Antelope was a Great Lakes steamship that later was converted into a schooner barge) and sank in Lake Superior near the Apostle Islands in 1897.[1]
 Antelope underway
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Antelope |
| Owner | L.S. Bowtell, Bay City, Michigan (in 1861) |
| Launched | 1861 |
| Fate | Sank 1897 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Steamship (1861–1880s), schooner barge (1880s–1897) |
| Tonnage | 523.45 gross register tons |
| Length | 186.8 ft (56.9 m) |
| Beam | 32 to 34 ft (9.8 to 10.4 m) (sources disagree) |
| Depth of hold | 12 ft (3.7 m) |
| Propulsion | Steam engine (1861–1880s), sails (1880s–1897) |
| Sail plan | Schooner rig, 3 masts (from 1880s) |
Service history
editJ. L. Wolverton built Antelope in Newport, Michigan, in 1861 for L. S. Bowtell of Bay City, Michigan.[2] One of the early steamships on the Great Lakes,[2] she carried passengers between Buffalo, New York and Chicago, Illinois.[2] She burned at Buffalo in 1867, but was rebuilt and returned to service.[3] In the 1880s she was converted into a three-masted schooner barge to haul freight.[2][3][4] Despite the removal of her steam engine and boiler — which made more room for cargo[2] — she continued to carry a funnel for the rest of her career.[2]
On October 7, 1897, Antelope was loaded with 1,000 tons of coal and under tow by the steamship Hiram W. Sibley.[2] Both ships were on a voyage from Sandusky, Ohio, to deliver coal to the Pennsylvania and Ashland Coal Company dock in Ashland, Wisconsin.[2] While approaching Michigan Island in the Apostle Islands, Antelope′s seams opened.[2] She began to take on water more quickly than her pumps could pump it out, and she sank in a reported 360 feet (110 m) of water without loss of life.[2] Hiram W. Sibley rescued her crew.[2] Soon after Antelope sank, the schooner Gawn sighted wreckage, including Antelope′s cabin, floating off Michigan Island.[2]
Wreck
editAntelope′s wreck was discovered on September 2, 2016.[3] On February 16, 2018, the wreck was placed on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places.[5] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 22, 2018.[6]
As of September 2016, the wreck sat upright on the lake bottom in over 300 feet (91 m) of water.[3] Two of the three masts remained standing and still had their full rigging, including deadeyes.[3] The forward cabin was intact, and two large wood stocked anchors were still on board.[3] The rudder and ship's wheel lay on the bottom next to the wreck.[3] The stern deckhouse and mizzen mast were missing.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Bayfield County Journal". APG Media. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wisconsin Shipwrecks ANTELOPE (1861) Accessed 10 July 2021
- ^ a b c d e f g h Krueger, Andrew, "‘Spectacularly intact’ 1897 shipwreck discovered in Lake Superior," Forum News Service, September 15, 2016 Accessed 9 July 2021
- ^ "Antelope (1861)". Wisconsin Shipwrecks. Wisconsin Sea Grant, Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
- ^ "Bayfield County Journal". APG Media. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- ^ "Weekly List - National Register of Historic Places Official Website--Part of the National Park Service". www.nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
External links
edit
Media related to Antelope (ship, 1861) at Wikimedia Commons