Today in Great Lakes History – October 20

 

1844
1844   DAYTON (two-masted wooden schooner; 69 feet; 85 tons; built in 1835 at Grand Island, NY) capsized and sank in Lake Erie off Dunkirk, NY, in a terrific gale. All onboard were lost.

1854
1854:   JOHN J. AUDUBON (wooden brig; 370 tons; built in 1854 at Black River, OH) was carrying railroad iron from Buffalo, NY, to Chicago, IL, when she was struck amidships by the schooner DEFIANCE on a dark night halfway between Thunder Bay on Lake Huron and Presque Isle, MI. AUDUBON was cut almost in half. Both vessels sank quickly. No lives were lost.

1863
1863:   E.S. ADAMS (three-masted wooden bark; 135 feet; 341 gross tons; built in 1857 at Port Robinson, ON) was carrying 18,500 bushels of wheat on a clear night when she collided with the American bark CONSTITUTION, resulting in the loss of the ADAMS. One life was lost. Neither vessel was blamed for the accident.

1873
1873:   The tug RESCUE was sent from Port Huron, MI, to Tawas, MI, to release the 246-foot barge OCEAN that was grounded. After pulling the barge free, Captain Fitch of RESCUE began towing her down Lake Huron, but the storm got so bad that he was about to turn back and run for Tawas. However, the captain of OCEAN yelled that they were all right and to go ahead down the lake. Soon the seas got the better of the barge. The tug kept with her until she was about to sink. Then the line was cut, the tug turned about, ran under her lee, and rescued her crew of nine from the lifeboat. The barge sank. On the way down Lake Huron, opposite Port Sanilac, MI, the RESCUE picked up six men and one woman from the wrecked barge JOHN F. RUST. In this one trip, the RESCUE earned her name by rescuing 16 persons!

1875
1875:   The wooden schooner F.C. LEIGHTON was loaded with ore when she struck a rock in the St. Marys River and sank a few miles from DeTour, MI. A tug was sent right away to raise her.

1898
1898:   The SHENANGO NO. 2 (later PERE MARQUETTE 16) was arriving Milwaukee, WI, when her steering gear failed, causing her to crash into a grain elevator that was under construction.

1906
1906:   The JAMES S. DUNHAM was launched for the Chicago Navigation Co. (D. Sullivan & Co., manager) of Duluth, MN. She was renamed b.) LYNFORD E. GEER in 1926 and c.) OTTO M. REISS in 1934. The vessel was scrapped at Castellón, Spain, in 1973.

1906:   PETER A.B. WIDENER was launched for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. (later the U.S. Steel Corp. in 1952) of Cleveland, OH.

1916
1916:   The whaleback JAMES B. COLGATE sank off Long Point in Lake Erie with a loss of 26. The lone survivor was Captain Walter J. Grashaw, who was picked up two days after the sinking. Captain Grashaw had sailed as First Mate on the COLGATE for 10 years and was conducting his first trip as her captain. The “Black Friday” storm also claimed the MERIDA, D.L. FLIER, and M.F. BUTTERS.

1916:   MERIDA (steel propeller bulk freighter; 360 feet; 3,261 gross tons; built in 1893 at West Bay City, MI) was heavily loaded with iron ore when she encountered the “Black Friday” storm on Lake Erie. She sank about 24 miles east of Erieau, ON. All 24 onboard were lost. A few days later, the wheelhouse was found floating 15 miles south of Port Stanley, ON. 21 bodies were eventually found, but not the bodies of Captain Harry L. Jones or crewman Wilfred Austin. The wreck was found in 1975 by Larry Jackson, a commercial fisherman.

1926
1926:   The keel was laid for the twin-screw lake passenger and railcar ferry WABASH (Hull #177) of the Toledo Shipbuilding Co.

1973
1973:   The SCOTT MISENER of 1954 proceeded to the Port Arthur, ON, shipyard for dry docking and repairs after striking bottom on October 15, 1973, near Whaleback Shoal on the St. Lawrence River.

Data from: Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Max Hanley, Russ Plumb, 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.