The SS ''Charles W. Wetmore'' was a

whaleback A whaleback was a type of cargo steamship of unusual design, with a hull that continuously curved above the waterline from vertical to horizontal. When fully loaded, only the rounded portion of the hull (the "whaleback" proper) could be seen a ...

freighter built in 1891 by

Alexander McDougall Alexander McDougall (1732 9 June 1786) was a Scottish-born American seaman, merchant, a Sons of Liberty leader from New York City before and during the American Revolution, and a military leader during the Revolutionary War. He served as a maj ...

's American Steel Barge Company shipyard in

Superior, Wisconsin Superior (; ) is a city in Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 26,751 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the western end of Lake Superior in northwestern Wisconsin, the city l ...

, USA. She was named in honor of Charles W. Wetmore, a business associate of Alexander McDougall, officer of the shipyard, and associate of the Rockefeller family.

Construction and equipment

The ''Wetmore'' was built in 1891 as hull #112 of the American Steel Barge Company works. The ''Wetmore'' was long with a beam of and a draft and gross tonnage of 3,000. Her power was a single steam engine, but she also had four jury masts with sails for emergency use. As typical for freight whalebacks, there was a small turret at the bow which had anchor hoisting machinery and other equipment. Three turrets at the stern raised the stern cabin and pilothouse off the hull. Her single stack exited through one of the turrets. A typical crew complement was 22.

Operating history

The ''Wetmore'' was the first whaleback to operate outside the

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, when in June 1891, as a way to promote the whaleback design, she was sent to London and Liverpool, England, carrying a cargo of 95,000 bushels of grain. This required traversing the rapids of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

as she was too big to fit through the locks of the time, and was therefore practically a one-way journey. After her visit to England, where she reportedly caused a "sensation" she returned to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and loaded machinery and equipment there and in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. She then sailed to

Everett, Washington Everett (; ) is the county seat and most populous city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the Seattle metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett ...

, via

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. Her journey was covered in the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

local press. The equipment was to be used to start a new shipyard, The Pacific Steel Barge Company, and to outfit a nail mill and iron smelter. Her designer,

arrived in Everett in early December, in advance of her arrival. When almost there, she lost her rudder (it had gradually been coming unriveted since the

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according to her captain) and she had to be towed in by the SS ''Zambezi'' out of Hong Kong. As was typical

marine salvage Marine salvage is the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty. Salvage may encompass towing, lifting a vessel, or effecting repairs to a ship. Salvors are normally paid for their efforts. Howev ...

practice at the time, the owners of the ''Zambezi'' filed a salvage claim for one third the value of the ship and cargo. She was nevertheless received with great enthusiasm by the local townsfolk. Her career was short: she ran aground on 8 September 1892 in fog off

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while carrying a load of coal from

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

bound for

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. Salvage attempts were frustrated due to bad weather, and the vessel was abandoned. Meanwhile the Pacific Steel Barge Company yard, founded with the equipment she brought, built the SS ''City of Everett''. No other whalebacks were built by the shipyard.

References

External links

Historic photographs from the collections of the University of Washington:
''Charles E. Wetmore'' in floating drydock at Quartermaster Harbor, Maury Island, Washington, July 14, 1892another view of ''Wetmore'' in Quartermaster Harbor floating drydock
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles W. Wetmore, SS Whaleback ships 1891 ships Ships built in Superior, Wisconsin Maritime incidents in 1892 Shipwrecks of the Oregon coast Great Lakes freighters