''Pretoria'', an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

schooner barge A schooner barge is a schooner converted for use as a barge. Schooner barges originated on the Great Lakes in the 1860s and were in use until World War II, although a few survived into the 1950s. Even though steamboats were used for time-critica ...

, was one of the

largest wooden ships This is a list of the world's longest wooden ships. The vessels are sorted by ship length including bowsprit, if known. Finding the world's longest wooden ship is not straightforward since there are several contenders, depending on which definiti ...

ever constructed. She was 103 meters (338 ft) long, had a beam of 13.4 meters (44 ft), and 7 meters (23 ft) in depth. She was built by James Davidson in West Bay City,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, for use on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

To strengthen her wooden frame and hull, ''Pretoria'' was constructed using steel

keelson The keelson or kelson is a reinforcing structural member on top of the keel in the hull of a vessel. Originally used on wooden ships, in modern usage a kellson is any structural member used to strengthen the hull or support any heavy weight.Cutl ...

plates, steel chords, and steel arches. She also was strapped diagonally with steel. She needed a

donkey engine A steam donkey or donkey engine is a steam-powered winch once widely used in logging, mining, maritime, and other industrial applications. Steam-powered donkeys were commonly found on large metal-hulled multi-masted cargo vessels in the lat ...

to run a pump to keep her interior dry. The

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...

newspaper "The Courier-Herald" described "Pretoria"'s

launch Launch or launched may refer to: Involving vehicles * Launch (boat), one of several different sorts of boat ** Motor launch (naval), a small military vessel used by the Royal Navy * Air launch, the practice of dropping an aircraft, rocket, or ...

on July 26, 1900 in the following way: On 1 September 1905, ''Pretoria'' took on cargo at a pier in

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Another notable ship, the

lake freighter Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carriers operating on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Freighters typically have a long, narrow hull, a raised pilothouse, and the ...

'' Sevona'', took on cargo at the same pier shortly after ''Pretoria''. Both ships sank the very next day near the

Apostle Islands The Apostle Islands are a group of 22 islands in Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin. The majority of the islands are located in Ashland County, Wisconsin, Ashland County—only Sand, York, Eagle, and Raspberry Isl ...

when a legendary

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface wind moving at a speed between .

sent them to the bottom of

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

Notes

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Pretoria'' (ship) 1900 ships Schooner barges Three-masted ships Barges of the United States Maritime incidents in 1905 Shipwrecks of Lake Superior Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Ashland County, Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Bayfield County, Wisconsin Ships built by James Davidson Schooners of the United States