SS ''Ohio'' was a wooden hulled

Great Lakes 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 ...

that served 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 ...

of North America from her construction in 1875, to her sinking in September 1894 when she collided with the

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

barge ''Ironton'' which also sank in the collision. ''Ironton'' was being towed by the steamer ''Charles J. Kershaw'', which was also towing the schooner ''Moonlight''. ''Ohio'' was found upright in 2017, over 122 years after her sinking in over 200 feet of water off Presque Isle, Michigan. In March, 2023, it was announced that ''Ironton'' had been located in 2019. The researchers who discovered ''Ohio'' plan to nominate her for a listing in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

History

''Ohio'' (Official number 19438) was an early wooden

bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially naval architecture, designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo—such as Grain trade, grain, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement—in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrie ...

. She was built in 1875 by Ohio resident John F. Squires of

Huron, Ohio Huron is a city in Erie County, Ohio, United States, located at the mouth of the Huron River on Lake Erie. The population was 6,922 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Sandusky micropolitan area. History Huron Township was at the center of ...

. She was launched in April of 1875. Her hull was long, her beam was wide and her cargo hold was deep. She had a

gross tonnage Gross tonnage (GT, G.T. or gt) is a nonlinear measure of a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage. Neither gross tonnage nor gross register tonnage should be confused with measures of mass or weig ...

of 1101.81 tons and a

net tonnage Net tonnage (NT, N.T. or nt) is a dimensionless index calculated from the total moulded volume of the ship's cargo spaces by using a mathematical formula. Defined in ''The International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships'' that was adopte ...

of 850.82 tons. She was powered by a low pressure condensing engine which was fueled by a single coal-burning

Scotch marine boiler A "Scotch" marine boiler (or simply Scotch boiler) is a design of steam boiler best known for its use on ships. The general layout is that of a short horizontal cylinder. One or more large cylindrical furnaces are in the lower part of the boiler ...

. She was used to haul

bulk cargo Bulk cargo is Product (business), product cargo that is transported packaging, unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate (as a mass of relatively small solids) form, ...

es across the lakes such as

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

and

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

Final voyage and sinking

In September 1894 ''Ohio'' departed

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

with a cargo of grain bound for

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,064 at the 2020 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden. T ...

. This journey took ''Ohio'' across

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 ...

, through the

Soo Locks The Soo Locks (sometimes spelled Sault Locks but pronounced "soo") are a set of parallel Lock (water navigation), locks, operated and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, that enable ships to travel between ...

into

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

, and past Presque Isle and Thunder Bay, Michigan. While on the Lake Huron leg of her journey ''Ohio'' encountered heavy weather. The steamer ''Charles J. Kershaw'' was towing two schooner barges, ''Moonlight'' and ''Ironton''. The three vessels were sailing north in rough weather when they saw ''Ohio'' which was also sailing through rough weather about north of Presque Isle. At the moment when the ships were about to pass each other, the

hawser Hawser () is a nautical term for a thick rope used in Mooring (watercraft), mooring or towing a ship. A hawser is not waterproof, as is a Nautical cable, cable. A hawser passes through a hawsehole, also known as a cat hole, located on the wikt: ...

connecting ''Ironton'' and ''Moonlight'' snapped causing ''Ironton'' to veer off course and smash into the side of ''Ohio''. Both ''Ohio'' and ''Ironton'' sank in about half an hour. All sixteen crew members from ''Ohio'' got into lifeboats and were picked up by ''Moonlight''. ''Ohio'' First Mate was found clinging to a ladder and was later picked up by the ''Kershaw''. The passing steamer ''Charles Hebard'' picked up two of ''Ironton'' crew but five of the schooner's crew perished including Captain Peter Girard.

Discovery

On May 23, 2017, researchers from the

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve is a United States National Marine Sanctuary on Lake Huron's Thunder Bay, within the northeastern region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It protects an estimated 116 historically si ...

discovered two shipwrecks deep within the waters of Lake Huron, off the coast of Presque Isle, Michigan. The researchers carried out several investigations between June and August; these investigations confirmed the identities of the steel-hulled steamer ''Choctaw'' and ''Ohio''. ''Choctaw'' was lost on July 11, 1915 when she collided with the package freighter ''Wahcondah''. Since the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary did not announce the discovery of ''Choctaw'' and ''Ohio'' until September 1, 2017, avocational shipwreck hunters continued to search for ''Choctaw'' through the summer. While searching for ''Choctaw'', independent researchers Dan Fountain and Kurt Fosburg found ''Ohio'' on July 15, 2017, using a modified fishfinder. On July 30 Fountain returned to the site with veteran shipwreck hunters Ken Merryman and Jerry Eliason to image the wreck with Eliason’s homemade hi-definition drop video system, positively identifying the wreck as ''Ohio.''

''Ohio'' today

The wreck of ''Ohio'' lies completely preserved in nearly 300 feet of cold fresh water. She sits upright with a list to starboard with her foremast still standing. Her wooden pilothouse with its double helm wheel is completely intact. Near the stern, the mizzen mast is still standing with its topmast broken off. The researchers who discovered her plan to nominate her for a listing in the

History

Final voyage and sinking

Discovery

''Ohio'' today

References

Further reading