Her name was originally LAKESIDE and she was later renamed the OLCOTT. She was made of steel and was built by the Craig Ship Building Company of Toledo in 1901. Her hull number was 84. She was built for the Sandusky and Peninsula Steamboat Company of Sandusky.

F. M. Kelley was her manager. Her keel was 128 feet, 5 inches. Her gross tonnage was 285 tons. She was 28 feet wide and 9 feet 7 inches deep. She had 1/2 inch plates on heavy frames, spaced 12 inches apart, on each side. It was used for breaking ice.

Captain Fred J. Magle was the skipper of the OLCOTT. Gene Passnoe was the chief engineer. Alex Bruce was the clerk. She ran the route that the AMERICAN EAGLE ran. This run was to Marblehead, Lakeside, Catawba, Kelleys Island and Put-In-Bay. During the spring, fall, and winter seasons she ran to Sandusky, Marblehead, Kelleys Island, North Bass and Put-In-Bay.

In September, she ran the fruit run from the Islands to Toledo and Cleveland.  On November 14, 1905, she was rebuilt at the Craig shipyard and was renamed the ARROW. She continued the Peninsula run until 1908.  From 1908 to 1917, she ran from Sandusky to the Islands in the spring and fall.  She was the only American boat to operate out of Toronto on Sundays. December 1916 was her last run to Sandusky and the Islands.

Passing through the Cut of Canso, she ran into bad weather near the northeastern Nova Scotia coast. She had to return to Halifax for repairs. She rested there for a few days and then was off for New York. She went to the Staten Ship Building Company at Stapleton, Staten Island. They worked on her - stripping off all the houses and upper works. They rebuilt her into an ocean going tug. She was renamed HURON.

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