List of shipwrecks of Isle Royale

=Shipwrecks of Isle Royale=

Isle Royale has been an obstacle to shipping on Lake Superior since the earliest days. Upon its reefs, more than 25 major wrecks occurred. Many were refloated, most never left. Still to be found beneath the waves of Lake Superior are the wooden sidewheeler, "CUMBERLAND" (1877); bulk freighter, "CHESTER CONGDON" (1918); the first 10,000 ton Canadian wheat packet, EMPEROR (1947) and the "KAMLOOPS" which "went missing" in 1927 and was found on the western shore of the Island in 1977. The earliest recorded wrecks were the "MADELINE" (1839) and the "SISKIWIT" (1840) of the American Fur Company. Many smaller French "ships" were reported upon Lake Superior in the 1700’s, which were gone before the English arrival in 1763. Isle Royale may have taken them some quiet evening. Along the north shore of the lake, the most celebrated wreck is that of the America. It served as a connection between Isle Royale and the mainland. It was a highway form Duluth to Port Arthur (Thunder Bay). [ Stonehouse, Frederick; Isle Royale Shipwrecks; Marquette, Michigan; Arery Color Studios; 1977]

The 3 C's of Isle Royale

To the west and south of Isle Royale is the Rock of Ages Lighthouse. Built in 1908, the light has provided the ships of Lake Superior with assurances that the Rock of Ages reef would be found by the Captain, before the reef found the ship. But that was too late or too little for the three residents lying atop the reef. The Passenger Steamer "CUMBERLAND" had spent the 21st-23rd of July 1877 aground on a bar near Nipigon (Ont), just prior to heading out into the clear lake from Thunder Bay. She was headed to Duluth, running in clear weather with a light breeze out of the south, when she ran hard upon the reef. A salvage crew tried to float the ship off the reef, but gave up when the weather turned sour in early August. The 'elements' of the lake have left only scattered sections of her hull, sidewheel and anchor from 20 to 140 feet deep on the Rock of Ages Reef. ["Cumberland" & "Wreck of Sidewheel Steamer Cumberland"; Detroit, Michigan; Detroit Free Press; January 29, 1974] Nearby to the southwest lies the "HENRY CHISHOLM". Sunday, October 1898 she was headed east towards the Soo when her tow separated in a storm north of Copper Harbor (MI). On the morning of the 20th, while preparing to begin a search of the Isle Royale harbors for the tow "MARTIN", the "CHISHOLM" ran hard atop the Reef. So badly damaged was the hull that the salvage crew estimated that it would take 8-10 pumps to to lower the water in the hold. With bad weather expected at anytime, it was abandoned to the lake. Today, she rests amongst the remains of the "CUMBERLAND", the steam engine being the identifiable remains.] To the east lies the "GEORGE M. COX". It was on the night of May 28, 1933 that the "COX" struck the reef in a heavy fog. The "COX" had been headed for Fort William and was making a good 10 miles per hour in a calm lake when she struck. The impact was so great that the boilers ripped loose. The craft then settled onto the reef with a 90-degree tilt. Many pictures have been seen of the "Cox", with its bow standing high out of the water, and the stern lapped by the waves. Again, the damage exceeded the ability of salvagers to remove her from the grave. ["S.S.George M. Cox Wrecked"; Houghton, Michigan; Houghton Mining Gazette; May 28, 1933] Today these four ships rest as reminders of the importance of the lake to the communities, which line its shores, and the vulnerability of our lives to the events and weather which shape the lake. Each of these ships can still be visited by divers who brave those 30-degree temperatures. [The Nor'easter; Holdon, Thom "Reef of the Three C's"; Duluth, Minnesota; Lake Superior Marine Museum; Vol. 2, #4; July/August 1977]

The America

"STEAMER IS SUNK WHEN IT STRIKES ISLE ROYALE REEF"
"All aboard are Rescued; Few Details of Accident are Given. Duluth, Minn. June 7 (AP) An old passenger steamer, the AMERICA, is lying on the bottom of Lake Superior tonight under 17 fathoms, of water. Its crew and passengers, about 45 in all, were taken off Isle Royale tonight, where they went when the ship sank this morning."
Houghton Mining Gazette (June 8, 1928)

The AMERICA was built in Detroit by a Michigan City, Indiana and Detroit, Michigan partnership for excursion trips between Michigan City and Chicago (IL). Only three years later in 1901, the AMERICA was operating on Lake Erie, when Alfred Booth of A. Booth Co. of Chicago began to negotiate for ownership of this modern and fast ship (19 knots) for the North Shore route out of Duluth. On April 26, 1902, the "America" left her berth on the lower lakes for a final home on Lake Superior. [ The Nor'easter Holdon, Thom; "Above and Below: Steamer America"; Duluth, Minnesota; Lake Superior Marine Museum; Vol. 3, #3 & #4; May/June & July/August 1978] Capt. "Fog King" Hector became her first captain on Superior. Capt. Hector began his days on Lake Superior at 17 in 1863 operating a small fishing operation. The "Fog King" was completely familiar with the north shore. He was seldom late on his run, regardless of the weather. Most of the "America's"problems in those years came from its need to enter civilization. In 1902, it collided with the Duluth Ship Canal; in 1904, the anchor from a bulk freighter ripped through the upper staterooms while birthed next to a grain terminal in Duluth, and in 1910, another ship was struck by the "America" rendering major damage to both. It was this collision, which allowed the "America'to be repaired and enlarged from its original 486 tons to 937 tons. [ibid, Holdon] The only major incident during Capt. Hector's tenure took place off the Susie Islands. On June 10, 1907, the "America" had just stopped to drop off supplies at either Grand Portage or the old Parkerville dock in the Susie Islands. As the crew was putting the final packages into place, a new 2nd Porter, Harvey Holler (16 years old), stepped backwards and out the open gangway. The crewmembers never saw him again, despite their attempts to search the waters. [ibid, Holdon] The year 1911 saw the newly lengthened "America" traveling up the North Shore with a new captain. Capt. Edward C. "Indian" Smith was to be the final captain of the ship. Capt. Smith had worked the other Booth boat, "HIRAM R. DIXON", and the under Hector on the "America'. It was said that on the foggiest days, you would hear the ship's whistle and know to head to the rendezvous point. Standing in your small skiff, unable to see more than 15 or 20 feet, you would wait for the "America". Them from the fog would come the bow, and the "America" would come to rest alongside your skiff with barely a ripple. And no sooner had it come to rest, then the engines would pound and the "America" would slip back into the fog, headed for the next meeting along the shore. [ibid, Holdon] Capt. Smith only once in the first 14 years brought the "America" to a problem. In 1914, she ran aground on Fisherman's Point in Two Harbors. This time, the damage was minor, compared to the rock Capt. Hector found in Burlington Harbor (Two Harbors) in 1909. The last few years found the "America" stuck upon a reef or bar each year. On May 28, 1925, she went aground on Scott's Point in Colville. The following year, she went aground in the Kaministiquia River at Fort William. And on July 21, 1927, she rammed into a tug at Port Arthur. Each time, the damage was greater and the repairs more expensive. [ibid, Holdon] On June 6th, 1928, the "America" steamed through the Duluth Ship Canal. Later that day, she landed in Grand Marais after making the routine stops along the coast. After clearing cargo and passengers, the "America" rounded the breakwall heading for Isle Royale. Apparently, the routine was to continue north along the shore and return through Isle Royale, stopping at the fish houses before returning to Duluth. [ibid, Holdon] But on this night, the "America" was carrying several passengers bound for Washington Island. At 3 a.m. on June 7th, she nosed out of the Singer Hotel Dock on Washington Island. Heading for North Gap and open water, the Captain retired and let First mate Wicks and a helmsman take the watch. Within minutes, the ship bumped over a reef, puncturing holes in the single bottom. Returning to the bridge, where the mate was signaling the alarm to the crew and passenger, Capt. Smith ordered the helmsman, Fred Nelson, to head towards a gravel beach before the ship floundered and lost headway. Thirty yards off the beach, the "America" hit another reef and came to an abrupt halt. Meanwhile the crew in the engine room greased the engine to prevent rust and improve salvage and the topside crew began to move the passengers to the lifeboats. Within an hour and a half of leaving Washington Island, the crew and passengers were on their way back in lifeboats. They met a small fleet of fishing boats coming to the sound of the whistle. ["America"; Houghton, Michigan; Houghton Mining Gazette; Vol. 29; June 8, 1928] The "America" came to rest with the bow standing out of the water and the stern and midships reaching into the depths. A. Booth and Sons elected not to salvage the "America", it was said because the completion of Minnesota Trunk Route I (US 61). The new road cut the cost of transportation along the shore making it unprofitable to operate a ship. The next year in September, 1929, Capt. Cornelius Flynn of the Duluth Salvage Company bought the rights to the "America". The winter of '28-29 had done minor damage to the upper cabins. But before he could get a crew to the site, winter set in and kept them at home. The following spring, the ice had sheared off the cabins at the waterline. The decrease in weight and the upward pressure of the ice floated the wreck and it settled beneath the surface. Today, you may see it 4' to 85' below the water. [ibid, Mining Gazette] For the north shore, the "America" was a part of a lifestyle, which has gone the way of the fisheries. Today, we drive the length of the shore from Duluth to Thunder Bay in a sixth of the time it took the "America". Around the shores of Isle Royale lay the remains of many ships, which once plied these waters in search of fish and other commerce. If you're unable to get to the island, you may wish to visit one of the wrecks, which got away. [op cit, Holdon]

Frank Rockefeller

On the night of November 3, 1905, the "FRANK ROCKEFELLER" ran aground in Rainbow Cove during a snow blizzard. The very next day, a salvage crew was on the way to float her free. She continued in service hauling many bulk products until 1969. At that time, she was retired by her owners who called her the METEOR, the whaleback now on display in Superior (WI).

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