''101'' was an American whaleback barge that was usually towed by a steam driven freighter or a

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

. She was significant as she was the first whaleback freighter ever built. She had a length of 178-feet a beam of 25.1 feet, and a depth of 12.7 feet.

History

Whaleback Barge 101 was built by the American Steel Barge Company of

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

, while her cylindrical bow and her stern was built by Pusey & Jones Shipbuilding Company of

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

. She was launched as hull #101 on June 23, 1888. There is a story that as Barge 101 was being launched in Duluth, McDougall's wife Emmelin said to her sister in law, "There goes our last dollar". This was because McDougall had trouble finding investors for this unusual ship. With no investors, he had to spend his own money on building and financing the building of these vessels. In 1889. Barge 101 was lengthened by the American Steel Barge Company of

Superior, Wisconsin , native_name_lang = oj , nickname = , total_type = , motto = , image_skyline = Tower Avenue.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Downtown Superior , ima ...

to 191-feet in length. She grounded at Lime Kiln, near

Detroit 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 th ...

in April 1892, and immediately was filled with water. Workers started raising her shortly after the incident. In 1903 she was sold to the Barret Manufacturing Company for ocean service. In 1906 she was purchased by the Coast Transit Company of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. On December 3, 1908 ''Barge 101'' was in the tow of the tugboat ''John Hughes'' when she was lost with all hands 30 miles north of Seal Island. She was bound for

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

with a cargo of tar at the time of the loss.

References

{{Reflist 1888 ships Whaleback ships Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Ships lost with all hands Ships built in Duluth, Minnesota