 Iosco prior to her sinking | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Iosco |
| Namesake | Iosco County, Michigan |
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry |  United States,Rockport, Ohio |
| Builder | F.W. Wheeler & Company,West Bay City, Michigan |
| Yard number | 80 |
| Launched | April 25, 1891 |
| Completed | 1891 |
| In service | May 11, 1891 |
| Out of service | September 2, 1905 |
| Identification | U.S. Registry #100484 |
| Fate | Lost with all hands offHuron Island,Lake Superior |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Lake freighter |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 312 feet (95 m)LOA[3]291 ft (89 m)LBP[2] |
| Beam | 41 feet (12 m)[2] |
| Height | 20 feet (6.1 m)[2] |
| Installed power | 2 ×Scotch marine boilers |
| Propulsion |
|
| Crew | 19 |
Iosco (Official number 100484) was aGreat Lakes freighter that served on theGreat Lakes from her construction in 1891 to her foundering on September 2, 1905, when she and her tow, theschooner bargeOlive Jeanette sank onLake Superior.[3] WhileOlive Jeanette's wreck was located in over 300 feet (91 m) of water about eight miles (13 km) off theHuron Islands in the 1990s,Iosco's wreck has not yet been found.[4]
Iosco built by theWest Bay City Shipbuilding Company (F.W. Wheeler Shipyards) ofWest Bay City, Michigan. She was named afterIosco County, which is a county in Michigan. She was one of three almost identical wooden ships includingTampa,William F. Sauber,Uganda,C.F. Bielman andL.R. Doty.[4] She waslaunched on April 25, 1891, as hull number #80. She had a largewhite oak hull.
At anoverall length of 312 feet (95 m),Iosco was one of thelargest wooden ships ever built. Her hull was 291 feet (89 m)between her perpendiculars, herbeam was 41 feet (12 m) wide, and hercargo hold was 20 feet (6.1 m) deep.[3][2] Because of her enormous sizeIosco needed several steel arches, a steelkeelson, steel cross bracing and several steel plates to increase her strength.[4]Iosco had a three-cylindertriple expansion steam engine that was built by the Frontier Engine Works Company ofDetroit, Michigan. Her massive triple expansion steam engine was capable of generating 1,000 hp (746 kW), her engine had cylinders of 20, 32.5 and 55 inches (51, 83 and 140 cm), each with a 42-inch (110 cm) stroke.[4] She had two coal burningScotch marine boilers that were 12 feet (3.7 m) high and 11.75 feet (3.58 m) wide. They also had a steam pressure of 167pounds per square inch (1,150 kPa); her boilers were built by the Wickes Brothers ofSaginaw, Michigan.[4]
A September 6, 1905 issue of the Daily News Marshall, Michigan wrote an article about the foundering ofIosco andOlive Jeanette:
Life preservers marked Iosco and much other wreckage were found near Huron Island.The stem of a schooner had been thrown up on the end of Point Abbaye.The body of a sailor was found ten miles this side of Point Abbaye.[5]
It is now believed that both the Iosco and the schooner Olive Jeannette, which theIosco had in tow, foundered in the vicinity where the wreckage had been sighted.It is certain that the Olive Jeanette is lost.[5]The lighthouse keeper on Huron Island plainly saw a big schooner founder four miles north of the light at 4 o'clock Sunday afternoon.No steamer was in sight at the time.The schooner when first sighted had jib and foresail set, and was nearly waterlogged.Not long afterward the ship went down.The lighthouse keeper had no means of rendering assistance in the tremendous sea running.[5]The three days which have elapsed since the Olive Jeannette foundered would have brought news from the Iosco were that boat still afloat, but the owners at Cleveland last night gave up hope.The Iosco carried a crew of nineteen men. The Olive Jeannette carried a crew of seven men.The Iosco and Jeannette, laden with iron ore, left Duluth at noon last Thursday bound forLake Erie.They were caught by the storm when halfway down Lake Superior, and must have been driven back with the hope of finding shelter among the islands east ofKeweenaw Peninsula.The Iosco was commanded by Captain Nelson Gonyaw."[5]
