'Keep it here. Keep it home': Rally to preserve 114-year-old Ontario steamship S.S. Keewatin

BARRIE, ONT. -

A group of volunteers in Port McNicoll, Ont., will be holding a rally this weekend to preserve a ship older than the Titanic.

More than 13,000 people have signed a petition to keep the S.S. Keewatin in its home berth in Port McNicoll, where it has been docked for the last nine years after decades spent as a maritime museum in Michigan.

One hundred people are expected to attend Saturday's rally, which organizers say they hope will send a message to the S.S. Keewatin's owners and the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

"Port McNicoll is where the S.S. Keewatin needs to stay," says Dan Travers, campaign chair of Keep Keewatin Home.

The ship's owner, Skyline Investments, wants to sell it off in pieces; something that organizers have been fighting to avoid in order to preserve a part of the town's heritage.

"I'm a big believer that historical artifacts should be where their history lives," Travers says. "Keep it here, keep it home."

The centennial ship is the only Edwardian passenger steamship in the world, with a rich history in the Simcoe County region. Travers says he's been contacted by people who served on the ship.

"I had one couple who emailed me and said they met on the ship in the '50s and have been married ever since," Travers says. "So there's that personal connection there."

People interested in watching the rally from home are encouraged to follow Keep Keewatin Home's Facebook page, where the event will be live streamed live at 2 p.m. Saturday.

To find out more about the campaign or to sign a petition in support, click here.