The ''Cumberland'' was a wooden-hulled side paddlewheeler built in 1871; it was wrecked off the shore of

Isle Royale Isle Royale National Park is an American national park consisting of Isle Royale – known as Minong to the native Ojibwe – along with more than 400 small adjacent islands and the surrounding waters of Lake Superior, in the state of Michigan. ...

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

in 1877 and the remains are still on the lake bottom. The wreck was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1984.

History

The ''Cumberland'' was constructed in 1871 by Melanchthan & Simpson of

Port Robinson, Ontario Port Robinson is a small community in the southernmost part of Thorold, Ontario, Canada. The community is divided in half by the Welland Canal, as there is no bridge in the immediate vicinity to connect the two halves of the community. In the sum ...

for Perry & Company, a

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

steamship line. The ship was launched on August 8, 1871. The ''Cumberlands design was typical of the sidewheel steamers built for

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

travel in the 1840s-1880s. It was a wooden-hulled, sidewheel paddleboat, 208 feet in length at the keel and 214 feet in length total. The ship had a beam of 28 feet (48 feet overall), a draft of 10 feet 6 inches, and measured 750 tons gross. The ship was powered by a 400HP

walking beam engine A marine steam engine is a steam engine that is used to power a ship or boat. This article deals mainly with marine steam engines of the reciprocating type, which were in use from the inception of the steamboat in the early 19th century to the ...

with a single boiler and possessed paddlewheels 30 feet in diameter. The ''Cumberland'' was built for

Northern Railway of Canada The Northern Railway of Canada was a railway in the province of Ontario, Canada. It was the first steam railway to enter service in what was then known as Upper Canada. It was eventually acquired by the Grand Trunk Railway, and is therefore a p ...

, the parent company of the Toronto and Lake Superior Navigation Company, to run between

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

and Collingwood or

Owen Sound Owen Sound ( 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi and Sydenham Rivers on an inlet of Georgian Bay. The primary tourist attractio ...

, Ontario, and was named For Fred W. Cumberland, Northern Railway's general manager. The ship first saw service in May 1871. During its service, the ''Cumberland'' was involved in a number of serious incidents. In November 1872, the ship was frozen in the ice in the St. Mary's River; most of the crew trekked on foot from the ship to

Collingwood, Ontario Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay. Collingwood is well known as a tourist destination, for its skiing in the winter, and limestone caves along the Nia ...

; leaving a few crewmembers and passengers on the vessel. The fate of those left aboard is not known, but it is likely the ship overwintered in the ice. In November 1874, the ''Cumberland'' was caught in a storm on its way to

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population i ...

Caulking Caulk or, less frequently, caulking is a material used to seal joints or seams against leakage in various structures and piping. The oldest form of caulk consisted of fibrous materials driven into the wedge-shaped seams between boards on ...

of the ship's hull came loose in several areas, and it began to take on water. To lighten the load, livestock on the deck was thrown overboard. The ship made it to port with six feet of water in the hold and promptly sank. In November 1875, the ''Cumberland'' was again caught in a storm, and was grounded near

Silver Islet, Ontario Silver Islet refers to both a small rocky island and a small community located at the tip of the Sibley Peninsula in northwestern Ontario, Canada. A rich vein of pure silver was discovered on this small island in 1868 by the Montreal Mining ...

. Luckily, there was little damage from this incident, and cargo and passengers soon arrived safely in Thunder Bay. In September 1876, the ship ran aground again, this time at Owen Sound.

The wreck of the ''Cumberland''

In July 1877, the ''Cumberland'' was grounded for three days on a sand bar in the harbor at

Nipigon Nipigon () is a township in Thunder Bay District, Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located along the west side of the Nipigon River and south of the small Lake Helen running between Lake Nipigon and Lake Superior. Lake Nipigon is located approximat ...

. It arrived in Thunder Bay on July 24, three days behind schedule, and probably left the same day. However, once out of port, she began taking on water. The day was clear and dry, and passengers were transferred to another vessel. On July 25, 1877, the ship struck a reef near the

Rock of Ages Light The Rock of Ages Light is a U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse on a small rock outcropping () approximately west of Washington Island and west of Isle Royale, in Eagle Harbor Township, Keweenaw County, Michigan (''see map below''). It is an active ...

. The bow section of the ship was stuck solid aground. Other ships attempted to free the ''Cumberland'', but she was stuck fast. Salvage operations began, with a number of tugs and other vessels attempting to save the ship. However, the wreck was rapidly deteriorating, and by August 12 salvage operations were given up. The ship broke apart entirely on August 18; sections remained visible for several weeks, but the ship was completely submerged by early September.

The wreck today

Large portions of the ship remain in 20 to 80 feet of water, including the wooden hull, side-wheel, and boiler. However, most of the superstructure is missing, as well as nearly all of the engine. The wreckage of the ''Cumberland'' is intermingled with some portions of the hull of the '' Henry Chisholm'', which sank later in 1898, and not far from the remains of the ''George M. Cox''. Approximately 40 dives were made to the ''Cumberland'' in 2009 out of 1,062 dives made to wrecks in the

Isle Royale National Park Isle Royale National Park is an American national park consisting of Isle Royale – known as Minong to the native Ojibwe – along with more than 400 small adjacent islands and the surrounding waters of Lake Superior, in the state of Michigan ...

. The ship is significant as the only known example of this size, style, and age of ship available in Lake Superior as a shipwreck.

History

The wreck of the ''Cumberland''

The wreck today

References

Further reading