The Lake Maxinkuckee Launches - Bigleys  

If the shores of Lake Maxinkuckee could talk they could tell the most interesting tales of bygone days on and around the lake.

Lake Maxinkuckee is the second largest natural inland lake in Indiana. Crystal clear, being fed by artesian wells and underground springs, it has a sandy bottom and a beautiful shore line.

Before the advent of the steamboats, Captain Edmund Morris built the SEA GULL and the FLEET WING, both rather large sailboats. He used the to transport people and materials about the lake. Older residents, as recalled by Guy Bigley, would hear the sound of Captain Morris' voice coming across the water in the evening as he sang his favorite tune, "The Nancy Lee" for his own satisfaction and the entertainment of the sailing party who had chartered his Sea Gull for the evening.

With the coming of the railroads, there was need for lake transportation. The Nickel Plate Railroad came through Hibbard, located about three miles from Culver, in 1882. On June 30, 1883 the Vandalia Railroad, running from Logansport to South Bend, reached Marmont which was later known as Culver .

Some of the early launches on the lake were the VICTOR, brought from Rochester in 1878, and the BESSIE, owned by a Mr. Davis of South Bend in 1883. It's name was soon changed to VANDALIA.

The LADY FOREST was built in 1885 by Captain Morris. It was a sidewheeler but did not prove successful and was junked in the late 1890's. Its hull lay for some time near the railway and depot.

The only double-decked steam launch to ply the waters of the lake was the majestic Aubbeenaubee, placed into service shortly after the coming of the railroad. It was built for Captain R. K. Lord who skippered it until his death in 1889. It was then under the command of Captain Oliver Crook, a famous skipper who had sailed the waters of Lake Michigan as a commander. It was 70' long and accommodated 200 to 300 passengers. Later this launch was converted to a single decked boat and was in use until 1915. It featured a high grade piano.

In April 1883 Captain Lord Launched the W. R. MCKEEN, naming it in honor of the president of the Vandalia Railroad. This launch was an iron clad steamer which had previously run on Lake Erie.

The excursion trains became very pop ular and by 1905 they had reached their peak. On weekends five excursion each way, plus horse-drawn rigs from the country and nearby towns brought more visitors. The launches were busy taking passengers on sight-seeing tours around the lake.

In 1905 the WHITE SWAN dance pavilion, a float 70' by 30' was built and launched by Captain Crook. It would be towed out on the lake a short distance and anchored for the summer. Its top deck was used for dancing and the lower deck for refreshments and music. A piano was located there and often a small orchestra was featured. Anchored near the depot, it was crowded all day and evening.

The railroad had over a mile of siding track on which to park the passenger cars. There was a turn-table at the north end of the park for turning the locomotives around for their return trip. Twenty boys were hired at a nickel each to turn the engines around - 10 boys one each end. The park itself covered 3.2 acres.

In 1886, Captain A. J. Knapp, owner of the Arlington Hotel and the Arlington station where the Allen boat house was later located, launched the LLOYD MC SHEEHY, named after the son of the editor of the Logansport Chronical. Captain Knapp was referred to as the "Sea Captain of the Lake". He was a conductor of the railroad. He would conduct the train as far as the station, then skipper his launch while a substitute took the train on to South Bend. George Nearpass, editor and publisher of Culver 's first newspaper, the Marmont Herald stated that Knapp was known as the "Whistling Brakeman" on the train.

Probably the best known of the steamer captains was Captain Morris, son if Isaac N. Morris, a pioneer in Marshall County. He not only ran the steamers but built them as well. In 1886, he built and launched the PEERLESS. In 1903 he built the PEERLESS II. This launch was christened by Gertrude Wiseman Behmer and was skippered by Captain Crook. A piano was pout on the launch.

Famed composer, Cole Porter, as a young boy, spent many summers visiting the lake in the early 1900s. When the Peerless docked at an east shore pier, Cole would climb aboard, slip to the boat's stern in his wet bathing suit, sit on the varnished piano stool and hammer away at the piano. As the Peerless backed away from the dock, Cole would dive off and swim to shore.

On June 18, 1903 the Neeswaughgee was put into service. It was 70' by 14' built by Mr. Peterson of Bass Lake and also was skippered by Captain Crook. It was named in honor of a Potowatomie Indian Chief who had been in charge of the large native village located in the area in and around the town of Maxinkuckee until the Indiana removal in 1838.

A sad ending came to the Peerless and the Neewswaughgee for in May of 1915 they were towed to shallow water near the outlet of the lake. There they stayed, mired in the sand, no longer needed on the lake since the days of the big excursions had passed.

In 1903 a launch called the TOGO was purchased by the Culver Military Academy for its use. It had been on display at the St. Louis Fair.

The DEWEY was a small 30 footer, ornamentally trimmed in brass. It was operated by the Maxinkuckee Steamboat Company, Captain Crook was the company manager and Mrs. R. K. Lord was the owner.

The Maxinkuckee landing was a popular stop for the launches for it was centrally located and the sight-seeing visitors could stop for refreshments or perhaps stay at nearby hotels or boarding houses. Dow Rector had a livery stable there and would deliver luggage to the cottages .

Captain . S. Finney, who owned the EAST SIDE MAY and the CAROL, had his headquarters at the landing. He was the one that I knew in my youth and admired so much. In a small building on the lot of my father, Guy Bigley, had his shop, office and living quarters. He hired Dick Louden to run the East Side May and Eddie Boberg to take telephone messages and to keep the books. Captain Finney always ran the Carol as it was the fastest launch on the lake.

My parents kept a few rental boats at the dock and I spent much time there. Over the years I became quite attached to the Captain. As a boy I was privileged to ride the launches as I had been taught to use the mooring ropes to tie time to the piers. I preferred to ride with the Captain on the Carol as he was more tolerant and took time to teach me the mechanics and running of he boat. Incidentally, the Carol was named after Carolyn Coffin.

Captain Finney was a good story teller and I enjoyed hearing about his experiences at sea and of the other places he had been. Some said he had been in the British Royal Navy. I could believe that! What he could do with a rope! He could tie dozens of different knots or make a splice so neatly it was hard to tell the rope had been broken. Others said he had taught music in Indianapolis. The music from his violin was truly beautiful.

I didn't get to spend every day with him for I had chores to do at my parent's store, mainly delivering groceries. When I was 12 my folks bought a truck and, as neither of them could drive, I was given the job of delivery boy. No more bicycle deliveries for me! It also ended my career as second mate for the Captain. When he retired he sold his launches to Dick Louden and Eddie Boberg.

Other launched on the lake were the CHARLENE, the DIXIE, the RED WING, the SS ARLINGTON and the MAXINKUCKEE which was the last of the big launches.

In 1947 the train service that had brought so many visitors to the Culver Park became a thing of the past, according to W. T. Parish who had been the local station agent since 1917.

Mention must be made here of another beautiful and important ship on the lake, the O. W. FOWLER, owned by the Culver Military Academy. It was never used as a passenger boat or for commercial purposes's but was a training vessel for the Academy students.

Built during the winter months of 1940 and 1941, it was designed and constructed by Wilford Craft, foreman of the Academy boat shop. He modestly said he had lots of help with the square-rigger sailing boat. The Fowler, 54 feet log and with a beam of 12 feet with a mast soaring 40 feet above her deck, became known as the largest sailboat on any landlocked body of water in the United States.

In the summer of 1943, the academy naval band, directed by Colonel E. T. Payson, gave two moonlight serenades, spending one night on the east side of the lake and the next on the west side. The event was so pop ular that it became an annual affair. With the boat powered by an axillary engine, could be staged whether or not there was sufficient wind.

Cottagers and town people alike looked forward to the evenings of music. Cottagers put lighted candles in paper bags along the lake edge in front of their homes and with many smaller boats following in the concert ship's wake, it makes a beautiful sight. During the day it is an inspiring picture to see this boat with its 1,650 square feet of canvas filled with the lake breezes and sailing Maxinkuckee.

Retiring in 1982, the Fowler's masts, spars and sails were incorporated into the Academy's new ship the LEDBETTER.

History of Marshall County Indiana Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986 (Taylor Publishing Co., 1986, Publication # 357 of 1422) Marshall County Historical Society pg. 55-6