Leonard J. Barr II Collection

Leonard J. Barr II of St. Clair, Michigan, worked in the finance industry by profession, but his passion was preserving Great Lakes' shipping history with an emphasis on the 20th Century. His collection consists of approximately 30,000 vessel photographs, negatives, slides, and glass plates, as well as hundreds of books, journals, and other ephemera relating to Great Lakes Maritime History. Many of the photos taken by Barr were from his house in St. Clair, MI looking out towards the St. Clair River, or his office looking towards the Detroit River. Much of the information provided for each vessel came from Mr. Barr's own research. Mrs. Ellen Barr donated the collection to the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Research Collection in September 2017. The project was made possible through partnering and funding with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (2020-22).