''Iosco'' (Official number 100484) was a

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 ...

from her construction in 1891 to her foundering on September 2, 1905, when she and her tow, the

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- ...

''Olive Jeanette'' sank on

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 ...

. While ''Olive Jeanette'' wreck was located in over of water about off the

Huron Islands The Huron Islands are a group of eight small, rocky islands in Lake Superior, located about off the mouth of the Huron River in northwestern Marquette County, Michigan, United States. Together they comprise the Huron National Wildlife Refuge, wh ...

in the 1990s, ''Iosco'' wreck has not yet been found.

History

''Iosco'' built by the West Bay City Shipbuilding Company (F.W. Wheeler Shipyards) of

West Bay City, Michigan West Bay City was a city in Bay County the U.S. state of Michigan. The City was formed from the communities of Banks, Salzburg, and Wenona. The city existed from 1877 to 1905 when it was merged with Bay City, Michigan. History Bangor/Banks Jose ...

. She was named after

Iosco County Iosco County ( , ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan; its eastern border is formed by Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the population was 25,237. The county seat is Tawas City. Etymology of Iosco ''Iosco'' has traditionally been s ...

, which is a county in Michigan. She was one of three almost identical wooden ships including , , , and . She was launched on April 25, 1891, as hull number #80. She had a large

white oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...

hull. At an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads in ...

of , ''Iosco'' was one of the

largest wooden ships This is a list of the world's longest wooden ships. The vessels are sorted by ship length including bowsprit, if known. Finding the world's longest wooden ship is not straightforward since there are several contenders, depending on which definit ...

ever built. Her hull was between her perpendiculars, her

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

was wide, and her

cargo hold 120px, View of the hold of a container ship A ship's hold or cargo hold is a space for carrying cargo in the ship's compartment. Description Cargo in holds may be either packaged in crates, bales, etc., or unpackaged (bulk cargo). Access to ho ...

was deep. Because of her enormous size ''Iosco'' needed several steel arches, a steel

keelson The keelson or kelson is a reinforcing structural member on top of the keel in the hull of a wooden vessel. In part V of “Song of Myself”, American poet Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an Ame ...

, steel cross bracing and several steel plates to increase her strength. ''Iosco'' had a three-cylinder

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 the Frontier Engine Works Company of

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. Her massive triple expansion steam engine was capable of generating , her engine had cylinders of , each with a stroke. She had two coal burning

Scotch marine boiler A "Scotch" marine boiler (or simply Scotch boiler) is a design of steam boiler best known for its use on ships. The general layout is that of a squat horizontal cylinder. One or more large cylindrical furnaces are in the lower part of the boiler ...

s that were high and wide. They also had a steam pressure of ; her boilers were built by the Wickes Brothers of

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

Sinking

A September 6, 1905 issue of the Daily News Marshall, Michigan wrote an article about the foundering of ''Iosco'' and ''Olive Jeanette'': :''"Pequaming, Mich., Sept. 6. -- The steamer Iosco will have to be added to the list of ships which foundered on Lake Superior in the great gale last Sunday, if the story told be the wreckage through which the tug D.L. Hebard passed Tuesday is well founded.'' ''Life preservers marked Iosco and much other wreckage were found near Huron Island.'' ''The stem of a schooner had been thrown up on the end of Point Abbaye.'' ''The body of a sailor was found ten miles this side of Point Abbaye.'' Schooner barge Olive Jeanette

''It is now believed that both the Iosco and the schooner Olive Jeannette, which the ''Iosco'' had in tow, foundered in the vicinity where the wreckage had been sighted.'' ''It is certain that the Olive Jeanette is lost.'' ''The lighthouse keeper on Huron Island plainly saw a big schooner founder four miles north of the light at 4 o'clock Sunday afternoon.'' ''No steamer was in sight at the time.'' ''The schooner when first sighted had jib and foresail set, and was nearly waterlogged.'' ''Not long afterward the ship went down.'' ''The lighthouse keeper had no means of rendering assistance in the tremendous sea running.'' ''The three days which have elapsed since the Olive Jeannette foundered would have brought news from the Iosco were that boat still afloat, but the owners at Cleveland last night gave up hope.'' ''The Iosco carried a crew of nineteen men. The Olive Jeannette carried a crew of seven men.'' ''The Iosco and Jeannette, laden with iron ore, left Duluth at noon last Thursday bound for

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

.'' ''They were caught by the storm when halfway down Lake Superior, and must have been driven back with the hope of finding shelter among the islands east of

Keweenaw Peninsula The Keweenaw Peninsula ( , sometimes locally ) is the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, leading to its moniker of "Copper Country." As o ...

.'' ''The Iosco was commanded by Captain Nelson Gonyaw.''"

References

External links

Historical images of the Iosco
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iosco, SS 1891 ships Ships built in Bay City, Michigan Steamships of the United States Merchant ships of the United States Maritime incidents in 1905 Great Lakes freighters Missing ships Shipwrecks of Lake Superior Shipwrecks of the Michigan coast Ships sunk in storms