 Onoko c. 1900 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Onoko |
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry |  United States |
| Builder | Globe Iron Works Company |
| Yard number | 4 |
| Launched | February 16, 1882 |
| Completed | 1882 |
| In service | March 31, 1882 |
| Out of service | September 15, 1915 |
| Identification | U.S. Registry #155048 |
| Fate | Sprang a leak and sank onLake Superior with no loss of life |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Bulk Freighter |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 302.6 ft (92.2 m) |
| Beam | 38.6 ft (11.8 m) |
| Height | 24.8 ft (7.6 m) |
| Installed power | 2 ×Scotch marine boilers |
| Propulsion | Compound steam engine |
Onoko (Bulk Freight Steamer) Shipwreck | |
   | |
| Location | 6 miles south ofKnife River |
| Nearest city | Duluth, Minnesota |
| Coordinates | 46°50.772′N91°46.640′W / 46.846200°N 91.777333°W /46.846200; -91.777333 |
| Built | 1882 |
| Architect | Globe Iron Works Company; William H. Radcliffe |
| Architectural style | Freighter |
| MPS | Minnesota's Lake Superior Shipwrecks MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 92000845[1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 23, 1992 |
SSOnoko was an iron-hulledGreat Lakes freighter. She was launched in 1882 inCleveland, Ohio, by the Globe shipbuilding firm, as its hull number #4, and sank on September 14, 1915, inLake Superior nearKnife River, Minnesota. According to theMinnesota Historical Society,Onoko is regarded as a prototype of the single-steel hulled Great Lakesbulk carrier,[2][3] These vessels made possible the cheap transport of bulk cargoes such asiron ore,coal andlimestone. Her wreckage still remains on the bottom of Lake Superior and was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1992.[4]
Onoko (Official number 155048) was built at Radcliffe's yard in Cleveland by the Globe Iron Works Company and was launched on February 16, 1882. She had a length of 302.6-feet, a beam of 38.6 feet and a height of 24.8-feet.[5][6] She was powered by a 900-horsepowercompound steam engine fueled by twoScotch marine boilers, and gaff-rigged with auxiliary sails on four masts. She was commissioned by Phillip Minch ofVermillion, Ohio, for the Minch Transportation Company of the Kinsman Steamship Company and a syndicate of other investors.[7] The ship was built to take advantage of the channels of 17-foot (5.2 m) depth[8] opened in 1881 when the newWeitzel Lock was built atSault Ste. Marie, Michigan.[7]
The superintendent ofOnoko's construction was John H. Smith, who learned iron shipbuilding technology and techniques on theRiver Clyde inScotland. Smith worked for the newly founded Globe Shipbuilding Company ofCleveland, Ohio, successors to an old and respected boiler and engine building company.[7]
On February 16, 1882, the dayOnoko was scheduled to be launched, about five thousand people came to watch the launching despite rough weather conditions. With all preparations completed Smith gave the launch signal at 3 p.m., andOnoko slid into the water.[7] During the next few monthsOnoko was outfitted and rigged. Although most of the vessel's machinery had been fitted before her launching, her masts at least were installed later by the Messrs. Upson, Walton & Company.[7]
Onoko was enrolled[clarification needed] in Cleveland on March 31, 1882. On her maiden voyageOnoko sailed from Cleveland on April 19, 1882, leaving port at 11 p.m. and arriving in Chicago around 2 p.m. the next day. She was carrying 2,536 tons of coal.Onoko's captain, W.H. Pringle, reported thatOnoko "behaved splendidly and steered like a yacht". By April 25,Onoko had been loaded with a cargo of wheat bound forBuffalo, New York, and left at 3:30 p.m. She discharged 88,140 bushels of wheat at the Niagara B Elevator. Not a bit of the cargo was wet. It was thought thatOnoko could carry 115,000 to 120,000 bushels of wheat.[7][9]Onoko's capacity to carry oats was believed to be at around 155,000 bushels. TheBuffalo Courier provides an accurate account of whenOnoko arrived in Buffalo. It said that "About noon on Saturday the new iron steamerOnoko arrived here with something over 88,000 bushels wheat. She left Chicago last Tuesday at 4:20PM and her time in coming down was three days and nineteen and a half hours".[7]
On May 2, 1882, the writers of theBuffalo Courier wrote a rather unpleasant report about the looks ofOnoko:
TheOnoko is the largest vessel afloat on the lakes - and by far the homeliest. She looks very like a huge canal boat with a smokestack and four sticks. Her model is really frightful; her upper works are without decent shape, and to cap all her painting is but a daub. For a new vessel she is the worst looking sight that ever appeared on our inland waters. She could have been given a respectable appearance without much interfering with her carrying qualities. One of these days we will show those Cleveland fellows an iron steamer that will be worth looking at. TheOnoko is an eye-sore.[7]
TheBuffalo Courier criticizing the appearance ofOnoko did not sit well with her owners. On May 5, 1882, theCleveland Herald responded that function trumped form:
The Buffalo papers took occasion when the steamshipOnoko was there a few days ago to speak disparagingly of her qualities, especially her homeliness, and wound up by calling her an "eye-sore." This is ridiculous, in view of late developments. A Buffalo party has been in this city the past few days negotiating with the owners of theOnoko with a view to her purchase. He was anxious to secure her, "eye-sore" and all, at a price considerably above the cost of building. There was a disposition on the part of some of her owners to accept his terms, but the others would not part with their interest, and the arrangement fell through. The owners are well satisfied with the way the boat works.[7]
Onoko had proved herself to be a success in her first two years of carrying bulk cargoes on theGreat Lakes. On August 22, 1884, theCleveland Herald reported thatOnoko had "proved even more successful than her owners hoped for".[7]
In 1895, two ofOnoko's mast were removed, her woodenforecastle was replaced with a steel deck and steel pilothouse structure. In 1896, she had her boilers replaced with two 12-foot × 12.5-footScotch marine boilers.[7] On May 16, 1896Onoko collided with theschoonerMary D. Ayer in heavy fog onLake Michigan. Five sailors onMary D. Ayer died.[10]Onoko's wooden spar deck was replaced with steel in 1901. Later that year the principal owners ofOnoko, the Nicholas Transportation Company, bought out all the lesser stockholders to become sole owner ofOnoko.Onoko had steel aft cabins installed in 1907 through 1908.[7]
In 1910, Captain Harry Stewart was appointed as the master ofOnoko. On the night of December 1, 1910,Onoko ran aground on Southeast Shoal during a snowstorm 60 miles belowAmherstburg, betweenPoint Pelee andWheatley, Ontario. She was released with three tugs, includingHarding andRescue, that were sent to rescueOnoko.[7] She was carrying coal at the time. On December 2, 1910, theDuluth Herald wrote an article sayingOnoko was not in any serious danger. The tugs succeeded in refloating her without serious damage to her hull. On October 7, 1912,Onoko sprang a leak and was intentionally beached in theApostle Islands. The cost to patch her hull was minimal.[7]
In early September, 1915,Onoko grounded while departing a grain elevator in Duluth, but freed herself and cleared the harbor safely. It is thought damage resulting from the grounding led to the development of an aggressive leak that sank her a few days later.[11]
On September 15, 1915Onoko departedDuluth, Minnesota, with 110,000 bushels ofwheat bound forToledo, Ohio. She sprang a major leak offKnife Island about 15 miles fromDuluth, Minnesota. On September 15, 1915, theDuluth Herald wrote an article saying:
All went well and the sea was smooth, when while on the regular course, about nine miles off Knife island, the engineer, J.J. Higgins, reported to the master, Capt. W.R. Dunn, that the vessel had sprung a leak under the engines and that the water was coming in fast. When Capt. Dunn went back to investigate, the water was spurting in and in a few minutes drowned out the fire. The captain saw that the situation was hopeless and ordered out the boats. All of the crew including the one woman on board, Mrs. C.R. Cranbee, wife of the steward, and the lone passenger, Antone Rehor, a cement contractor of Cleveland, had no trouble reaching the boats and safety, and in a few minutes the steamer, her stern having filled rapidly, tossed her nose in the air and plunged stern first to the bottom.[11]
The boats were at a safe distance, and the members of the crew were not worried; before they left the ship, they saw the steamerRenown, a tanker belonging to the Standard Oil company, which had left Duluth shortly afterOnoko, coming on full speed, the master of the tanker having noticed thatOnoko was settling. In a few minutesRenown, with bargeC in tow, came up and picked up the occupants of the lifeboats.Renown put about and took the crew back to Duluth, being met just outside the Duluth canal by a tug, which tookOnoko's crew off,Renown and her tow resuming their journey down the lakes.[11][3][12]
The wreck ofOnoko was discovered on April 10, 1988, by Jerry Eliason ofScanlon, Minnesota, and Kraig Smith ofRice Lake, Wisconsin, after they conducted a thorough search using a depth finder. Her wreck rests upside down in 220 feet (67 m) of water with her stern buried almost completely in mud. Her hull is broken nearly in two, with the split in her hull right in front of her boilers. Her wreck is surrounded by many artifacts from inside and outside her hull. Her cargo of grain is still in her cargo hold. It is illegal to remove artifacts from her wreck without permission because she is protected by the state of Minnesota.
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1912 | |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1915 | |
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