SS ''Florida'' was a wooden hulled

Great Lakes freighter Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that operate on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Since the late 19th century, lakers have carried bulk cargoes of ma ...

that served on the

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 lakes ...

of North America from her construction in 1889, to her sinking in May 1897 when she collided with the larger wooden hulled freighter ''George W. Roby''. Her wreck was located by Ed Ellison in July 1994, in of water almost completely intact, save for her stern.

History

The ''Florida'' (Official number 120753) was built in 1889 by Robert Mills & Company in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

for Peter P. Miller of Buffalo, New York. At a length of in length, the ''Florida'' was one of the largest wooden ships ever built; her beam was wide, and her hull was deep. She had a

gross tonnage Gross tonnage (GT, G.T. or gt) is a nonlinear measure of a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage. Neither gross tonnage nor gross register tonnage should be confused with measures of mass or weigh ...

of 2103.36 tons, and a net tonnage of 1834.65 tons. She had a cargo capacity of 2400 tons. She was powered by a 650-horsepower

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

that was built by H.G. Trout of Buffalo, New York, and had three cylinders that had a 32 & 52 × 45 inch bore, and a 20-inch stroke. On October 12, 1889 the ''Florida'' ran aground at

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 13,337 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most populated ...

, and was freed by the tugs ''Mystic'' and ''Swain'' after unloading several hundred tons of coal. In 1890 she was chartered to the Lackawanna Transportation Company, where she would carry cargoes of grain and coal between Buffalo, New York and

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. In October 1893 the ''Florida'' went ashore near

Whiting, Indiana Whiting is a city located in the Chicago Metropolitan Area in Lake County, Indiana, which was founded in 1889. The city is located on the southern shore of Lake Michigan. It is roughly 16 miles from the Chicago Loop and two miles from Chicago's ...

and was raised and repaired.

Final voyage

In May 1897 the ''Florida'' left Chicago, Illinois with a cargo of flour, barrels of

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden cask ...

, syrup, and various manufactured goods. She then proceeded to sail up

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

, into the

Straits of Mackinac The Straits of Mackinac ( ; french: Détroit de Mackinac) are the short waterways between the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, traversed by the Mackinac Bridge. The main strait is wide with a maximum depth of , and connects ...

and finally into upper Lake Huron. On May 20, 1897, at around 9:00 a.m., the ''Florida'' was rammed by the larger freighter ''George W. Roby'' in a dense fog off the coast of

Presque Isle, Michigan Presque Isle Township is a civil township of Presque Isle County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,656 at the 2010 census. Communities Presque Isle is a small unincorporated community located within Presque Isle Township alon ...

. All her crew were taken aboard the ''Roby''. During her sinking, escaping air from her hull blew her cabins off. Captain Henry Murphy, her captain said that "the ship collapsed like a jackknife when the stern hit bottom in over feet of water".

The ''Florida'' today

The remains of the ''Florida'' rest in of water from her deck, and of water from the lake bottom. Most of her hull is completely intact, except for her stern which collapsed when she hit the bottom. Her broken stern exposes her triple expansion steam engine that still has its intact gauge panel. Although the forward cabins are gone, the boiler cabin remains attached to her hull. Forward of her boiler cabin is a wooden deckhouse which could be a guest dining room. Her masts lie on her deck. Her cargo is also still in her hold. Her wreck lies close to the early steel freighter ''Norman''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Florida, SS 1889 ships Great Lakes freighters Shipwrecks of Lake Huron Maritime incidents in 1897 Ships sunk in collisions Ships sunk with no fatalities Shipwrecks of the Michigan coast Ships built in Buffalo, New York Package freighters Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Wreck diving sites in the United States