Today in Great Lakes History – August 22

1863
WILLIAM S. BULL (wooden propeller steam tug, 16 tons, built in 1861 at Buffalo, New York) waterlogged and went down in a storm 40 miles east of Erie, Pennsylvania. She was in the company of the tug G.W. GARDNER and the canal boat M.E. PAINE, who saved her crew.

1876
The Canadian schooner LAUREL sank off Big Sandy Creek on Lake Ontario. The crew made it to shore in the yawl. The LAUREL was bound from Kingston, Ontario, to Charlotte, New York, with iron ore.

1890
The wooden barge TASMANIA, upbound with coal under tow of the steamer CALEDONIA, sank in the Lake George Channel of the St. Marys River after a collision with the J.H. WADE. TASMANIA was later refloated and repaired only to be lost in Lake Erie on October 18, 1905.

1898
The schooner FANNY CAMPBELL (wooden schooner, 404 tons, built in 1868 at St. Catharines, Ontario) ran ashore near Johnston’s Harbor in Georgian Bay. She was sailing light on her way for a load of cordwood.

1900
SPECULAR (wooden propeller freighter, 264 feet, 1,742 gross tons, built in 1882 at Cleveland, Ohio) was carrying iron ore when she was a “hit and run” victim by the steamer DENVER at 2 a.m. and sank in 6 minutes in the Pelee Passage on Lake Erie. Fifteen of her crew abandoned in her yawl and were saved. The remaining five scrambled up into the rigging and clung there until they were rescued 4 hours later by the steamer MARITANA and brought to Detroit. Salvagers worked on the wreck continuously until they gave up on September 28. The wreck lies 3.16 miles SE from Pelee Passage light. She was owned by Republic Iron Co. of Cleveland.

1903
ROBERT L. IRELAND (Hull #62) was launched at Chicago, Illinois, by Chicago Ship Building Co. for the Gilchrist Transportation Co. Renamed b.) SIRIUS in 1913 and c.) ONTADOC in 1926.

1909
NORMAN B. REAM and SENATOR collided in the St. Marys River above Pipe Island, and the latter sank with her masts above water. She was later salvaged but was lost in Lake Michigan off Kenosha after a collision with the MARQUETTE on October 31, 1929.

1917
The wooden steamer JOHN S. THOM, en route to Erie with coal, went aground on a shoal 22 miles west of Charlotte, NY. The vessel was later refloated and taken to Ogdensburg, NY for repairs.

1940
The second THOROLD, sent overseas to assist in the war effort, was attacked and sunk by three German aircraft as she was carrying coal from Cardiff to London. There were nine lives lost, while another three crew members were injured. The vessel was under attack for 3 hours before it went down and became the third Canadian merchant ship lost in the early stages of the war.

1973
ROGER M. KYES sailed on her maiden voyage from Toledo, Ohio, to load iron ore at Escanaba, Michigan. She was built under Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970. This program allowed U.S. shipping companies to construct new vessels or modernize their existing fleet with government-guaranteed financing and tax-deferred benefits. The KYES was the second of 10 ships launched for American Steamship but the first to enter service under this arrangement. The total cost of the ten ships was more than $250 million. Renamed b.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1989.

1979
ALGOPORT left Collingwood, Ontario, on her maiden voyage for Calcite, Michigan, to load limestone bound for Spragge, Ontario.

1987
The ENDERS M. VOORHEES was towed out of Duluth, Minnesota, by the tugs AVENGER IV and CHIPPEWA and was the first of the ‘Supers’ towed off the Lakes for scrap.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, David Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. Compiled by Roger LeLievre.