Kate Kelly (Shipwreck) | |
 The Kate Kelly prior to her sinking | |
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| Location | Off the coast of Wind Point, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°46′48″N87°43′31″W / 42.78000°N 87.72528°W |
| NRHP reference No. | 07001219 |
| Added to NRHP | November 21, 2007 |
The Kate Kelly was a 126-foot wood-hulled two-masted schooner that sank in 1895 off the coast of Wind Point, Wisconsin, United States. In 2007 the shipwreck site was added to the National Register of Historic Places. [1]
The Kate Kelly was built in Tonawanda, New York by John Martel in 1867, a canaller designed to carry maximum cargo through the Welland Canal between Lakes Erie and Ontario, with inches to spare. [2] Her homeport was Buffalo, New York and later Oswego, New York. She carried cargo such as corn, grain, coal and iron from ports including those in Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin to ports in places such as Canada. [3]
In May 1895 the Kate Kelly left Alpena, Michigan with a load of hemlock railroad ties bound for Chicago. After stopping at Sheboygan, Wisconsin, she carried on with her journey. On the morning of May 13, a storm broke out across Lake Michigan, sinking several ships including the Kate Kelly. There were no survivors and the bodies of the crew were never found. [3]
The ship lies two miles east of Wind Point Light in 55 feet of water, broken up in sections on the lakebed. [2]
The PS Lady Elgin was a wooden-hulled sidewheel steamship that sank in Lake Michigan off the fledgling town of Port Clinton, Illinois, whose geography is now divided between Highland Park and Highwood, Illinois, after she was rammed in a gale by the schooner Augusta in the early hours of September 8, 1860. The passenger manifest was lost with the collision, but the sinking of Lady Elgin resulted in the loss of about 300 lives in what was called "one of the greatest marine horrors on record". Four years after the disaster, a new rule required sailing vessels to carry running lights. The Lady Elgin disaster remains the greatest loss of life on open water in the history of the Great Lakes.
SSMeteor is the sole surviving ship of the unconventional "whaleback" design. The design, created by Scottish captain Alexander McDougall, enabled her to carry a maximum amount of cargo with a minimum of draft. Meteor was built in 1896 in Superior, Wisconsin, United States, and, with a number of modifications, sailed until 1969. She is now a museum ship in the city of her construction.
SS Comet was a steamship that operated on the Great Lakes. Comet was built in 1857 as a wooden-hulled propeller-driven cargo vessel that was soon adapted to carry passengers. It suffered a series of maritime accidents prior to its final sinking in 1875 causing the loss of ten lives. It became known as the only treasure ship of Lake Superior because she carried 70 tons of Montana silver ore when it sank. The first attempts to salvage its cargo in 1876 and 1938 were unsuccessful. Comet was finally salvaged in the 1980s when the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society illegally removed artifacts from the wreck. The artifacts are now the property of the State of Michigan and are on display as a loan to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The fate of her silver ore cargo is unknown. Comet's wreck is now protected by the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve as part of an underwater museum.
Northerner was an 81-foot-long (24.7-meter-long), two-masted schooner. She sank in Lake Michigan on November 29, 1868, five miles southeast of Port Washington, Wisconsin, United States. The bottom of the ship lies under 130 feet of water.
The Joys was a steamboat that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, United States. In 2007 the shipwreck site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Daniel Lyons was a schooner that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of Algoma, Wisconsin, United States. In 2007 the shipwreck site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Hetty Taylor was a schooner that sank in Lake Michigan off Sheboygan, Wisconsin, United States. In 2005 the shipwreck site was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It was included within the boundaries of the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary in 2021.
Manistee was a packet steamer that disappeared on Lake Superior on November 15 or 16, 1883. She was presumed to have sunk, with no surviving crew or passengers. The cause remains a mystery, and her wreckage has not been found.
The SS Andaste was a Monitor-class vessel, built in 1892 by the Cleveland Ship Building Company for the Lake Superior Iron Company. The vessel is best known for sinking on Lake Michigan on the night of September 9–10, 1929, with all hands; 25 men were lost. As of 2020, the wreck of Andaste has not yet been located.
Australasia was a wooden-hulled American Great Lakes freighter that served on the Great Lakes of North America between her construction in 1884 to her burning and sinking in 1896. On October 18, 1896, while loaded with coal, the Australasia sank in Lake Michigan near the town of Sevastopol, Door County, Wisconsin, United States, after burning off Cana Island. On July 3, 2013, the wreck of the Australasia was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Antelope was a Great Lakes steamship that later was converted into a schooner barge) and sank in Lake Superior near the Apostle Islands in 1897.
The SS Lakeland was an early steel-hulled Great Lakes freighter that sank on December 3, 1924, into 205 feet (62 m) of water on Lake Michigan near Sturgeon Bay, Door County, Wisconsin, United States, after she sprang a leak. On July 7, 2015, the wreck of the Lakeland was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The SS Atlanta was a wooden hulled Great Lakes steamer that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, United States, after a failed attempt of her being towed to shore ultimately killing 5 out of her 7 crew members on board. Her wreckage still remains at the bottom of the lake, and on November 6, 2017, the wreck of the Atlanta was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
SS Selah Chamberlain was a wooden-hulled Great Lakes freighter that sank in Lake Michigan in 1886, 6 miles (10 km) off the coast of Sheboygan, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States after being rammed by the steamer John Pridgeon Jr. with the loss of five lives. On January 7, 2019, the wreck of Selah Chamberlain was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and was given the reference number 100003288. She was the first shipwreck listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.
SS S.C. Baldwin was a wooden-hulled steam barge built in 1871, that capsized in a storm on August 26, 1908, on Lake Michigan, off Two Rivers, Wisconsin, United States, with the loss of one life. On August 22, 2016 the remnants of S.C. Baldwin were listed in the National Register of Historic Places as reference number 16000565.
The SS J.M. Allmendinger was a wooden-hulled steam barge built in 1883, that ran aground during a storm on November 26, 1895, on Lake Michigan, off the coast of Mequon, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. On October 11, 2018, the remains of J.M. Allmendinger were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
SS Russia was an iron-hulled American Great Lakes package freighter that sank in a Lake Huron gale on April 30, 1909, near DeTour Village, Michigan, with all 22 of her crew and one passenger surviving.
SS Merchant was an American iron–hulled passenger and package freighter in service between 1862 and 1875. The first iron–hulled merchant ship built on the Great Lakes, she was built in 1862 in Buffalo, New York, by the David Bell shipyard, out of components manufactured in Black Rock, New York, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was built for James C. and Edwin T. Evans of Buffalo, under whom she carried passengers and freight. Merchant made her maiden voyage in August 1862, sailing from Buffalo to Chicago. Between late 1872 and early 1873, she was lengthened by 30 feet (9.1 m), and had her passenger cabins removed. Also in 1873, Merchant was sold to the Erie & Western Transportation Company of Erie, Pennsylvania.
SS John Mitchell was a steel-hulled, American lake freighter in service between 1907 and 1911. She was built in 1906 by the Great Lakes Engineering Works in St. Clair, Michigan, for the Cornell Steamship Company of Chicago, Illinois, which was managed by C.W. Elphicke. She entered service in 1907, and had a sister ship named William B. Davock. Throughout her career, John Mitchell carried iron ore and coal. On October 4, 1908, she ran aground at Indiana Harbor, Indiana, while loaded with iron ore.
SS Cayuga was a steel-hulled American package freighter in service between 1889 and 1895. She was built in 1889 in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Globe Iron Works Company for the Lehigh Valley Transit Company of Buffalo, New York. One of five identical sister ships, Cayuga entered service in 1889, carrying package freight between Buffalo and Chicago, Illinois, also making stops in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Gladstone, Michigan. Prior to her sinking, Cayuga was involved in two accidents. In the first in 1890, when she went aground in a gale just outside of Buffalo harbour; six tugboats managed to pull her free that same day. The second accident occurred in 1891, when Cayuga was involved in a collision with the package freighter Delaware near Cheboygan, Michigan.
Media related to Kate Kelly (ship, 1867) at Wikimedia Commons
