 Robert C. Pringle asChequamegon,c. 1909 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg) United States | |
| Name | Robert C. Pringle |
| Operator | Pringle Barge Line Company,Mentor, Ohio[1] |
| Port of registry | Fairport, Ohio[2] |
| Builder | Manitowoc Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company,Manitowoc, Wisconsin[3] |
| Yard number | 1 |
| Launched | May 9, 1903[3] |
| In service | June 23, 1903[5] |
| Out of service | June 19, 1922[4] |
| Identification | Registry number US 127764[4] |
| Fate | Sank after striking an obstruction[4] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Tugboat |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 101 ft (30.8 m)[4] |
| Beam | 22.33 ft (6.8 m)[4] |
| Depth | 9.50 ft (2.9 m)[4] |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion | 1 × 7.5 ft (2.3 m) fixed pitch propeller[5] |
Robert C. Pringle (tug) Shipwreck | |
  | |
| Location | 8 miles (13 km) southeast ofSheboygan, Wisconsin |
| Coordinates | 43°41′30″N87°33′18″W / 43.69167°N 87.55500°W /43.69167; -87.55500 |
| Built | 1903 |
| Architect | Manitowoc Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company |
| NRHP reference No. | 100005902 |
| Added to NRHP | December 14, 2020[7] |
Robert C. Pringle, originally namedChequamegon, was a wooden-hulledAmerican tugboat. She sank without loss of life onLake Michigan, nearSheboygan, Wisconsin, on June 19, 1922, after striking an obstruction, possibly floatingdriftwood.
Chequamegon was built in 1903 inManitowoc, Wisconsin, by theManitowoc Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company. She was built for the newly formed Chequamegon Bay Transportation Company ofAshland, Wisconsin, under which she hauled freight between Ashland,Bayfield,Washburn andMadeline Island. She was sold multiple times between 1904 and 1918, and was renamedPere Marquette 7 in 1911. In 1918, she was sold to the Pringle Barge Line, who converted her to a tug and renamed herRobert C. Pringle.
On June 18, 1922,Robert C. Pringle began towing the wooden bulk freighterVenezuela fromMilwaukee toSandusky, Ohio, where theVenezuela was scheduled to receive extensive repairs. At about 2:00 a.m. on the following day, as the vessels were passing Sheboygan,Robert C. Pringle struck an obstruction, and began taking on water rapidly. Despite her pumps being in operation, the water eventually extinguished her boilers, forcing her crew to abandon her and row toVenezuela. All crewmen were delivered safely to Manitowoc.
Robert C. Pringle's wreck was discovered in 2008 by Steve Radovan. In 2019, it was subjected to a thorough archaeological survey by theWisconsin Historical Society, which described the wreck as "remarkably intact". The wreck ofRobert C. Pringle was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places on December 14, 2020.
Robert C. Pringle (Official number 127764)[4] was built asChequamegon in 1903 by theManitowoc Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company on the banks of theManitowoc River inManitowoc, Wisconsin.[3] The first vessel built by the newly established shipyard, she was launched at 3:06 p.m. on May 9, 1903, as hull number 1.[3]Chequamegon's wooden hull was 101 feet (30.8 m) in length, 22.33 or 22.4 feet (6.81 or 6.83 m) wide, and 9.50 or 9.6 feet (2.90 or 2.93 m) deep.[4][8] She had agross register tonnage of 141 tons, and anet register tonnage of 112 tons.[4][8]
Chequamegon was powered by a 500-horsepower (370 kW) 145 or 200rpmtriple expansion steam engine, thecylinders of which hadbores of 12 inches (30.5 cm), 19 inches (48.3 cm) and 32 inches (81.3 cm), and astroke of 20 inches (50.8 cm).[5][6] A single 10.5-by-11-foot (3.2 by 3.4 m)Scotch marine boiler, rated 175pounds per square inch (1,210 kPa) supplied the engine with steam. The engine was manufactured inMontague, Michigan,[9] by the Montague Iron Works, and her boiler was manufactured inFerrysburg, Michigan, by the Johnson Brothers Company. A 7.5-foot (2.3 m) fixed-pitch propeller propelled her to a top speed of 18 miles per hour (15.6 kn; 29.0 km/h).[5][6]
Chequamegon had two decks, nomast, and a round stern.[8] At great expense, her cabins were fitted out with oak woodwork and upholstered furniture.[5] She was capable of accommodating 500 people.[5]
Chequamegon was built for the Chequamegon Bay Transportation Company ofAshland, Wisconsin,[5] who intended to use her as an excursion vessel betweenAshland,Bayfield,Washburn andMadeline Island, all inWisconsin. She was issued a temporary enrollment on June 13, 1903, inMilwaukee, Wisconsin, and a permanent enrollment on June 23 atMarquette, Michigan.[6][10] In the middle of September, her trips to Madeline Island were discontinued, and she was moved toDuluth, Minnesota, where she was fitted with a new propeller to improve her speed. She made excursions around theApostle Islands on September 26 and 27, and October 10 and 11.[10]
Scheduled to be moved to Milwaukee in 1904, she made her final trip on May 21, 1904, between Ashland and Washburn, arriving in Milwaukee the day after her final trip. That June,Chequamegon began transporting passengers from Milwaukee toPabst'sWhitefish Bay Resort. She was chartered by the Benton Transit Company ofBenton Harbor, Michigan, in August 1904, and hadbulwarks fitted to her lower deck.[11] During this time, she ran between Benton Harbor and Milwaukee.Chequamegon's propeller was damaged on September 12, 1904, while she was inbound for Milwaukee.[11] When Louis A. Cartier, president of the Chequamegon Bay Transportation Company, moved toLudington, Michigan, she briefly hauled fruit towards the end of the shipping season, from Benton Harbor andSt. Joseph, Michigan, to Milwaukee.Chequamegon resumed her trips for Pabst's Whitefish Bay Resort, briefly engaging in the fruit trade in September 1906.[12]
On April 22, 1907,Chequamegon was sold to R. Floyd Clinch ofChicago, Illinois;[6] her home port was changed to Chicago.[13]Chequamegon was transferred to Clinch's Traverse Bay Transportation Company in 1908.[6][13] That year, she was taken toSturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, where she received a new 9.5-foot (2.9 m) propeller, built by H.G. Trout & Company ofBuffalo, New York. After receiving some additional repairs, she returned to herCharlevoix, Michigan –Traverse City, Michigan route. On August 18, 1909,Chequamegon's cook, Sanford M. Silver, drowned after falling overboard.[14]
Chequamegon was sold to the Pere Marquette Line of Steamers in 1911, and was renamedPere Marquette 7 on January 30.[4][6][14] She ran between Chicago,Waukegan, Illinois, Milwaukee,Kenosha, Wisconsin andPort Washington, Wisconsin, carrying freight.[15] In April 1914,Pere Marquette 7 was overhauled and repainted in Sturgeon Bay.[16]
In 1918,Pere Marquette 7 was sold to the Pringle Barge Line Company ofMentor, Ohio, and was renamedRobert C. Pringle. She was converted to atugboat inSandusky, Ohio, to tow barges in theLake Eriecoal trade, and had her home port changed toFairport, Ohio.[6][17] She briefly bore the nameHenry R. Heath between 1919 and 1920.[2]
The Pringle Barge Line Company acquired the wooden bulk freighterVenezuela in 1922. AsVenezuela required significant repairs,Robert C. Pringle was dispatched toMilwaukee, Wisconsin, to tow her toSandusky, Ohio, where the repairs were to be performed. The vessels departed Milwaukee at around midnight on June 18, withRobert C. Pringle under the command of Captain Martin Oglesbee.[18] At around 2:00 a.m. the following day, asRobert C. Pringle andVenezuela were passingSheboygan, Wisconsin,Robert C. Pringle struck an obstruction, possibly floatingdriftwood, and began taking on water rapidly.[18] She sank in ten minutes, with all her crew being rescued byVenezuela, which dropped her crew off in Milwaukee.[19][20]Venezuela proceeded to Sandusky under her own steam.[19]
After she sank, there was speculation thatRobert C. Pringle's loss occurred as a result of a weakness in her hull due to advanced age.[19]
Robert C. Pringle's wreck was discovered in 300 feet (91.4 m) of water by Steve Radovan in 2008.[19][21] Radovan had been searching for her since the 1970s, locating the wrecks of the schoonersFloretta andHome in the process.[22][23] Her wreck is upright and was described by theWisconsin Historical Society as "remarkably intact on a sand and silt covered lake bottom, with little damage or deterioration".[19][21] Her pilothouse, including the glass in four of its windows, remains in place.[21][24] The captain's cabin, located behind the pilothouse is also intact.[25]Robert C. Pringle's triple expansion engine still retains gold lettering.[26] In 2019, maritime archaeologists from the Wisconsin Historical Society partnered with Tom Crossmon's Crossmon Consulting LLC to conduct a thorough archaeological survey of the wreck.[21][27]
The wreck was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places on December 14, 2020.[7]
Media related toRobert C. Pringle (ship, 1903) at Wikimedia Commons
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1922 | |
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