Samuel P. Ely 1896
Marker: recorded wreck position (Steam era).
Key facts
| Name | Samuel P. Ely | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1896 | Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier |
| Era | Steam era | derived from year |
| Ship type | schooner | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | Storm or weather | Wikidata P828 has cause (on P793 event): storm |
| Nationality / flag | United States | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Nearest coast | United States | Natural Earth (public domain) |
| Position | 47.0117, -91.6778 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
Samuel P. Ely is a shipwreck in Two Harbors, Minnesota listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was a schooner that sailed the Great Lakes carrying iron ore, coal, and other bulk freight. It was built in 1869 and was a fairly typical example of the 200-foot schooner built in the 1870s, though she was reinforced for the demands of carrying iron ore.
Diving & visiting
In October 1896, Samuel P. Ely traveled from Kelley's Island, Ohio to Duluth, Minnesota, in tow of Hesper and carrying a load of limestone. Hesper was also towing Negaunee, a similar barge. Hesper, along with Samuel P. Ely and Negaunee, reached Duluth on 27 October 1896. The two barges unloaded their limestone while Hesper unloaded her cargo of coal. On 29 October 1896, Hesper steamed up to Two Harbors with Negaunee and Samuel P. Ely in tow. A storm had impeded their progress to Two Harbors, with heavy headwinds and high seas, and Hesper was barely able to make it into port while towing Samuel P. Ely.
Samuel P. Ely suffered further damage after she sank. The ship's location became known to recreational scuba divers in the mid to late 1950s, and local historians and divers noted that several items were removed from the wreck between 1958 and 1961. Several small pieces of equipment were removed at first. In 1961, a large wooden anchor was removed and put on display in someone's lawn in Superior, Wisconsin. The deck capstan was removed in 1974 and brought to Lake Superior Maritime Collections in Duluth. One of the deck winches was removed in 1978 and brought to the SS Meteor Marine Museum in Superior, while another winch was removed to an unknown location.
Location
- Recorded position: 47.0117, -91.6778 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Nearest coast: United States
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Samuel P. Ely (shipwreck) (revision 1372513237), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “The wreck”, “Deterioration and preservation”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- SS Harriet B. 1922 · 5 km
- SS Benjamin Noble 1914 · 9 km
- SS Robert Wallace 19 km
- SS Onoko 1915 · 20 km
- Thomas Friant 22 km
- Madeira 1905 · 32 km
Browse more: North America wrecks · wrecks off United States · Steam era