The steamer Belle was built at Port Huron, Michigan by D.M. Hagadon and launched on July 9th, 1860. She was originally used on the Cleveland; Black River:;Kelly Island run but later moved to the Manitowoc to Milwaukee route. In 1868 she cost her present owners $15,000 but was insured for only $10,000.

Document of Last Enrollment: Milwaukee: 4/14/1869
November 20, 1869. The propeller Belle, lumber laden and bound from Milwaukee to Manitowoc, Wis., caught fire in the cabin's woodwork surrounding the smoke stack. At the time she was near Port Washington, about three miles from land. The crew abandoned the ship. The captain became entangled in some lines and drowned and a crew member drowned when the yawl capsized. The brig C.J.Hutchinson rescued the survivors and the captain's body. The Belle was completely destroyed.