U.S.S. Michigan/Wolverine

U.S.S. Michigan/Wolverine is a Pennsylvania historical marker in Erie County, dedicated 2023.

116 West Front Street, Erie, PA 16507

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U.S.S. MICHIGAN, the U.S. Navy’s first iron-hulled vessel, was assembled and launched near this site on December 5, 1843. Iron components were fabricated in Pittsburgh, PA and shipped overland to Erie. Renamed WOLVERINE in 1905, the 163 ft. steam-powered paddle frigate remained active as a Navy patrol and training vessel until 1912. She then served as part of the Pennsylvania Naval Militia until 1923. Known as the “Guardian of the Great Lakes.”

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1830 · New York (A. Finley, 1830) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1832 · Ohio Pocket Map (Mitchell, 1832) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1836 · Upper Canada. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1848 · Pennsylvania. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1855 · A new map of the State of Ohio (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Pennsylvania, 1848, covering the location of U.S.S. Michigan/Wolverine, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Pennsylvania, 1848, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

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Marker data: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission via data.pa.gov

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