SS Wisconsin

Career

The Wisconsin was built for the Goodrich Line at the Detroit Dry Dock Complex in 1881, Her design was progressive in several ways. She had an iron hull in an era when most ships were still built of wood. That hull was a double hull, with a max 3.8-foot space between the iron outer hull and the iron floor of the hold. This 3.8-foot space between the hulls was divided into five watertight compartments, which could be independently filled or emptied with ballast water, to adjust for light loads or top-heavy loads. Her front was clad with a rounded iron forefoot which could be pushed up onto ice floes so the ship's weight could break through. The Wisconsin and her sister ship Michigan were the first double-hulled iron steamers on the Great Lakes.

In 1885, the Wisconsin caught fire off Grand Haven, Michigan and was nearly destroyed. The Wisconsin was renamed the Naomi in 1899. On May 27, 1907, the ship caught fire again; the steamers Kansas, E. G. Kerr, and Saxona rescued most of the people on board, but four crew members and one passenger perished. By 1910 the ship was known as the E. G. Crosby.

During World War I, the Crosby was commandeered by the United States Navy and served in New York harbor as a convalescent hospital ship named the General Robert M. O'Reilly after Robert Maitland O'Reilly, a former Surgeon General of the United States Army. The General Robert M. O'Reilly was renamed the Pilgrim in 1920 before returning to her original owners and name in 1924.

Sinking and legacy

On 29 October 1929, the Wisconsin left Chicago bound for Milwaukee. Under the command of Captain Dougal Morrison, the freighter was carrying passengers, automobiles, and machine tools. The ship ran into a storm and began taking on water, sinking around 7:10 pm. Rescue craft arrived 20 minutes later.

The wreck site is a popular location for historians, archaeologists and divers. It lies in 90 to of water, 6.5 mi south-southeast of Kenosha.

References

References

1. "Weekly List of Actions Taken On Properties". National Park Service.
2. "''Wisconsin'' Shipwreck". Wisconsin Historic Society.
3. (2009-02-01). ["National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: ''Wisconsin'' Shipwreck"]({{NRHP url). [[National Park Service]].
4. (2003). "Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan". Big Earth Publishing.
5. (2002). "Lake Michigan Passenger Steamers". Stanford University Press.
6. "Wisconsin (1880-1881)". Wisconsin Sea Grant, Wisconsin Historical Society.
7. (29 October 1929). "Three Score Near Death When Saved". The Appleton Post-Crescent.
8. (29 October 1929). "Lake Michigan Steamer Sinks, 9 dead". Olean Times-Herald.
9. (30 October 1929). "Seek Causes of Wisconsin loss; 9 dead". [[The Herald-Palladium.
10. Kohl, Cris. (2001). "The Great Lakes Diving Guide". Seawolf Communications, Inc..