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44°12′7.5″N 87°24′44.28″W / 44.202083°N 87.4123000°W / 44.202083; -87.4123000

Vernon before she sank
History
United States
NameVernon
OwnerAlfred Booth[3]
OperatorNorthern Michigan Line[3]
Port of registry Chicago, Illinois, United States[2]
BuilderJames P. Smith of Chicago, Illinois[3]
In serviceSeptember 1/2, 1886[3][4]
Out of serviceOctober 29, 1887[3][2][4]
IdentificationRegistry number US 161557[1]
FateSank on Lake Michigan
General characteristics
Class and typePassenger and package freighter
Tonnage
Length158.58 feet (48.34 m)[4]
Beam25.42 feet (7.75 m)[4]
Depth18.66 feet (5.69 m)[4]
Installed power
Propulsion1 × fixed pitch propeller[5]
Speed13 knots (15 mph)[5]
Crew23-25

SS Vernon was a wooden-hulled American passenger and package freighter that sank in a Lake Michigan storm on October 29, 1887 near Two Rivers, Wisconsin with the loss of between 36 and 50 lives, making her one of the deadliest shipwrecks ever to have occurred in Wisconsin. Only one of the people on board survived.

Vernon was built in 1886 in Chicago, Illinois by the James P. Smith shipyard. She was built for Alfred Booth, also of Chicago. In July 1887, Vernon briefly came into the ownership of John Pridgeon of Detroit, Michigan. She was sold to Pridgeon as compensation for the damage done to his barges while they were being towed by Vernon. In August of that same year, Vernon once again became owned by Booth and was operated as part of his Booth Packing Company. Around the same time, she was chartered by the Northern Michigan Line in order to replace their steamer Champlain which had burned down in Charlevoix, Michigan.

In October 1887, Vernon was bound from Cheboygan, Michigan for Chicago, making stops at several ports along the way. On October 28, she left Frankfort, Michigan for the lake's eastern shore, she began encountering rough seas. Eventually, she became overwhelmed by the waves, sinking near Two Rivers on the morning of October 29. Only one person, fireman Axel Stone, survived.

The wreck of Vernon rests intact in 210 feet (64 m) of water.

History edit

 
Vernon under construction in Chicago[3]

Design and construction edit

Vernon (Official number 161557) was built in 1886 in Chicago, Illinois, by shipyard owned by James P. Smith.[3][2][4] Her wooden hull was 158.58 feet (48.3 m) (some sources state 177 feet (53.9 m)[6]) in length and 25.42 feet (7.7 m) wide. The moulded depth (roughly speaking, the vertical height of her hull) was 18.66 feet (5.7 m). Vernon had a gross tonnage of 694.94 tons and a net tonnage of 560.41 tons.[3][4][5]

Vernon was powered by a two-cylinder 565 hp (421 kW) fore and aft compound engine; the cylinders of the engine had bores of 22 inches (56 cm) and 40 inches (100 cm) and a stroke of 24 inches (61 cm).[3] Steam for the engine was produced by two 16 foot (4.9 m) × 6.6 foot (2.0 m) 125 psi Scotch marine boilers.[3] The engine and boilers were manufactured by the Marine Boiler Works in Chicago.[3][5] She was propelled to a top speed of 15 miles per hour (13 kn) by a single fixed pitch propeller.[5]

Vernon was built to carry passengers and freight from Chicago to Manistique, Michigan/Northern Lake Michigan in as little time as possible.[3] She was regarded as one of the most elegant ships on the Great Lakes.[2] Her owners spared no expense in making her as luxurious as possible. Equipped with extensive brass fittings, eighteen state rooms and one very large cabin lounge. She cost $78,000 to build.[6]

Vernon had an abnormally deep draft when compared narrow beam, which caused her to become unstable when she was fully loaded.[2][6] At the time of her construction, sailors criticized Vernon's builders for sacrificing her buoyancy and stability in return for speed, predicting that she would "sooner or later meet with disaster".[2][1][7]

Great Lakes shipping expert Steve Harold wrote that:

"From the start, the Vernon was known to have an unusual, perhaps defective, hull design. Even when empty, she had an extreme draft and sat very low in the water. Some people later declared it was even unsafe for her to carry significant amounts of cargo because she was then dangerously low in the water."[8]

Service history edit

Vernon was launched on August 16, 1886, in front of approximately 5000 onlookers. She was named after one of W. Vernon Booth, one of Alfred Booth's two sons. She was built for Alfred Booth of Chicago, Illinois, and his sons, A. Edeward and W. Vernon Booth, each of whom owned a 1⁄3 share in her.[6] She received her enrollment on September 1/2, 1886 in Chicago, which would also be her home port.[3][2][4] That same year, she replaced the package freighter A. Booth (which sank on August 29, 1886 near Duluth, Minnesota[9]) in the Duluth - Port Arthur, Ontario run on Lake Superior.[3][10] For a time in 1887, Vernon was engaged in the iron ore trade, towing schooner barges between Lake Superior ports and Cleveland, Ohio.[3] While towing scow barges owned by John Pridgeon of Detroit, Michigan, when she ran onto a reef in the Straits of Mackinac, causing damage to the barges.[11] She was sold by the United States Marshals Service to Pridgeon on July 22, 1887, as Pridgeon had libeled her, due to the damage done to his barges.[3][11] On August 6, 1887, she was repurchased by Alfred Booth for $23,350; she was then transferred to Booth's Booth Packing Company.[11] That same month, she was chartered by the Northern Michigan Line, in order to replace their steamer Champlain, which burned down in Charlevoix, Michigan on June 1. of that same year, with the loss of 21 lives.[3][11][8][12]

Final voyage edit

Vernon left Chicago, Illinois for Cheboygan, Michigan on October 20, 1887 under the command of Captain George Thorpe, making stops along the way at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Suttons Bay, Michigan and St. Ignace, Michigan. Reports conflict about the number of crewmen on board, most reports give estimates of between 23 and 25.[5][11] On her return trip, Vernon was bound from Cheboygan for Chicago, and was once again scheduled to make stops at Mackinac Island and several other northern Lake Michigan ports.[1][7] She left Cheboygan at around 3:00 A.M., accompanied by the package freighter Joseph L. Hurd.[11] The two ships proceeded to Beaver Island, where Vernon boarded passengers and loaded freight, while Joseph L. Hurd headed for Chicago.[11] Vernon departed Beaver Island the following day, and passed Leeland, Michigan at 1:00 P.M. She made a stop at Glen Haven, Michigan, and later at Frankfort, Michigan.[11] On the evening of October 28, Vernon proceeded to leave Frankfort, and head across Lake Michigan to its Wisconsin shore.[2][11] At around 10:00 P.M., Vernon encountered a northeast gale, which gradually worsened as she headed across the lake.[13] Eventually, the large waves that made headway increasingly difficult, swamped Vernon, extinguishing her boilers. Now powerless, Vernon sank near Two Rivers, Wisconsin, sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 A.M. on October 29.[13] When Vernon sank, she was carrying a cargo of 400 boxes of fish, 90 tons of pig iron, apples, 2000 bushels of potatoes, 90,000 barrel staves and general merchandise.[14][8]

Aftermath edit

Late at night, the same day Vernon sank, the schooner Joseph Page arrived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; she reported encountering copious amounts of wreckage from a "large, white propeller", with several people clinging to it.[14] The steam barge Superior reported encountering several life rafts and a yawl, which contained survivors who were signalling for assistance. Superior also encountered people floating in the water, wearing life jackets.[14] Captain Moran of Superior identified the wreckage as Vernon's, based upon the gold scrollwork unique to Vernon. The schooners Blazing Star, Horace A. Badger, William Home and the tug Anderson passed through a wreckage field, encountering several corpses.[14][15] None of the ships that passed through the wreckage stopped to assist the survivors. Eventually, only 19 bodies were recovered; they were laid out in the Two Rivers fire station, which served as a temporary morgue.[16][17] Initially, it was assumed that fifty people lost their lives onboard Vernon. This number was later revised to 36-41 lives, as several passengers embarked and disembarked at the ports she stopped at.[18] The high death toll makes Vernon one of the deadliest shipwrecks ever to have occurred in Wisconsin.[19] She was valued at $75,000.[20]

Initially, it was believed that no one onboard Vernon survived.[21] However, on October 31, the schooner S.B. Pomeroy which was bound from Chicago, Illinois for Green Bay, Wisconsin discovered a life raft with two men on board. One had passed away from exposure, meanwhile the other one, 23-year-old Swedish fireman Axel Stone had survived.[16][8] S.B. Pomeroy transported him to Green Bay, where he recounted the details of the disaster to the local newspaper.[16] Stone claimed that Vernon was heavily overloaded, to the point that less than 6 inches (15 cm) of freeboard remained above the waterline. He reported that due to the excessive load, Vernon's crew were unable to close the gangways.[22][23]

An inquest held on November 7, stated that:

The storm of October 29th was not so fierce nor the lake so rough as to prevent the rescue of these bodies. If their perilous condition had been known, the life-saving crew, each and all of the five fishing tugs here, besides many small boats would have gone promptly to their rescue.[21]

As part of the inquest, the captains of Joseph Page and Superior were reprimanded for not making more of an effort to save the survivors.[24]

Vernon today edit

 
Vernon's name board

The wreck of Vernon was located in 1969 by Kent Bellrichard of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[25] She rests intact in 210 feet (64 m) of water, northeast Two Rivers, Wisconsin. She is keeled over to starboard side. Her pilot house and cabins which broke away when she sank, lie west of her wreck in 160 feet (48.8 m) of water.[2][1] Her cargo is still intact within her hold.[26] Her gangways are still open, confirming Axel Stone's claims of her crew not being able to close them because of her excessive load. Various artefacts, including her name board are on display at the Rogers Street Fishing Village in Two Rivers.[2][1][7][27]

A monument commemorating eight of the people who died onboard Vernon stands in the Pioneer Rest Calvary Cemetery in Two Rivers.[19]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Hanakova, Jitka (2020).
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wisconsin Shipwrecks (2020).
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library (2) (2020).
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Bowling Green State University (2010).
  5. ^ a b c d e f Wrecksite (2008).
  6. ^ a b c d Boyd, Richard (1) (2000), p. 7.
  7. ^ a b c Swayze, David D. (2001).
  8. ^ a b c d Brinkman, Jim (2007).
  9. ^ Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library (1) (2020).
  10. ^ Boyd, Richard (1) (2000), p. 7-8.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Boyd, Richard (1) (2000), p. 8.
  12. ^ Carus, Edward (1887).
  13. ^ a b Boyd, Richard (1) (2000).
  14. ^ a b c d Boyd, Richard (1) (2000), p. 9.
  15. ^ GenDisasters (1887).
  16. ^ a b c Boyd, Richard (1) (2000), p. 10.
  17. ^ Maritime History of the Great Lakes (2) (1887).
  18. ^ Jarvey, Michele (2007), p. 17.
  19. ^ a b Ero, Natasha (2020).
  20. ^ Maritime History of the Great Lakes (1) (1887).
  21. ^ a b Manitowoc County Historical Society (2019).
  22. ^ Boyd, Richard (1) (2000), p. 10-11.
  23. ^ Donahue, James L. (2021).
  24. ^ Meyer, Amy (2015).
  25. ^ Boyd, Richard (2) (2000), p. 10.
  26. ^ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2020).
  27. ^ Rogers Street Fishing Village (2020).

Sources edit

  • Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library (1) (2020). "Booth, A. (1882, Propeller)". Alpena, Michigan: Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library. Retrieved December 28, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library (2) (2020). "Vernon (1886, Propeller)". Alpena, Michigan: Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library. Retrieved December 9, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • Bowling Green State University (2010). "Vernon". Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  • Boyd, Richard (1) (2000). "The Dark Voyage of the Propeller Vernon - Part 1" (PDF). Wisconsin: Wisconsin Underwater Archeological Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 21, 2003. Retrieved December 21, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • Boyd, Richard (2) (2000). "The Dark Voyage of the Propeller Vernon - Part 2" (PDF). Wisconsin: Wisconsin Underwater Archeological Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 10, 2004. Retrieved December 21, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • Brinkman, Jim (2007). "36 died after boat left Good Harbor". Leelanau County, Michigan: Leelanau Enterprise. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  • Carus, Edward (1887). "Marine Man recalls loss of "Vernon" in 1887". Madison, Wisconsins: Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  • Donahue, James L. (2021). "Surviving The Vernon Disaster". The Mind of James Donahue. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  • Ero, Natasha (2020). "Two Rivers monument honors lives lost in one of Wisconsin's deadliest shipwrecks". Green Bay, Wisconsin: We Are Green Bay. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 24, 2020 suggested (help)
  • GenDisasters (1887). "Two Rivers, WI (Off Shore) Steamer Vernon Sinks In Lake Michigan, Oct 1887". North America: GenDisasters. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  • Hanakova, Jitka (2020). "Freighter Vernon". Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Shipwreck Explorers. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  • Jarvey, Michele (2007). "Diving the Vernon" (PDF). St. Charles, Missouri: Midwest Scuba Diving. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 12, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  • Manitowoc County Historical Society (2019). "Remembering the Vernon". Manitowoc County, Wisconsin: Manitowoc County Historical Society. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  • Maritime History of the Great Lakes (1) (1887). "Vernon (Propeller), sunk, 29 Oct 1887". Ontario, Canada: Maritime History of the Great Lakes. Retrieved January 2, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • Maritime History of the Great Lakes (2) (1887). "Vernon (Propeller), sunk, 29 Oct 1887". Ontario, Canada: Maritime History of the Great Lakes. Retrieved January 2, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • Meyer, Amy (2015). "Just 1 survivor in 1887 shipwreck near Two Rivers". Manitowoc, Wisconsin: The Herald Times Reporter. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2020). "Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary Designation - Final Environmental Impact Statement and Final Management Plan" (PDF). Washington D.C.: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  • Rogers Street Fishing Village (2020). "Welcome to Rogers Street Fishing Village". Two Rivers, Wisconsin: Rogers Street Fishing Village. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  • Swayze, David D. (2001). "Great Lakes Shipwrecks - V". Port Huron, Michigan: Boatnerd. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  • Wisconsin Shipwrecks (2020). "Vernon (1886)". Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  • Wrecksite (2008). "SS Vernon (+1887)". Affligem, Belgium: Wrecksite. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
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