The ''Sagamore'' is reported to be the best example of 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 ...

barge among

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 ...

shipwrecks. Only 44 whalebacks were ever built, and out of the 26 that sank, only 8 sank in the Great Lakes, most of them being blown up for blocking shipping channels. She sank in 1901 in the

shipping lane A sea lane, sea road or shipping lane is a regularly used navigable route for large water vessels (ships) on wide waterways such as oceans and large lakes, and is preferably safe, direct and economic. During the Age of Sail, they were determined ...

near 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 ...

when she was rammed by the steel steamer ''Northern Queen'' in one of Whitefish Bay's notorious fogs. Her captain and two crew members went down with her. Artifacts from her wreck were illegally removed in the 1980s. Her artifacts are now the property of the State of Michigan and are on display as a loan to the

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is located at the Whitefish Point Light Station north of Paradise in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The light station property was transferred to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GL ...

. The wreck of the ''Sagamore'' is protected as part of an underwater museum in the

Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve The Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve was established in 1987 to protect and conserve shipwrecks and historical resources on of Lake Superior bottomlands in Whitefish Bay and around Whitefish Point, Michigan. The formation of the Michigan ...

Career

The ''SS Sagamore's'' keel was laid 15 December 1891 by the

American Steel Barge Company The Superior Shipbuilding Company was originally called the American Steel Barge Company, and based in Duluth, Minnesota. It was founded by Scottish Alexander McDougall (ship designer), Captain Alexander McDougall who founded it so he could prod ...

and she was launched 23 July 1892 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 ...

. She was built as 1,601 gross ton whaleback steamer

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

, in length, in beam, and in

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

. She was enrolled in

Marquette, Michigan Marquette ( ) is the county seat of Marquette County, Michigan, Marquette County and the largest city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. Located on the shores of Lake Superior, Marquette is a major port known primarily for shippin ...

. She was sold to the Huron Barge Company and managed by Pickands, Mather and Company of

Ashtabula, Ohio Ashtabula ( ) is the most populous city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. It lies at the mouth of the Ashtabula River, on Lake Erie, northeast of Cleveland. At the 2020 census, the city had 17,975 people. Like many other cities in the ...

.Kohl, Cris (1998). ''The 100 Best Great Lakes Shipwrecks, Volume II'', pp. 443 -446. Seawolf Communications, Inc., West Chicago, Illinois, USA. . She was usually towed by her

consort __NOTOC__ Consort may refer to: Music * "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses'' * Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles * Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...

whaleback steamer, the ''Pathfinder''.Stonehouse, Frederick (1985, 1998). ''Lake Superior's Shipwreck Coast: Maritime accidents from Whitefish Bay to Grand Marais, Michigan'', pp. 11, 91 - 92, Avery Color Studios, Gwinn, Michigan, USA. . The Sagamore once unloaded a record 3,200 tons of iron ore in 8 hours at Ashtabula in 1893.

Final voyage

On 29 July 1901, the ''Sagamore'' was anchored just off Iroquois Point with her consort, the ''Pathfinder'', waiting for one of Whitefish Bay's legendary, thick fogs to clear. Both vessels were loaded with iron downbound from

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 ...

for

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

. The steel steamer ''Northern Queen'' came suddenly through the fog on a collision course for the ''Pathfinder''. The

helmsman A helmsman or helm (sometimes driver or steersman) is a person who steering, steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, other type of maritime vessel, airship, or spacecraft. The rank and seniority of the helmsman may vary: on small vessels such as fis ...

of the ''Northern Queen'' changed course to avoid the ''Pathfinder'' and headed directly for the ''Sagamore''. The helmsman did not see the ''Sagamore'' due to the heavy fog. When the ''Northern Queen'' hit the ''Sagamore'' on the

starboard Port and starboard are Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z), nautical terms for watercraft and spacecraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the Bow (watercraft), bow (front). Vessels with bil ...

side near the after

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

,Wolff, Julius F. (1979). ''The Shipwrecks of Lake Superior'', p. 131. Lake Superior Marine Museum Association, Inc., Duluth, Minnesota, USA. . the ''Sagamore'' filled with water rapidly and sank. Five of the Sagamore's crew jumped to safety onto the deck of the ''Northern Queen'', but three were lost. The ''Sagamore's'' Captain E. Joiner, the cook, and a sailor died in the collision. The loss of the ''Sagamore'' was valued at $90,000. Shipwreck historian Cris Kohl reported, "The ''Northern Queen'' returned to

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is a city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County and is the only city within the county. With a population of ...

with the survivors and to make temporary repairs to her badly damaged

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

. She eventually went into

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

for permanent repairs."

Wreck

The wreck of the ''Sagamore'' was discovered in 1962 by Jack Brosco and Robert McCormick of Sault Ste. Marie in of water, mostly intact and sitting upright on a gravel bottom.

Scuba diver Scuba, originally SCUBA, often expanded to scuba set, is any self contained underwater breathing apparatus, a source of breathing gas used for underwater diving which is carried by the diver. Scuba may also refer to: * Scuba diving Scuba ...

and shipwreck historian Cris Kohl reports that the ''Sagamore'' is "probably the best example of a whaleback steamer that can be found anywhere under the surface of the Great Lakes." Kohl describes the ''Sagamore'' as a long shipwreck with impressive triple tow rings mounted on her blunt-nosed

bow BOW as an acronym may refer to: * Bag of waters, amniotic sac * Bartow Municipal Airport (IATA:BOW), a public use airport near Bartow, Florida, United States * Basic operating weight of an aircraft * BOW counties, made of Brown, Outagamie, and Winn ...

, wide open hatches for easy access, and comfortable ambient lighting for swimming inside her

. Kohl and other divers warn that the ''Sagamore'' is not usually buoyed as she lies in the middle of the busy freighter

near the

. The ''Sagamore's'' wreck was stripped of her artifacts over the years. Michigan’s Antiquities Act of 1980 prohibited the removal of artifacts from shipwrecks on the Great Lakes bottomlands. The ''Evening News'' reported a

Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan founded in 1921, charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appoint ...

1992 raid on the

and its offices that found evidence of 150 artifacts illegally removed from the state-claimed bottomlands, including artifacts from the ''Sagamore''.Storey, Jack, (4 December 1992). "Shipwreck artifact dispute simmers". ''Evening News'', p. A1. Following a settlement agreement, a single sheave block, shaving mug, pocket watch, mallet, pickax, saucer, and pitcher from the ''Sagamore'' are now the property of the State of Michigan and are on loan for display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The ''Sagamore's'' wreck is protected for future generations of scuba divers by the

as part of an underwater museum. Divers who visit the wreck sites are expected to observe preservation laws and "take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but bubbles". Great Lakes diver Steve Harrington cautions that "divers must be certain of their abilities and equipment" when diving the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve.Harrington, Steve (1990, 1998). ''Divers Guide to Michigan'', pp.329-330, Maritime Press & Great Lakes Diving Council, Inc., St. Ignace, Michigan, U.S.A. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagamore, SS Merchant ships of the United States Whaleback ships 1892 ships Ships built in Superior, Wisconsin Maritime incidents in 1901 Ships sunk in collisions Shipwrecks of Lake Superior Steamships of the United States Great Lakes freighters Wreck diving sites

Career

Final voyage

Wreck

See also

References