 TheMilwaukee when she was namedManistique-Marquette & Northern No. 1 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Builder | American Ship Building Company,Cleveland, Ohio |
| Yard number | 413 |
| Launched | December 6, 1902 |
| In service | 1903 |
| Out of service | 1929 |
| Identification | Official number: 93363 |
| Fate | Sank, October 22, 1929 |
| General characteristics[1] | |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 338 ft (103 m) |
| Beam | 56 ft (17 m) |
| Depth | 19 ft (5.8 m) |
MILWAUKEE (steam screw) Shipwreck | |
 Anchor from SSMilwaukee, recovered in 1973 | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Fox Point, Wisconsin |
| Coordinates | 43°08′11″N87°49′56″W / 43.136317°N 87.832283°W /43.136317; -87.832283 |
| Built | 1902 |
| Architect | American Ship Building Company |
| Architectural style | Train ferry |
| NRHP reference No. | 15000479[2] |
| Added to NRHP | July 27, 2015 |
SSMilwaukee was atrain ferry that served onLake Michigan. It was launched in 1902 and sank with all hands offMilwaukee on October 22, 1929. Fifty-two men were lost with the vessel.
The ship was built by theAmerican Ship Building Company ofCleveland, Ohio, and launched on December 6, 1902. Initially owned by theManistique-Marquette & Northern Railroad Company ofManistique, Michigan, she initially operated betweenNorthport, Michigan and Manistique, Michigan under the nameManistique-Marquette & Northern No. 1. Traffic on this route was proved unprofitable, and in 1904 the MM&N declared bankruptcy. ThePere Marquette Railway gained a controlling interest in the insolvent railroad and carferry, and the ship was diverted to a route betweenLudington, Michigan and Manistique until 1906, when the Pere Marquette also collapsed.Manistique Marquette & Northern No. 1 returned to the Northport-Manistique route until 1908, when the MM&N was reorganized as the Manistique & Northern Railroad with financial backing from theAnn Arbor Railroad.[3]
The following year she was sold to theGrand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company and renamedMilwaukee.[4] Along with the Grand Trunk's first car ferry,Grand Haven,Milwaukee shuttled railroad cars back and forth from Milwaukee to theGrand Trunk Railway's dock inGrand Haven in westernMichigan. This route enabled shippers to avoid the crowdedrailroad yards and sidings ofChicago.Milwaukee was home-ported in the city for which it was named, but dispatched the Michigan side of the lake.[5] The docks of the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company were located on theKinnickinnic River, and their ferries were familiar sights to residents ofJones Island.
Around 2:00 pm on October 22, 1929, theMilwaukee sailed off on Lake Michigan into a storm bound for Grand Haven, and was lost. TheMilwaukee had been loaded earlier that day with 27 railcars, with freight including lumber, perishable foods, bathtubs andNash automobiles.[6][7] TheMilwaukee was last seen passing by U.S. Lightship 95 (LV-95/WAL-519), aship anchored three miles offshore, serving as alighthouse. TheMilwaukee was reported to be pitching and rolling heavily as it disappeared into the rainy mist. The ship did not have radio equipment.
It was considered routine for theMilwaukee to challenge stormy weather on Lake Michigan. This time, however, some of the 27railroad cars in the ship's hold came loose in the 37 mph (32 kn; 60 km/h) gale. Their momentum created metal failure and partly crumpled the ferry’s sea gate, a movable steel shield that, when operating properly, served as part of the vessel’sfreeboard. This failure, in turn, enabled water to come in through the stern and sink the ship. The captain, Robert H. McKay, apparently turned back for Milwaukee, but never made it.[6]
On October 24, aircraft searched Lake Michigan, but found nothing.
Some of thelifeboats were launched by the crew, and the bodies of two crew members wearing SSMilwaukee lifejackets were picked up two days later by the steamer, SSSteel Chemist, offKenosha, Wisconsin, and two more, including the body of Captain McKay, were found by the coast guard at Kenosha later that day.[8] A lifeboat containing four dead crew members was found on 26 October floating nearHolland, Michigan, on the other side of the lake.[9] That lifeboat is now located at the 1860 Light Station and Museum inPort Washington, Wisconsin and is on display as permanent museum exhibit.
On October 27, an empty lifeboat was found floating nearGrand Haven, Michigan. On further investigation, it was found that the ship's message case was floating nearby with an apparent final message: "Oct. 22, 1929. 8:30 pm. The ship is making water fast. We have turned around and headed for Milwaukee. Pumps are working, but sea gate is bent in and can't keep the water out. Flicker is flooded. Seas are tremendous. Things look bad. Crew roll is about the same as last payday. A.R. Sadon, Purser."[10]
Another note, found in a bottle, read: "This is the worst storm I have ever seen. Can't stay up much longer. Hole in side of boat."[6]
All 52 people on board were lost, while 15 bodies were recovered. The watch on one of those crew members was stopped at 9:35.[6] As the years passed, interest in the circumstances around the loss of the ship was occasionally rekindled. For example, the story was retold by marine historianDwight Boyer in hisGhost Ships of the Great Lakes in 1968.[11]
As a result of the loss of SSMilwaukee, the Grand Trunk needed a new train ferry. The replacement wasSS City of Milwaukee, launched November 25, 1930. The replacement vessel is now a museum ship and National Historic Landmark.[12]
In April 1972, the wreck was located in Lake Michigan, seven miles northeast of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, three miles offshore (on a line between Milwaukee and Grand Haven), at43°08′11″N87°49′55″W / 43.13639°N 87.83194°W /43.13639; -87.83194,[13] in 90–120 ft (27–37 m) of water.[14]
In March 2006, theHistory Channel television programDeep Sea Detectives premiered an episode entitled "Train Wreck in Lake Michigan", which profiled the loss of theMilwaukee through historical documents, interviews with historians and dives to the wreck itself. The show highlighted the fact that there were missing hatch covers between the track deck and compartments below, including the engine room and the crew quarters (Flicker), that probably allowed those areas to become flooded and thus contributed to the sinking of the ship.[15]
