SS ''William E. Corey'' is a steel-hulled propeller-driven

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 had a lengthy career 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 ...

. She served from her launching in 1905 to her conversion to a breakwater in 1970.

History

''William E. Corey'' was a product of the Chicago Shipbuilding Company of

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. ''William E. Corey'' was launched on June 24, 1905, as hull number #67. The laker was one of four almost identical vessels; and ''William E. Corey'' were both launched in Chicago, launched in West Bay City, Michigan and launched 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 ...

. All four vessels were the largest on the lakes at the time of their launch, hence the unofficial title "

Queen of the Lakes ''Queen of the Lakes'' is an unofficial but widely recognized title bestowed upon vessels on the Great Lakes of the United States and Canada, honoring the longest vessel currently in service on the lakes. A number of vessels, mostly lake freight ...

''Mataafa'' Storm

Shortly after her launch the brand new ''William E. Corey'' encountered one of the worst storms in Great Lakes history, the ''Mataafa'' Storm of 1905. On November 28, ''William E. Corey'' was driven hard aground onto Gull Island Reef in 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 ...

. During a very short period of time the temperatures dropped to and the winds reached hurricane force. After the storm ''William E. Corey'' was refloated on December 10, 1905.

SS ''Ridgetown''

Over the next fifty three years ''William E. Corey'' changed hands many times until in 1963 she was sold to the

Upper Lakes Shipping Company The Upper Lakes Shipping Company was a Canadian shipping company that maintained a fleet of lake freighters on the North American Great Lakes from 1931 to 2011. The company was privately owned. In February 2011 the company sold its fleet to Alg ...

and renamed ''Ridgetown''. The ship served for seven more years until in May 1970 when she was scuttled as a temporary

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island, Antarctica * Breakwater Islands, Nunavut, Canada * ...

Nanticoke, Ontario Nanticoke is an unincorporated community and former city located on the western border of Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada. Nanticoke is located directly across Lake Erie from the US city of Erie, Pennsylvania. Summary Unlike the majority of H ...

in the summer. Later refloated in 1973. On June 21, 1974 she was scuttled as a breakwater at

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:William E. Corey, SS 1905 ships Maritime incidents in 1905 Ships built in Chicago Ships sunk as breakwaters Merchant ships of the United States Queen of the Lakes Ships powered by a triple expansion steam engine Shipwrecks of the Ontario coast