This undated postcard shows the 500-foot Steamer David Z. Norton loading 3,000 bushels of wheat in the Duluth Harbor. Note the postcard has “J” as the middle initial of David Norton. That is presumably a misprint. David Zadock Norton was a director of the American Ship Building Company and the namesake of the ship.
According to the Great Lakes Vessel History website, the steel bulk freighter David Z. Norton was built in Cleveland by the American Ship Building Company and launched March 10, 1906. It was sold for scrap in 1964.
A different David Z. Norton would eventually cruise the Great Lakes. The bulk carrier William R. Roesch, built in 1973, was renamed David Z. Norton in 1995. In 2008 it was again renamed, and currently operates as the Calumet.
