Named for a shipwright’s daughter, the Maisie was initially intended for towing schooners and cargo lighters through the shallow, reef-strewn waters around Key West. Her shallow draft made her ideal for navigating the backcountry channels of Florida Bay and the intricate mangrove islands of the Ten Thousand Islands region. The Maisie’s true claim to fame began in 1905 with the launch of one of the most ambitious engineering projects in American history: Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway extension to Key West, famously known as the "Overseas Railroad."
The Maisie represents the countless workhorses of maritime history—the tugs, the freighters, the supply boats—that lacked the beauty of clipper ships or the fame of battleships but possessed something greater: an unyielding spirit and an ability to get the job done, no matter the cost. In the story of the Florida frontier, the Maisie is a true, albeit hidden, pillar of progress. ss maisie
In the annals of maritime history, glory often goes to the grandest: the ocean liners, the mighty battleships, and the swift clipper ships. Yet, the true work of building nations and connecting remote communities often fell to humbler, more durable vessels. Among these unsung heroes was the steamship Maisie , a small but incredibly significant tugboat and freighter that plied the treacherous waters of South Florida and the Florida Keys for over four decades. Named for a shipwright’s daughter, the Maisie was