Wilson Marine Transit Company records

Thomas Wilson, founder of the company that became the Wilson Marine Transit Company, was born in Fifeshire, Scotland in 1839. The Wilson family arrived in the United States in 1855. Thomas Wilson's maritime career began shortly thereafter, with three years of service on ocean vessels. Wilson chose to change to lake vessels and began his lake career as a wheelsman on the MANHATTAN in order to obtain navigational experience. Wilson's first command was the METEOR in 1864.

Wilson's interests developed from commanding a single ship to managing his own company. In partnership with Alexander McDougall, Wilson accumulated the capital to form the Wilson's Transit Line in 1870. This Cleveland, Ohio company retained Wilson as President through its life until 1890. The Wilson Transit Company was formed in 1890 with Wilson serving as President until his death in 1900.

The nineteenth-century edition of Thomas Wilson's company was noted for steady growth in its fleet as it became a prime shipper of ore from the new mining districts in Michigan and Minnesota to eastern industrial centers. Expansion was so successful that it became useful to create subsidiaries, such as the Volunteer Transit Co. In 1898, to shift tax liabilities away from the parent company. At his death, Wilson left a legacy of success.

The administration of Joseph S. Wood, a nephew of Wilson, as President from 1928 to 1948 marked an era of changing fortunes for the company. Wilson Transit Company retained a considerable share of ore and grain traffic on the Great Lakes as the Great Depression Era began. However, the economic crisis resulted in a severe drop in orders for iron ore, leaving grain as the primary cargo. Only four vessels were in operation in the mid 1930s. In 1936 new stock was issued in an effort to raise money to operate more vessels. This strategy succeeded, resulting in a gradual increase in profits to former earnings.

World War II industrial demands soon had the Wilson fleet back to earlier levels. By 1947 finances were such that it was possible to buy the competing Copper Steamship Company. Upon Joseph S. Wood's death in 1948, Wilson Marine Transit was rated ahead of its four chief rivals when costs and profits were compared.

The 1950s proved to be a productive decade for the Wilson Transit Company. In 1957 the company name was changed to the Wilson Marine Transit Company. The Great Lakes Steamship Company was also purchased that year.

The decade of the 1960s was marked by a series of problems that would lead to the demise of the company. A strike in the steel industry during 1959 helped set off a prolonged decline in Wilson fortunes. Competition, the use of inefficiently designed vessels that could not enter many customer dock channels, the loss of winter revenues when grain storage at Buffalo, New York ceased to provide fees during the lay-up periods, the resignations of headquarters personnel due to morale problems, and a host of minor setbacks helped to create a company ripe for purchase by another corporation and a loss of independent action needed to solve problems.

In 1967 Litton Industries purchased the Wilson Marine Transit Company. In 1972 Litton proposed to sell Wilson to the American Ship Building Company. The initial deal was not accepted but resulted in an enormous loss of customers for Wilson when doubts as to Litton's commitment to operate a lake fleet spread. Late in the year, the sale to American Ship Building did occur. With the fleet sold, administrative operations ended in early 1973.

For 100 years the company of Thomas Wilson and his successors was a prominent feature in the economy of the Great Lakes region. Study of the shipping business, mining industry or of steel manufacturing in the United States and Canada touches on the Wilson Marine Transit Company in numerous areas. Examinations of the files preserved for research will permit the reader to follow the history of one of the principal players in the growth of the Great Lakes shipping industry.