48°11′36″N88°30′52″W / 48.19333°N 88.51444°W /48.19333; -88.51444
 Chester A. Congdon in theDuluth Ship Canal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Builder | Chicago Shipbuilding Company,South Chicago, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yard number | 74 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launched | August 29, 1907 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Christened | Dorothy Holmes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maiden voyage | September 19, 1907 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Out of service | November 6, 1918 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Identification | USofficial number 204526 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fate | Sank onLake Superior | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General characteristics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class & type | Lake freighter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Length | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beam | 56.16 feet (17.1 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depth | 26.42 feet (8.1 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion | 1 × fixed pitch propeller | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 10,200long tons (10,364 t) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SSChester A. Congdon was an Americanlake freighter in service between 1907 and 1918. She was built under the nameSalt Lake City in 1907 by theChicago Shipbuilding Company ofSouth Chicago, Illinois, for the Holmes Steamship Company, and was intended to be used in thegrain trade on theGreat Lakes. She entered service on September 19, 1907, when she made her maiden voyage. In 1911,Salt Lake City was sold to the Acme Transit Company. A year later, she was transferred to the Continental Steamship Company, and was renamedChester A. Congdon, after lawyer and entrepreneurChester Adgate Congdon. She was involved in several accidents throughout her career.
At 2:28 a.m. (EST) on November 6, 1918,Chester A. Congdon leftFort William, Ontario, under the command of Captain Charles J. Autterson, loaded with 380,000bushels of wheat bound forPort McNicoll, Ontario. At 4:00 a.m., shortly after leaving the shelter ofThunder Bay,Chester A. Congdon encountered a heavy storm. Captain Autterson decided to return, and anchored in Thunder Bay until 10:15 a.m. whenChester A. Congdon headed back to open water. Shortly after she passedThunder Cape, a thick fog descended onLake Superior. She ran aground on the southern end of Canoe Rocks, on the northeast point ofIsle Royale at 13:08 p.m. The first mate travelled to Fort William to deliver the news of the grounding. On November 8, a storm halted salvage operations, and brokeChester A. Congdon in two. She was the largest financial loss on theGreat Lakes up to that point.
The wreck ofChester A. Congdon is the largestshipwreck of Isle Royale. It rests mostly intact in two pieces, with the bow on the south side of the reef now known as Congdon Shoal in 60–120 feet (18.3–36.6 m) of water, and the stern on the north side in 20–210 feet (6.1–64.0 m) of water. The wreck was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places on June 14, 1984, and has become a popular site for recreational divers.
In 1843, the gunshipUSSMichigan, built inErie, Pennsylvania, became the first iron-hulled vessel built on theGreat Lakes.[1] In the mid-1840s, Canadian companies began importing iron vesselsprefabricated by shipyards in theUnited Kingdom. However, it would not be until 1862 that the first iron-hulled merchant ship,Merchant, was built on the Great Lakes.[1] Despite the success ofMerchant, wooden vessels remained preferable to iron ones until the 1880s, due to their inexpensiveness, and the abundance of timber.[2][3][4] In the early 1880s, shipyards around the Great Lakes began to construct iron ships on a relatively large scale,[4][5] and in 1884 the first steel freighters were built there.[6][7] By the 1890s, the majority of ships constructed on the lakes were made of steel.[8] The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw a rapid increase in the size of lake freighters; the first 400 feet (121.9 m) freighter was built in 1895, the first 500 feet (152.4 m) freighter was constructed five years later.[9]
Throughout the 1880s, theiron ore trade on the Great Lakes grew exponentially, primarily due to the increasing size of thelake freighters, and the rise in the number of trips made by ore boats to theore docks ofLake Superior.[10] As the railways were unable to keep up with the rapid production of iron ore, most of it was transported by bulk freighters.[10]
Salt Lake City (USofficial number 204526) was built inSouth Chicago, Illinois, in 1907 by theChicago Shipbuilding Company.[11][12] She was launched into theCalumet River on August 29, 1907, as hull 74.[11][13][14] She was built for W. A. and H. B. Hawgood's Holmes Steamship Company ofCleveland, Ohio, and was christened by Dorothy Holmes.[12][15]Salt Lake City was the third last ship of the so-called "10,000-ton capacity class".[16][17][a] She set the record for the fastest completion of a ship between its launching and maiden voyage at a Great Lakes shipyard.[19][20]Salt Lake City was built for use in thegrain trade on the Great Lakes.[21]
Built with an archedframe system designed to create an unobstructed cargo hold,Salt Lake City was equipped with 32 telescoping hatch covers.[13][22][23] The hatches were 9 feet (2.7 m) wide, and were placed on 12 feet (3.7 m) centers.[13][24]Salt Lake City had a cargo capacity of 10,200long tons (10,364 t).[13][23] Her cargo hold was divided into three separate compartments, which had capacities of 3,700 long tons (3,759 t), 3,100 long tons (3,150 t) and 3,400 long tons (3,455 t).[13]Salt Lake City was fitted with side-ballast tanks located between the hull plating and the cargo hold beneath the deck arches.[24][25]
The hull ofSalt Lake City had anoverall length of 552 feet (168.2 m), and alength between perpendiculars of 532 feet (162.2 m).[15] Her beam was 56 feet (17.1 m) (some sources state 56.16 feet (17.1 m) or 56.2 feet (17.1 m)) wide.[11][26][27] Her hull was 31 feet (9.4 m) (some sources state 26 feet (7.9 m), 26.42 feet (8.1 m), 26.5 feet (8.1 m) or 27 feet (8.2 m)) deep.[11][27][28][29]Salt Lake City had agross register tonnage of 6,530 (or 6,371.39) tons, and anet register tonnage of 4,843 tons.[11][13][24]
She was powered by a 1,765 hp (1,316 kW) 83rpmtriple expansion steam engine; the cylinders of the engine were 23.5 inches (59.7 cm), 38 inches (96.5 cm) and 63 inches (160.0 cm) in diameter, and had astroke of 42 inches (106.7 cm).[13][15][30] Steam for the engine was provided by two coal-fired,induced-draft 180pounds per square inch (1,200 kPa)Scotch marine boilers, 14.5 feet (4.4 m) in diameter, and 11.5 feet (3.5 m) long.[13][15][24] The engine and boilers were both built by the American Shipbuilding Company in Cleveland.[13][28][24]
Salt Lake City wasenrolled in Cleveland on September 11, 1907, and her home port wasFairport, Ohio.[13][28] She began her maiden voyage on September 19, leaving the shipyard under the command of Captain James Owen.[19][20] In June the following year, she struck ascow at theTwin Ports.[31]
In 1911, the Holmes Steamship Company merged into the Acme Transit Company, which was managed by H. B. Hawgood.[13] On February 2, 1912,Salt Lake City was sold to the G. A. Tomlinson managed Continental Steamship Company ofDuluth, Minnesota.[11][13] She was renamedChester A. Congdon, in honour of lawyer and entrepreneurChester Adgate Congdon.[13][32][33] Her home port was changed to Duluth.[24]
In April 1912,Chester A. Congdon was inMilwaukee, Wisconsin, when she broke away from the tugs towing her and struck the freighterCharles Weston, damaging two of her own hull plates in the process.[34] While waiting for fog to lift onLake Michigan on August 10 that same year,Chester A. Congdon drifted onto a shoal roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) north ofCana Island.[13] She damaged 90 hull plates and around 50 frames, arriving inSuperior, Wisconsin, on August 20 for repairs that took ten days to complete.[35]
On September 26, 1913,Chester A. Congdon struck thebreakwater in Fairport harbor, damaging her steering quadrant. She was repaired in Fairport.[36] AsChester A. Congdon was travelling on theDetroit River in October 1915, her bilge scraped along the bottom nearGrosse Pointe, Michigan, due to low water levels. Several of her rivets were sheered off, causing her hull to leak; she was repaired in Superior.[13][37]
On November 5, 1918,Chester A. Congdon arrived inFort William, Ontario, where she loaded 380,000 bushels of wheat at the Ogilvie & Pacificgrain elevators.[27][38][b] At 2:28 a.m. (EST) the next day, she left Fort William forPort McNicoll, Ontario, under the command of Captain Charles J. Autterson.[27][38][39] Shortly after passingThunder Cape,Chester A. Congdon encountered a heavy storm. At 4:00 a.m., Captain Autterson decided to head back intoThunder Bay for 7–8 miles (11.3–12.9 km), and anchor until the storm subsided.[27][38][39]Chester A. Congdon headed back into open water at 10:15 a.m. By that time the wind had stopped, however the waves were still present. After she passed Thunder Cape, a thick fog descended onLake Superior.[27][38][39] Captain Autterson set a course forPassage Island at 10:40 a.m., with the intention of running for 2.5 hours at a speed of 9knots (17 km/h; 10 mph), and anchoring if the fog remained.[27][38][39] At 13:08 p.m.,Chester A. Congdon ran aground on the southern reef of Canoe Rocks, on the northeast point ofIsle Royale, her officers not having heard the fog signal from Passage Island.[33][38][39]
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The lifeboats were lowered, one of which headed to Passage Island (roughly 7 miles (11.3 km) away) to request assistance from the lighthouse keeper.[38] Alaunch, occupied by two fishermen arrived at the scene to render assistance.[33][38] The fishermen took the second mate to Fort William, however the launch broke down, causing them to not reach their destination until 6:00 a.m. on November 7.[33][38] After the second mate relayed the news, the manager of the Canadian Wrecking & Towing Company, J. Wolvin, dispatched the wrecking bargeEmpire, and the tugsA.B. Conmee andSarnia to the wreck.[38] It was reported thatChester A. Congdon's first tank on herport side, and the first and second tanks on herstarboard side were full of water.[38] It was hoped that removing her cargo would be enough to refloat her. The removed grain was to be loaded onto the bargeCrete.[38] On November 8, a storm with 55 miles per hour (88.5 km/h) winds forced the salvors to abandon the wreck.[33][41][42]Chester A. Congdon's crew was removed byEmpire, which then sought shelter at Isle Royale.[33][41] By the time the salvage crew returned toChester A. Congdon's wreck, it had broken in two between the 6th and 7th hatches, and the stern had sunk.[33][42]
Chester A. Congdon was declared a total loss.[43] On November 29, it was announced that businessmanJames Playfair ofMidland, Ontario, had purchased her wreck for $10,000 (equivalent to $138,042 in 2024), with the intention of raising it in early 1919.[33][44][45] By about December,Chester A. Congdon's wreck had sunk, sliding down both sides of the reef.[33][44]
There were no deaths when the freighter sank. However, the wireless operator onEmpire seriously injured his thigh when it became caught in the hoisting gear.[43] Only 50,000 to 60,000 bushels of her cargo was removed.[43][46] At over $1.5 million (equivalent to $20.7 million in 2024), she was the largest financial loss on the Great Lakes up to that point, as well as Lake Superior's first $1 million shipwreck.[21][43][45][47] As a result of theFirst World War, the price of wheat was $2.35 (equivalent to $32.00 in 2024) per bushel.Chester A. Congdon's cargo was valued at over $893,000 (equivalent to $12.3 million in 2024), her hull at $365,000 (equivalent to $5.04 million in 2024), and thedisbursements at $369,400 (equivalent to $5.1 million in 2024).[42][43][45]
Chester A. Congdon, along with the identically–sizedD.R. Hanna (lost onLake Huron in 1919), remained the largest shipwrecks on the Great Lakes until the loss of theself-unloading freighterCarl D. Bradley in 1958.[48][c]Chester A. Congdon remained Lake Superior's largest shipwreck until the sinking of the freighterEdmund Fitzgerald in 1975.[48]
Chester A. Congdon became the largestshipwreck sunk near Isle Royale.[21] She rests in two pieces, with the bow on the south side of the reef now known as Congdon Shoal in 60–120 feet (18.3–36.6 m) of water, and the stern on the north side in between 20 and 210 feet (6.1 and 64.0 m) of water.[46][50] The bow rests at the base of an underwater cliff at an angle of between 35° and 59°, with the partially damagedstem pointing towards the shoal.[51] The wreck contains an intact pilothouse andforecastle deck, as well as penetrable living quarters, and awindlass room which is accessible through a hole in the forward deck.[46][52][53] The stern section rests at a steep angle, and has an intact engine room and stern cabins. The rudder was driven through the deck when the stern hit the bottom.[46] Pieces of her hull are on top of the shoal in 10 feet (3.0 m) of water.[33][50]
Chester A. Congdon's wreck was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places on June 12, 1984.[54] As of 2009, she is Isle Royale's third most frequently visited shipwreck (behind the lake freighterEmperor, and the excursion steamerAmerica respectively), with over 150 dives made out of the 1062 dives made to the wrecks in the park that year.[55]
Media related toChester A. Congdon (ship, 1907) at Wikimedia CommonsShipwrecks and maritime incidents in November 1918 | |
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