The Great Lakes Group

Corporate History

Founding Stockholders
Harry Coulby	Leonard C. Hanna	John D. Rockefeller
A.S. Chisholm	James A. Hoyt	L.P. Smith
Henry G. Dalton	Robert L. Ireland	Henry Steinbrenner
James S. Dunham	Samuel Mather	Sophia Steinbrenner
Gen. G.A. Garretson	William G. Mather	J.E. Upson
Will S. Halle	T.F. Newman	Jeptha H. Wade
Daniel R. Hanna	James R. Sinclair	A.B. Wolvin

The Great Lakes Towing Company has played a major role in the towing business on the Great Lakes since its incorporation in New Jersey on July 7, 1899 -- 100 years ago. The Company's founding shareholders comprised a veritable "Who's Who" of the nation's great industrialists of the day, including Jeptha H. Wade, John D. Rockefeller, and James R. Sinclair. Popularly called “The Towing Company" for its entire 100-year history, the Company has been a significant marine operations link in one of the major economic lifelines of North America -- the fourth seacoast and the Great Lakes Seaway System. The Towing Company has continuously evolved to meet the changing demands of the agricultural, steel, and construction industries, and the needs of the ships and tug/barge units which serve those industries by adapting and improving its services to the requirements of each new day.

On July 20, 2005, in conjunction with the Groundbreaking Ceremony for its new office and shipyard complex, Jane L. Campbell, Mayor of the City of Cleveland praised the Company for its renewed commitment to the city’s economic growth. Previously, in issuing an official Proclamation designating July 7, 1999 as "The Great Lakes Towing Company Day", Michael R. White, Mayor of the City of Cleveland, the headquarters of the Company throughout its continuous 100 year history, recognized the Company as one of the largest tugboat and marine transportation companies in the United States for its leadership in the maritime industry. Mayor White also cited the Towing Company for making significant contributions to the community and to the economic well-being and vitality of the City of Cleveland throughout the Company's corporate history.

In the Preface of his book on the corporate history of the Company, The Story of the Great Lakes Towing Co., published by the Great Lakes Historical Society, Vermilion, Ohio in 1984 the author, Alexander C. Meakin, indicates that "while virtually everyone who has spent much time observing harbor activities in the major American ports on the Great Lakes has seen the red and green tugs of The Great Lakes Towing Company in action, relatively few persons are aware of the extent of the Company's operations, to say nothing of its origin and history." The book tells that story. The book is available for reference at maritime libraries, the Library of Congress, and at the Great Lakes Historical Society, 480 Main Street, Vermilion, Ohio 44089; the latter Society's museum being the custodian of reference material, photographs, and memorabilia from The Towing Company's past.