1903: Thousands Show Up to Watch the Launch of a “Mammoth Ship” in Connecticut

April 16, 1903

A vessel that was characterized by that day’s edition of the California-based newspaper Stockton Mail as a “mammoth ship” was launched in southeastern Connecticut’s New London County. The Stockton Mail reported, “In the presence of thousands of spectators, including many visitors from New York, Boston and other cities, the steamship Minnesota, built for the Great Northern Steamship Company’s Oriental trade, was launched today at the yards of the Eastern Ship Building Company at Groton.”

The president of the Great Northern Steamship Company was none other than internationally renowned railroad tycoon James J. Hill (1838-1916). It was his daughter Clara Anne Hill (1873-1947) who performed the christening duties for SS Minnesota. According to the Stockton Mail, “As the last restraining link that had the ship to its place on the ways was severed, Miss Hill broke a bottle of wine over the steel bow and named the craft Minnesota.” The Stockton Mail also highlighted a major claim to fame for this steamship. “The Minnesota is not only the largest vessel of any kind constructed in America,” noted the newspaper, “but it is the largest cargo carrier in the world.”

In January 1917, this vessel was sold to the Atlantic Transport Company of West Virginia. Starting that same year, she made several trips to Europe to deliver military supplies to the Allied Powers for their fight against the Central Powers during World War I. The Minnesota was commissioned into the U.S. Navy in February 1919, not long after the armistice ending that war went into effect, to help transport American troops back to the United States.

The ship, which was renamed USS Troy, undertook a series of transatlantic voyages until being decommissioned on September 15, 1919. Her name was subsequently changed back to Minnesota. At this stage of her career, she was used as a floating isolation hospital in New York to help contain the deadly global pandemic known as the Great Influenza epidemic. In November 1923, the Minnesota was sold for scrapping in Germany.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

For more information on SS Minnesota (renamed USS Troy during her naval service), please check out SS Minnesota (1903) – Wikipedia

Additional information on the launch of this ship is available at Stockton Mail 16 April 1903 — California Digital Newspaper Collection