In 1882, the "Flint & Pere Marquette No. 1" - built in Detroit, Michigan - became the first of a fleet of ships operated by the Flint-Pere Marquette Railroad Company; she carried barrels of flour from mills in Minnesota. Because loading individual barrels was time-consuming and costly, the company sold the "Flint & Pere Marquette No. 1" in 1896 and began acquiring larger steel ships capable of carrying rails freight cars.