The ''George Spencer'' was a wooden lake freighter that sank on along with her

schooner barge A schooner barge is a type of ship; a schooner converted as a barge. Schooner barges originated on the Great Lakes in the 1860s and were in use until World War II, although a few survived into the 1950s. Even though steamboats were used for time- ...

''Amboy'' on Lake Superior, near Thomasville, Cook County, Minnesota in the

Mataafa Storm The Mataafa Storm of 1905, was a storm that occurred on the Great Lakes on November 27–28, 1905. The system moved across the Great Basin with moderate depth on November 26 and November 27, then east-northeastward across the Great Lakes on Novemb ...

of 1905. On April 14, 1994, the wrecks of the ''Spencer'' and the ''Amboy'' were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

The ''George Spencer'' (Official number 85849) was built in 1884 by the Thomas Quayle & Sons Shipyard in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. She was built for Thomas Wilson of Cleveland, Ohio. She had an overall length of , she was long between her perpendiculars, her beam was wide and her cargo hold was deep. She was powered by a 625-horsepower fore and aft compound engine which was fueled by a coal burning Scotch marine boiler. She had a gross register tonnage of 1360.75 and a

net register tonnage Net register tonnage (NRT, nrt, n.r.t.) is a ship's cargo volume capacity expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated by subtracting non-revenue-earning spaces i.e. spaces not available for carrying cargo, ...

of 1082.79. She was used to haul bulk cargoes such as

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

, coal and

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

. She was also one of the first vessels to load iron ore in Two Harbors, Minnesota when the port opened in 1884. In 1888 the ''Spencer'' was sold to B.L. Pennington (Lockwood Taylor & Company). In 1889 the ''Spencer'' was transferred Lockwood Taylor Hardware Company (2/3) and B. F. Powers (1/3). On 8 August 1894 she rescued the crew of the steamer from lifeboats after their ship burned in Lake Superior the night before. In 1895 she was transferred to the Commercial Transit Company. In 1899 the ''Spencer'' was sold to the Tonawanda Iron & Steel Company of Tonawanda, New York. On September 9, 1901, the ''Spencer'' was sailing down the west channel of the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...

when she grounded at the head of Little Island. When she was freed she was towed by the tugs that freed her to a dock. The cargo of 1,400 tons of iron ore in the ''Spencer'' cargo hold was consigned to the Tonawanda Iron & Steel Plant. ''Spencers grounding was caused by low water levels in the river.

Final voyage

On the day of November 28, 1905 the ''Spencer'' and the ''Amboy'' were bound from Buffalo, New York for Duluth, Minnesota with a cargo of coal when they were struck by the full force of the

. After the storm blew itself out it was discovered that 18 ships were wrecked or stranded; and one, the steamer ''Ira H. Owen'' was lost with all hands. The crew of the ''Spencer'' cut the line between her and the ''Amboy'' in an attempt to save both of the ships. Both vessels were driven ashore. The crew of the ships escaped the vessels with a breeches' buoy which was rigged up by some nearby fishermen. A December 1, 1905 issue of the Duluth Evening Herald described the wreck of the ''Spencer'' and the ''Amboy'':

Both boats lost their bearings in the snowstorm and landed on a sandy beach. As soon as they struck, buoys with lines were thrown over the side. When they floated ashore they were caught by fishermen and made fast. With an improvised life buoy rigged in the hawsers the entire crew were taken safely to shore preceded by Mrs. Harry Lawe, wife of the mate, who was acting as steward. The vessels ran on the rocks Tuesday morning, and for thirteen hours the situation of the crew on the battered hulks was desperate. Fishermen rushed into the surf almost to their necks and aided the sailors to escape. The ''Spencer'' cargo can be lightered but there is little hope for saving the boat. The vessels were coming up without cargo to load ore. Capt. Frank Conland sailed the Spencer and Fred Watson was master of the ''Amboy''. The ''Spencer'' was valued at $35,000 and the ''Amboy'' at $10,000.

A December 6, 1905 issue of the Duluth News Tribune wrote about the assessment of the wrecks:

Captain C.O. Flynn returned last evening from an inspection of the stranded steamer ''George Spencer'' and schooner ''Amboy''. He said "the schooner ''Amboy'' is a total wreck ... the steamer ''Spencer'' is still in good shape. Her hatches are intact, and she does not appear to be seriously damaged. As to the condition of her bottom that cannot be told at present.

The ''George Spencer'' today

The remains of the ''George Spencer'' lies off the beach and about one mile south of Sugar Loaf Cove, the quarter mile long stretch of beach is crescent shaped and blends from the large cobbles on the north to the sand on the south section of the beach. Even though much of her hull was removed there are still large bits of her hull on the site. Her wreck is a lot more intact than that of the ''Amboy''. The wreckage of the ''Spencer'' consists of a long section of the base of her wooden hull from the turn of the bilge down. Her hull lies perpendicular to the beach. A piece of her hull, possibly the bow lies in of water and about from the beach. Her stern lies in .

References

External links

George Spencer (Propeller), 18 Feb 1892George Spencer (Propeller), 23 Mar 1899George Spencer (Propeller), aground, 28 Nov 1905George Spencer historic photosMixstory 1905More historic photos of the George Spencer
{{DEFAULTSORT:George Spencer, SS 1884 ships Maritime incidents in 1905 Great Lakes freighters Steamships of the United States Merchant ships of the United States Shipwrecks of Lake Superior Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Protected areas of Cook County, Minnesota Shipwrecks of the Minnesota coast Ships built in Cleveland Wreck diving sites in the United States Ships sunk in storms