The CHIPPEWA was built in 1883, in Buffalo by the Union Dry Dock Company. In 1884, she went into service as the U.S. Revenue Cutter, THE WILLIAM P. FESSENDEN. She had a 177-foot keel and a 28-foot beam, with a depth of 10 feet. She could hold 330 tons. She carried 4 guns, 7 officers, and 33 men. On August 11, 1833, she received a vertical beam engine, No. 47, from Hoboken, New Jersey.

The FESSENDEN'S station was at Detroit. She made trips up St. Clair and Detroit Rivers and Lake Huron. During the Spanish-American War, she remained on all the lakes, while all the other cutters went to war.

After the Spanish-American War, she was ordered to the coast. She had her port wheel and guardrail removed at Buffalo by the Empire Shipbuilding Company. This enabled her to pass through the Welland and St. Lawrence Canals. In later years, the port wheel and guardrail were put back on.

In 1903, she was sent to Key West, Florida. There she was blown ashore during a hurricane. After repairs, she was ordered to Curtis Bay, Maryland. She was decommissioned on August 7, 1907, and laid‑up at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

On March 1, 1908, she was sold for $9,100.00 to George Craig of Toledo, and George T. Arnold of Mackinac Island. The cutter DALLORS, who was bought at the same time by the same people, towed the CHIPPEWA from Philadelphia to Toledo. On May 30, 1908, she arrived at Gillmore's Ship Yard in Toledo, where she was rebuilt as a passenger steamer and was renamed the CHIPPEWA. Her gross tonnage was 393 tons. Her keel was 181 feet 5 inches. She was 28 feet wide with a 9-foot draft. She was given feathering wheels with concave buckets. The cabin was finished in chestnut and it was similar to the cabins of the ARROW and the FRANK E. KIRBY.

The CHIPPEWA left Toledo on May 5, 1909. Her captain was William McCarthy and her chief engineer was Patrick Eutrice. She was placed on a run from Cheboygan, St. Ignace, and Mackinac Island to Sault St. Marie daily.

During the fall and winter of 1909 and 1910, she was placed in dry dock at Manitowac. At this time, she was lengthened. The D. & E. boats were withdrawn from the up shore run in 1918. In 1921 she ran on the Chicago lakefront.

In 1922, the CHIPPEWA was sold to the Sandusky and Islands Steamboat Company of Sandusky. The steamer ARROW that had formally run the Island route had burned at her dock at Put-In-Bay. On April 15, 1923, the CHIPPEWA took over the ARROW'S route. She ran from Sandusky to Lakeside, Kelleys Island, Middle Bass, North Bass, and Put-In-Bay. Her captain was Harry Tyrie. She stopped running to Marblehead because the dock there was in very bad shape. During the 1920's and 30's she made excursions to Cleveland, Toledo, Kingsville, Detroit, and Walpole Island. On a few occasions she ran to Fairport and Erie.

The CHIPPEWA made her last Sandusky and Island run on September 5, 1938. She was laid-up in Sandusky by the Columbus Avenue slip.

The CHIPPEWA was sold in April of 1940, to Ward and Wheeler of Sandusky. After they dismantled her, they sold the hull to the Peerless Marine Company of Port Huron. On June 1, 1942, she was towed out of Sandusky by the tug AMERICA. She was later sold to J. Earl McQueen of Amhertsburg, Ontario. He sold her to the Steel Company of Canada. McQueen's tug PATRICIA McQUEEN towed her to Hamilton, Ontario. In the spring of 1942, she was cut up for scrap.

Excerpts from an article by Captain Hamilton. Courtesy of Rutherford B. Hayes Memorial Library.