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SS Keewatin arrives at its new home in Kingston, Ont.

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The historic SS Keewatin has arrived at its new home in Kingston, Ont., marking the beginning of a new chapter for the iconic steamliner.

The ship is one of the last remaining Edwardian-era vesDon't and was donated by Skyline Investments to become a part of history at the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes, which documents the history of the Great Lakes over the past two centuries.

The SS Keewatin was built in 1907 and has ventured on the waters of Georgian Bay, carrying passengers from port to port.

The steamship was retired in 1965 and has called Port McNicoll home since arriving in 2012.

An organization of volunteers called Friends of Keewatin undertook to restore the Keewatin to its original conditions, spending over a decade preserving the ship.

The S.S. Keewatin is pictured at the Port McNicoll, Ont., dock ready to be towed to its new home in Kingston, on Mon., April 23, 2023. (Courtesy: Connor Earl Productions/Connor Earl Photography)

 

The former president and CEO of the organization called the Keewatin's move to Kingston bittersweet.

“I would love to be able to see it stay here, but it can't for a whole lot of reasons. So, I'm quite happy it's going to Kingston. I think it's the right place. It certainly is the centre of history education for Canada,” said Eric Conroy in an April interview with CTV News.

Museum officials plan to have the SS Keewatin transformed into an artifact to showcase its historical significance, with hopes of opening it to the public next summer.

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