SS S.C. Baldwin

Last updated
S.C. Baldwin.jpg
S.C. Baldwin prior to her sinking
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameS.C. Baldwin
OwnerAdolph Green
BuilderCampbell, Owen & Company
Launched1871
In service1871
Out of serviceAugust 27, 1908
IdentificationU.S. Registry #23957
FateSank 1908
General characteristics
Tonnage418  GRT
Length160 ft (49 m)
Beam30 ft (9.1 m)
Depth10 ft (3.0 m)
Installed power High pressure steam engine
S.C. Baldwin Shipwreck (barge)
USA Wisconsin location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location2.3 miles (3.7 km) SSE of Rawley Point Light in Lake Michigan
Nearest city Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Coordinates 44°11′35″N87°27′12″W / 44.193011°N 87.453247°W / 44.193011; -87.453247
Built1871
ArchitectStephen R. Kirby
Architectural styleSteam barge
NRHP reference No. 16000565 [1]
Added to NRHPAugust 22, 2016

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. [2]

Contents

History

The S.C. Baldwin with two schooners S.C. Baldwin (steamer).jpg
The S.C. Baldwin with two schooners

S.C. Baldwin (Official number 23957) was built in 1871 by Campbell, Owen & Company of Detroit, Michigan for the Escanaba & Lake Michigan Transportation Company to carry iron ore from Escanaba, Michigan to the ports of Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was named after an officer of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. [3] She had a length of 160 feet (49 m), her beam was 30 feet (9.1 m) wide and her cargo hold was 11 feet (3.4 m) deep. She had a gross register tonnage of 418 tons. [4] She was powered by a high pressure steam engine that was built by the Dry Dock Engine Works, and had a cylinder with a 26-inch (660 mm) bore and a stroke measuring 32 inches (810 mm), and "double crank". At the start of her career she had a single deck. [3]

In March of 1873 S.C. Baldwin had a second deck added in Chicago, Illinois, this increased her gross register tonnage to 634 tons, and is believed to have made her the first double decked steamer on the lakes. [3] On April 30, 1876 she went ashore at North Point Reef on Lake Huron. On June 18, 1876 S.C. Baldwin collided with the schooner Ellen Spry off Kewaunee, Wisconsin. On April 28, 1877, S.C. Baldwin went ashore near Alpena, Michigan, [5] [6] [7] and was repaired afterwards in Detroit, Michigan. [8] In 1879 S.C. Baldwin was sold to the Inter Ocean Transportation Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In April 1882 she was sold to David Whitney Jr. of Detroit, Michigan, and her second deck was removed in order to refit her for the lumber trade. after the refit, S.C. Baldwin's gross register tonnage was reevaluated to 412.5 tons. [3] In 1884 it was reported that she was damaged near Ashland, Wisconsin. Following engine failure, and a storm near Port Colborne, Ontario. she was rebuilt with steel arches, and her original engine was replaced with a 450-horsepower (340 kW) Steeple compound engine that had a cylinder with a 37-by-32-inch (940 mm × 810 mm) bore and a stroke measuring 21 inches (530 mm). [8] [3] In September 1886 S.C. Baldwin went aground in Lake George in the St. Marys River with the freighter R.J. Hackett; both of them were released by the tug Mystic. In 1891 she was sold to the Whitney Transportation Company of Hamtramck, Michigan. In 1892 S.C. Baldwin was sold to S.R. MacLaren of Toledo, Ohio. On November 5, 1894 S.C. Baldwin collided with the steamer Iron King off Marine City, Michigan, and sank in 35 feet (11 m) of water. [8]

In 1903 S.C. Baldwin was traveling from Green Bay, Wisconsin to Buffalo, New York with a cargo of lumber when she struck an ice pack and sank in Green Bay, about 10 miles (16 km) north of the entrance to the Fox River, near Long Tail Point. The tugs Wright and Nelson went to try and raise S.C. Baldwin, but could only move her 25 feet (7.6 m). This caused her cargo of lumber to roll off her deck, and break her upper cabin structure off. [3] In April, 1904 S.C. Baldwin was raised, and purchased by Adolph Green of the Green Stone Company. Despite some damage to her rudder and her keel, her hull remained mostly intact. In July, 1904 the Green Stone Company decided to convert S.C. Baldwin to a barge, and removed her machinery in the winter of 1904. In June 1905 S.C. Baldwin started hauling limestone from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and other ports up Lake Michigan's west coast. [3]

Final voyage

On August 26, 1908 S.C. Baldwin, and scow No.37 were headed south from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin with a cargo of stone, in tow of the tug Torrent. The three vessels encountered a storm as they were passing Kewaunee, Wisconsin, and at around midnight, S.C. Baldwin began taking on water. At around 3:00 A.M., she capsized and remained unnoticed by the crew of Torrent until sunrise. [9] When she capsized, two of her crew members jumped off, leaving a single crewman clinging to her hull. When Torrent's crew realized she had capsized, they cut the line connecting the vessel. S.C. Baldwin turned over again, and sank. After the remaining crewman was rescued, Torrent went to search for the missing crew members. After her crew didn't find S.C. Baldwin's crew, they sailed to Manitowoc, Wisconsin to tell the lifesaving station. after this, Torrent and some other vessels went back to retrieve scow No.37, and search for the missing men. [9] On August 28, Captain George Heim, the Captain of S.C. Baldwin was located by the Goodrich Transportation Company vessel Caroline. A few days later, the body of Jacob Witgen, the other crewman washed ashore near Kewaunee, Wisconsin. [9]

S.C. Baldwin today

The wreck of S.C. Baldwin was discovered sometime in the mid-1970s by sport fishermen who reported her location to divers. Her wreck is a popular recreational dive site, as she lies in only 75 feet (23 m) of water. Her wreck sits upright, with her stempost intact. Other than her stempost, her wreck consists of her stern, her stern deck and her transom. In 2015 the Wisconsin Historical Society conducted a full archeological survey of her wreck. [10]

Related Research Articles

SS <i>Appomattox</i> Largest wooden steamship on the Great Lakes wrecked in 1905

The SS Appomattox was a wooden-hulled, American Great Lakes freighter that ran aground on Lake Michigan, off Atwater Beach off the coast of Shorewood, Wisconsin in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States in 1905. On January 20, 2005 the remnants of the Appomattox were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

SS <i>Marquette</i> (1881) Wooden-hulled, American Great Lakes freighter

The SS Marquette was a wooden-hulled, American Great Lakes freighter built in 1881, that sank on Lake Superior, five miles east of Michigan Island, Ashland County, Wisconsin, Apostle Islands, United States on October 15, 1903. On the day of February 13, 2008 the remains of the Marquette were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

SS <i>Lakeland</i> Steel ship wrecked in Lake Michigan

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.

SS <i>Harriet B.</i> Wooden-hulled barge that served on the Great Lakes of North America

The Harriet B. was a wooden-hulled barge that served on the Great Lakes of North America, originally as the railroad ferry Shenango No.2, then a bulk carrier and finally as an unpowered barge. She sank four miles off Two Harbors, Minnesota on May 3, 1922, after being rammed by the steel freighter Quincy A. Shaw. Her wreck was accidentally located upright and intact in 2005 in 656 feet (200 m) of water. On August 9, 2018, the wreck of the Harriet B. was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

SS <i>Francis Hinton</i> Wooden-hulled steam barge sunk in Lake Michigan

The SS Francis Hinton was a wooden-hulled steam barge that sank in a gale off the coast of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, on Lake Michigan in 1909 while heavily laden with a cargo of lumber. On December 16, 1996, the wreck of the Francis Hinton was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

PS <i>Lotta Bernard</i> Paddle-steamer that sank on Lake Superior

PS Lotta Bernard was a wooden-hulled sidewheel steam barge that served on the Great Lakes from her construction in 1869 to her sinking in 1874. She was built in Port Clinton, Ohio, in 1869 by Lewis M. Jackson for S.W. Dorsey of Sandusky, Ohio. When she entered service, she was chartered by the Northern Transportation Company to carry cordwood from the Portage River and Put-in-Bay to Cleveland, Ohio. In 1870, Lotta Bernard was sold to Luman H. Tenney of Duluth, Minnesota. During this time, she was contracted to haul building materials from Bark Bay, Wisconsin, to Duluth to be used in the construction of the first grain elevator in that port. Lotta Bernard was sold to John D. Howard of Superior, Wisconsin, in 1871.

SS <i>Russia</i> (1872) American Great Lakes package freighter

SS <i>Vernon</i> American passenger and package freighter ship sunk in Lake Michigan

SS <i>John V. Moran</i> American package freighter

<i>Robert C. Pringle</i> (tug) Wooden-hulled American tugboat that sank in Lake Michigan

Robert C. Pringle, originally named Chequamegon, was a wooden-hulled American tugboat that sank without loss of life on Lake Michigan, near Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on June 19, 1922, after striking an obstruction.

<i>115</i> (barge) American whaleback barge

<i>129</i> (barge) American whaleback barge (1891–1902)

<i>104</i> (barge) American whaleback barge

SS <i>Cayuga</i> American freighter, in service 1889–1895

SS <i>Ironsides</i> Wooden-hulled American package freighter on Great Lakes service

SS Ironsides was a wooden-hulled American package freighter in service between 1864 and 1873. She was built in 1864 in Cleveland, Ohio, by either Ira Lafrinier or Quayle & Martin. She was built for John E. Turner, also of Cleveland, and operated as part of the Cleveland & Lake Superior Line. She had an identical sister ship named Lac La Belle. Ironsides operated between Cleveland and Lake Superior for a number of years, and was sold several times. In 1869, she was sold to Nathan Englemann of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and operated between Milwaukee and Grand Haven, Michigan. In 1871, she became part of the Englemann Transportation Company.

SS <i>Lac La Belle</i> American package freighter

SS Lac La Belle was a wooden-hulled American package freighter in service between 1864 and 1872. She was built in 1864 in Cleveland, Ohio, by Ira Lafrinier for Hanna & Garretson, also of Cleveland. She had an identical sister ship named Ironsides. Lac La Belle operated between Cleveland and Lake Superior for a number of years, and was sold several times. In 1869, she was sold to Nathan Englemann of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and operated between Milwaukee and Grand Haven, Michigan. In 1871, she became part of the Englemann Transportation Company. Throughout her career, Lac La Belle was involved in several accidents.

References

  1. "S.C. Baldwin Shipwreck (barge)". National Park Service . Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  2. "S.C. Baldwin Shipwreck in Manitowoc County listed on the Narional Register of Historic Places". Wisconsin Historical Society . Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Service History". Wisconsin Shipwrecks. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  4. "Baldwin, S.C." Bowling Green State University . Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  5. "Lake Huron". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, IL. May 3, 1877. p. 7. Retrieved December 26, 2020 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  6. "Steam Barge Wrecked". Alpena Argus. Alpena, MI. May 2, 1877. p. 3. Retrieved December 26, 2020 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  7. "The Steam Barge Baldwin Ashore". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, MI. April 29, 1877. p. 4. Retrieved December 26, 2020 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  8. 1 2 3 "BALDWIN, S.C. (1871, Steambarge)". Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  9. 1 2 3 "Final Voyage". Wisconsin Shipwrecks. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  10. "Today". Wisconsin Shipwrecks. Retrieved January 6, 2019.