The SS ''Argus'' was a steel-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 was constructed as the SS ''Lewis Woodruff'' by the

American Ship Building Company The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio in 1898. It changed its name to t ...

, and was launched on 5 August 1905. Its original owner was the Gilchrist Transportation Company, based in

Cleveland 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. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. In 1913, the ship was sold to the Interlake Steamship Company, and was renamed the ''Argus''. The ship was lost on Lake Huron on November 9, 1913 during the

Great Lakes storm of 1913 The Great Lakes Storm of 1913 (historically referred to as the "Big Blow", the "Freshwater Fury", and the "White Hurricane") was a blizzard with hurricane-force winds that devastated the Great Lakes Basin in the Midwestern United States and ...

. Under the commander of captain Paul Dutch, the ''Argus'' headed north into Lake Huron, with a load of coal. A little over 13 miles north of Point Aux Barques, the ship broke in two and sank with the loss of all 25 hands. The SS ''Hydrus'', sister ship of the ''Argus'', was also lost in the storm. Portions of the wreckage were found by a local doctor along the shoreline at

Bayfield, Ontario Bayfield is a community in the municipality of Bluewater, Huron County in southwestern Ontario, Canada with a 2016 population of 1,112. Bluewater Municipality includes Bayfield, Bruce field, Dashwood, Hensall, Varna, and Zurich This municipal ...

in mid-November 1913. The remains of the ship was discovered in 1972, by diver Dick Race. The wreck lies upside down, in about 250 feet of water.

References

Maritime incidents in 1913 Shipwrecks of Lake Huron Ships lost with all hands 1905 ships Ships built in Lorain, Ohio Great Lakes freighters Shipwreck discoveries by John Steele {{Merchantship-stub