relationship between technology, history, commerce, and the environment.

==See also==
* [[William Gwinn Mather]]
* {{SS|William G. Mather|1905}}
* [[Col. James M. Schoonmaker|SS ''Col. James M. Schoonmaker'']] known as the SS ''Willis B. Boyer'' during its time in the Cleveland-Cliffs Fleet. The Mather's fleet mate at one time, now a museum ship in [[Toledo, Ohio]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline|William G. Mather (ship, 1925)|''William G. Mather'' (ship, 1925)}}
* [http://www.greatscience.com/exhibits/steamship-william-g-mather.aspx The Steamship ''William G. Mather'' Museum] - Great Lakes Science Center
* [http://www.mhsd.org/photogallery/wgmather.htm/ Brief History of the ''Mather'' at MHSD]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071014043825/http://hnsa.org/ships/mather.htm HNSA Ship Page: SS ''William G. Mather'']
* [http://wgmather.nhlink.net/wgmhome.html ''Mather'' history and photos]

{{coord|41.50931|N|81.69808|W|display=title}} <!-- top-right coordinates -->

{{Cleveland}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:William G. Mather Maritime Museum}}
[[Category:Great Lakes freighters]]
[[Category:Museum ships in Ohio|William G. Mather]]
[[Category:Museums in Cleveland]]
[[Category:Preserved cargo ships]]
[[Category:1925 ships]]
[[Category:Downtown Cleveland]]
[[Category:Ships built in Ecorse, Michigan]]
[[Category:Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Cleveland, Ohio]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Cuyahoga County, Ohio]]
[[Category:History of Cleveland]]
[[Category:Cleveland]]
[[Category:Lake Erie]]