SS ''Selma'' was an

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...

built in 1919 by F.F. Ley and Company,

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

approved the construction of 24 concrete vessels of which only 12 were actually completed. SS ''Selma'' is the only permanent, and prominent, wreck along the

Houston Ship Channel The Houston Ship Channel, in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston, one of the busiest seaports in the world. The channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico, and it serves an incr ...

. It lies approximately one mile north of

Galveston Island Galveston Island ( ) is a barrier island on the Texas Gulf Coast in the United States, about southeast of Houston. The entire island, with the exception of Jamaica Beach, is within the city limits of the City of Galveston in Galveston County. T ...

Construction and career

Steel shortages during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

led the US to build experimental concrete ships, the largest of which was the SS ''Selma'', today partially submerged in

Galveston Bay Galveston Bay ( ) is a bay in the western Gulf of Mexico along the upper coast of Texas. It is the seventh-largest estuary in the United States, and the largest of seven major estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast. It is connected to the Gulf of ...

and visible from both the Houston Ship Channel and

Seawolf Park Seawolf Park is a memorial to , a United States Navy mistakenly sunk by U.S. Navy forces in 1944 during World War II. It is located on Pelican Island (), just north of Galveston, Texas, in the United States. The park has two museum ships, submar ...

. SS ''Selma'' was built in

, and named to honor

Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. About ...

, for its successful wartime

liberty loan A liberty bond (or liberty loan) was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financi ...

drive. The ship was launched on June 28, 1919, the same day Germany signed the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

, officially ending World War I. As a result, the 7,500-ton ship never served during the war. Instead she was placed into service as an oil tanker in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. On May 31, 1920, the ''Selma'' hit a

jetty A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

, Mexico, ripping a 60 foot hole in her hull. After attempts to repair the ship in

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

failed and efforts to sell the ship proved unsuccessful, US officials decided to intentionally scuttle the ship. A channel 1,500 feet long and 25 feet deep was dug to a point just off Pelican Island's eastern shoreline where on March 9, 1922, the ship was laid to rest. The wreck of the ''Selma'' has since been the object of failed plans to convert it for use as a fishing pier, pleasure resort, and an oyster farm. Long a source of curiosity and local legend, it remains important to scientists who continue to study aspects of its concrete construction. A. Pat Daniels (1917-2011), a long time Texas journalist, historian, and book author, purchased the ship in 1990 from Novie Brown (Hargett) when he and his wife, Shirley Oakes Daniels discovered that it had been privately owned since 6 days after the government scuttled her. Daniels said in his 2011 book titled "Strange Saga of the SS Selma" that he first became aware of the Selma in 1939, when, after leaving the University of Texas (he was the Editor of the Daily Texan and the roommate of John Connally in 1939) he became a cub reporter on the Galveston Daily News. Daniels said that during many sightseeing trips on the Bolivar Ferry, he would see the SS Selma in the distance and became enchanted and possibly fell in love with it. He said because of his interest in Texas history sharpened by 25 years as a member of the Harris County Historical Commission, he liked the idea of owning a piece of Texas history, and to have the Selma recognized for its historical importance. Through Daniels' efforts, the SS Selma is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, recognized on an Official Texas Historical Commission Marker located on nearby Pelican Island, had it become a Texas State Archeological Landmark and the official flagship of the Texas Army. After Mr. Daniels passed in 2011, complete title of the ship was transferred to a long time friend, William R. Cox, who helped Mr. Daniels put the SS Selma into a corporate name to help protect him from a potential liability lawsuit. After Mr. Cox passed in 2015, ownership of the SS Selma passed to his son, Mr. Ken Cox. Another good friend of Mr. Daniels, Mr. Jim Saye, helped him have an annual party for the SS Selma for over 25 years on Galveston Island that has been attended by hundreds of people over the years with music provided by the Over the Hill Gang of Houston.Strange Saga of the SS Selma by A. Pat Daniels, 2011

References

*Rob Bender - Concrete Ships - http://www.concreteships.org - 6/23/2011 *Texas Historical Commission - http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/viewform.asp?atlas_num=5167011567&site_name=SS+Selma&class=5000

External links

S.S. Selma article on CrystalBeach.com - http://www.crystalbeach.com/selma.htmS.S. Selma article on ConcreteShips.org - http://www.concreteships.org/ships/ww1/selma/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selma Design 1100 tankers Concrete ships Ships built in Mobile, Alabama 1919 ships Oil tankers Ships sunk as breakwaters

Construction and career

See also

References

External links