Arnold Transit Company

Arnold Transit Company was a ferry boat company serving Mackinac Island in Michigan for 140 years. In late 2016 Arnold Line's Assets including the boats, docks along with its name were purchased by Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Company, who continues to operate it today.

The Mackinac Express catamaran was operated by the Arnold Transit Company until 2013, but is now operated by the Star Line Ferry Company.

History

Arnold Transit Company was started in 1878 by George Arnold (1846-1921). Coal-fire steamboats transported passengers and goods for almost 70 years to various Michigan ports and islands.[1] Mrs. Arnold brought in Otto Lang and Prentiss Brown to manage the business.

After World War II, Arnold Transit Company, now owned by Lang and Brown, started to add modern diesel boats to its fleet. In June 1946, Arnold, which ran from Mackinaw City to Mackinac, merged with Island Transportation Company which ran a St. Ignace to Mackinac Island route. In 1984, a long-standing competitor, the Mackinac Transportation Company, ended operations. In 1987, the first of three catamaran ferries was added to the Arnold Line fleet.

In 2010, after decades of ownership, the Brown family announced the sale of Arnold Transit parent company Union Terminal Piers to James Wynn.[2] In 2014, the company suffered financially and the investment group backing Wynn foreclosed. The foreclosure resulted in the public auction of two catamarans. Competitor Star Line Ferry Company purchased one of the Catamarans, the Mackinac Express, while the other one, the Straits Express, remains parked on land in St. Ignace and still bears the Arnold Line name. Wynn was removed as president and from his position on the board of directors, and operations were taken over by the original investment group out of Cincinnati, Ohio.[3][4]

In September 2015, an agreement was reached to ensure the company's continued access between its Mackinac Island dock and Main Street, which had been lost in a land deal engineered by Wynn.[5]

In November 2016, competitor Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Company announced it would be purchasing the majority of the assets of Arnold Transit Company, including boats, boatyard, its docks and name. The Arnold assets were incorporated into the Star Line fleet for the 2017 season and Arnold Line continues to operation under the Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Company name after 140 years.[6]

Today, the company continues as Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Company.

Fleet
  • Traditional Ferries: Chippewa, Algoma, Huron, Ottawa, Straits of Mackinac II
  • Non-Passenger Freight: Corsair and Mackinac Islander
  • Catamaran: Straits Express and Technically Island Express
  • Catamaran: Mackinac Express

See also

References
  1. Arnold Transit | History Archived August 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Arnold Transit Sold to Petoskey Attorney James Wynn, Mackinac Island Town Crier, June 26, 2010
  3. Arnold president: Ferry line will keep operating, Petoskey News, April 29, 2014
  4. Arnold Transit Creditors Seek Foreclosure, Sale of Assets Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, St. Ignace News, August 28, 2014
  5. http://www.mackinacislandnews.com/news/2015-10-10/News/Arnold_Dock_Will_Stay_Open_After_Settlement.html
  6. Mackinac Island's longest-running ferry Arnold Transit to stop service, Detroit Free Press, November 3, 2016
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