 SSMeteor, the only remaining intact "whaleback",Superior, Wisconsin | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Frank Rockefeller (1896–1927) |
| Cost | $181,573.38 |
| Launched | 26 April 1896 |
| In service | 1896-1969 |
| Out of service | 1969 |
| Renamed |
|
| Status | Museum ship |
| General characteristics | |
| Length | 380 ft (120 m) |
| Beam | 45 ft (14 m) |
| Depth | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
Meteor (Whaleback carrier) | |
   | |
| Location | Superior, WI |
| Coordinates | 46°43′23.42″N92°3′46.57″W / 46.7231722°N 92.0629361°W /46.7231722; -92.0629361 |
| Built | 1896 |
| Architect | American Steel Barge Company; McDougall, Alexander |
| Architectural style | Whaleback Lake Freighter |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000081[1] 100002377 (decrease) |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | 9 September 1974 |
| Boundary decrease | 26 April 2018 |
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SSMeteor is the sole surviving ship of the unconventional "whaleback" design.[2] The design, created by Scottish captainAlexander McDougall, enabled her to carry a maximum amount of cargo with a minimum of draft.Meteor was built in 1896 inSuperior, Wisconsin, United States, and, with a number of modifications, sailed until 1969. She is now amuseum ship in the city of her construction.
Meteor was built by theAmerican Steel Barge Company (ASB) at their yard inSuperior, Wisconsin in the summer of 1896 asFrank Rockefeller; number 36 of 44 whalebacks built between 1888 and 1898. McDougall's expense records listed the cost of construction ofFrank Rockefeller as $181,573.38.[3]
She was built for the ASB fleet and joined their barges and steamers in the movement of iron ore fromLake Superior ports down to the steel mills ofLake Erie and coal back up the lakes. She also carried grain on occasion. As a steamer, she often towed one or more of the company's "consort" barges. In 1900, along with the rest of the ASB fleet, she was sold to theBessemer Steamship Company, the marine division of theBessemer Steel Company. A year later, she again changed hands along with the whole of the Bessemer Fleet when it joined with seven other fleets to form the massive, 112-boatPittsburgh Steamship Company, marine division of the equally massiveUS Steel. She grounded off Isle Royale on 2 November 1905 after she got lost in a snowstorm. Most of the damage from the grounding came from the barge she had been towing – when the ship hit the rocks, the barge continued ahead until it crashed into theFrank Rockefeller's stern.[2] Eventually repaired and put back into service, she sailed as a "Tin Stacker" (so called because of the silver painted funnels) until 1927.
That year, she was sold for use as a sand dredge and renamedSouth Park. As a dredge, she was used to obtain fill for the site of theChicago World's Fair in 1933. In 1936, she changed hands again and became an auto carrier. She sailed for several years under this new guise, hauling new autos fromDetroit,Milwaukee, andKewaunee until 1942. She was wrecked offManistique that year. Had it not been for the great demand for tonnage in World War II, she would have been scrapped. Instead, she was sold to theCleveland Tanker Company, and converted to atanker. It was at this time that she obtained the nameMeteor, as Cleveland Tanker named their vessels after celestial bodies. As a tanker, she hauled gasoline and other liquids for over 25 years.
In 1969,Meteor was the last of the original 43 whalebacks, but that season, she ran aground on Gull Island Shoal offMarquette, Michigan. Cleveland Tanker Company chose not to repair the 73-year-old steamer becauseMeteor was asingle-hull tanker and because of the severe damage that had been done to the hull. BecauseMeteor was the last surviving whaleback, she was bought, repaired and taken toSuperior, Wisconsin in 1971 for use as amuseum ship.[2] She was berthed at Barkers Island where she remains.
Meteor is the last extant example of an experimental class oflakers, other than wrecks such as theThomas Wilson and the bargeSagamore, a favorite dive site inWhitefish Bay. With the turn of the 21st century,Meteor was in a delicate state; her hull was rusting in places and the interiors were in serious need of repair. Because of her condition, in 2004 she was named one of the 10 most endangered historical properties by theWisconsin Trust for Historic Preservation.[4] By 2016, restoration had progressed and many portions of the ship were in excellent condition.[5]
Meteor is 380 feet long overall with a 366.5-foot keel, a beam of 45 feet, and a depth of 26 feet. The vessel measured 2,750gross register tons and 2,013net register tons.[6][7] She contains 12 cargo bays which now contain an exhibit on the history of the ship.
Meteor, along with her sister whalebacks, (with one exception, theJohn Ericsson), were the first major boats on the Great Lakes with all accommodations aft and only a small room for the anchor windlass at the bow. Accommodations onMeteor include crew and officers' quarters, a galley, two dining areas, five showers, and three laundry areas.
In 2001,[8] the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society (GLSPS), Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association (WUAA), Lake Superior Maritime Museum Association (LSMMA), and the Superior Public Museums (SPM) started theS.S. Meteor Preservation and Stabilization Project. For one weekend in April, volunteers come together to work onMeteor.[9] In 2015, 40 volunteers participated and completed various tasks, including painting and cleaning up the exhibit area.[10]
