 TheAtlanta prior to her sinking | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Atlanta |
| Builder | Cleveland Dry Dock Company |
| Launched | April 25, 1891 |
| In service | May 21, 1891 |
| Out of service | March 18, 1906 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Steamship |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | |
| Beam | 32.3 ft (9.8 m) |
| Depth | 22.6 ft (6.9 m) |
| Installed power | 900-horsepowerfore and aft compound steam engine |
Atlanta (steam screw) Shipwreck | |
   | |
| Location | 1.02 miles North Northeast of Amsterdam Park boat launch inLake Michigan |
| Nearest city | Cedar Grove, Wisconsin |
| Coordinates | 43°34′15″N87°46′58″W / 43.570883°N 87.7827°W /43.570883; -87.7827 |
| Built | 1891 |
| Architect | Cleveland Dry Dock Company |
| Architectural style | Steamship |
| MPS | Great Lakes Shipwreck Sites of Wisconsin MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 100001785[1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 6, 2017 |
TheSSAtlanta was a wooden hulledGreat Lakes steamer that sank inLake Michigan off the coast ofCedar 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 theAtlanta was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[1]
TheAtlanta (Official number 106823)[2] was built in 1891 inCleveland, Ohio, by the Cleveland Dry Dock Company as a passenger and package freight vessel. She was built for theGoodrich Transportation Company ofKenosha, Wisconsin. The ship had anoverall length of 220 feet (67 m) and was 200 feet (61 m) longbetween perpendiculars.[2] The hull was 32.2 feet (9.8 m) wide[2] and was 22.6 feet (6.9 m) deep.[2][3] The ship had agross tonnage of 1129.17 tons[2] and anet tonnage of 958.06 tons.[2] TheAtlanta was equipped with a 900-horsepowerfore and aft compound steam engine; the steam for the engine was provided by twoScotch marine boilers.[3]
TheAtlanta was launched on April 25, 1891.[3] The ship was used to transport passengers and package freight across Lake Michigan. TheAtlanta regularly made trips toChicago, Illinois;Muskegon, Michigan; andGrand Haven, Michigan. The ship ran these trips in the shipping season between March and December before it was laid up for the winter.[4] In 1895 theAtlanta's two Scotch boilers were replaced with new ones. The new boilers were located further forward inside the hull, this brought the stern 20 inches (51 cm) out of the water. The ship also received a new and wider afterbody. TheAtlanta was later put on Wisconsin's winter fleet, and it visited ports on Lake Michigan from Chicago toGreen Bay andMarinette, Wisconsin.[4]
On March 18, 1906, theAtlanta was sailing fromSheboygan, Wisconsin, toMilwaukee, Wisconsin, with 65 passengers on board. Her cargo hold was filled with miscellaneous items such as metal ware, porcelain enamelware, wooden furniture, porcelain and leather.[5] When she was about 14 miles (23 km) south of Sheboygan, her crew discovered a fire in her cargo hold. TheAtlanta's crew tried to combat the fire but failed. Even the automatic fire apparatus that was tested six days before the fire failed to put it out. The fire eventually got so bad that theAtlanta was stopped, and her crew and passengers took to the lifeboats.[5] The fish tugTessler spotted the burningAtlanta and went to assist the people on board. TheAtlanta's deckhand Michael Hickey jumped off his ship, aiming to jump onto theTessler but misjudged the distance and plummeted to his death between the two vessels. The ship's cook was saved by a fisherman named Charles Klein. The cook was trapped in the pantry of theAtlanta, but luckily Klein heard the cook's screams and climbed up onto the burning vessel and pulled the cook through a porthole.[5] Eventually all the people climbed aboard theTessler; later all the passengers and crew were transferred to the steamerGeorgian which took them back to Sheboygan. TheTessler took theAtlanta in tow, but eventually cut her loose and let her burn to the waterline. The value of theAtlanta and her cargo totaled a $200,000 loss.[5]
In 1920 theAtlanta was purchased by the Leathem & Smith Towing and Wrecking Company ofSturgeon Bay, Wisconsin who began salvaging her wreck on August 11, 1920. A diver named Perl Purdy and some other divers salvaged theAtlanta's engine, boilers and any valuable cargo that they could find.[5] The divers claimed that the machinery was only worth money as scrap money and most of her metalwork was destroyed in the fire. One of theAtlanta's boilers was placed in the steamerM.H. Stuart in 1921.[5]
The remains of theAtlanta lie in 17 feet (5.2 m) of water on the sandy bottom of Lake Michigan. She is 1.02 miles north-northeast of Amsterdam Park's boat launch in the town of Cedar Grove. The outline of theAtlanta is mostly complete, and can be seen from above, in some places her hull is up to 10 feet (3.0 m) high.[6] Remains of theAtlanta's diagonal bracing and hogging trusses can be seen at the wreck site. The inside of her hull is filled remnants of piping, bits of her plumbing, electricity, propulsion machinery and various pieces of warped metal. Her propeller shaft, pillow block, shaft log and stuffing box can all be seen near or in her wreck.[6] In 2016 students from theEast Carolina University worked with theWisconsin Historical Society to document, and survey her wreck.[6] In 2021 it was included within the boundaries of theWisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary.[7]
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1906 | |
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