SS Cayuga 1895
Marker: recorded wreck position (Steam era).
Key facts
| Name | SS Cayuga | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1895 | Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier |
| Era | Steam era | derived from year |
| Ship type | lake freighter | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | Storm or weather | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Nationality / flag | United States | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Operator | Lehigh Valley Transit Company | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Nearest coast | United States | Natural Earth (public domain) |
| Position | 45.7206, -85.1900 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
SS Cayuga was a steel-hulled American package freighter in service in the late 19th century. She was built in 1889 in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Globe Iron Works Company Cayuga entered service the same year, carrying package freight between Buffalo and Chicago, Illinois, also making stops in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Gladstone, Michigan. Prior to her sinking, Cayuga was involved in two accidents. In the first in 1890, when she went aground in a gale just outside of Buffalo harbour; six tugboats pulled her free that same day. The second accident occurred in 1891, when Cayuga was involved in a collision with the package freighter Delaware near Cheboygan, Michigan.
On the morning of May 10, 1895, Cayuga while bound for Buffalo with a cargo of oats, flour and general merchandise. A thick fog hung over Lake Michigan. As Cayuga neared Ile Aux Galets, her crew spotted the lights of the downbound wooden freighter Joseph L. Hurd. At 4:00 or 4:30 a.m., Joseph L. Hurd struck Cayuga on her starboard side, tearing a hole in her hull; Joseph L. Hurd lost her bow, but was kept afloat by her cargo, while Cayuga sank 25 minutes later. The passing freighter Manola rescued the crews of the two vessels.
Diving & visiting
The day after Cayuga sank, the Chicago Tribune stated that:Among practical marine men, it was believed that the steamer [Cayuga] could ultimately be got afloat again, but it was thought the expense would amount to nearly all she was worth. The work must be done with pontoons, and will be a long, tedious job.
The first expedition attempting to locate Cayuga on May 13, 1895 was cancelled due to a gale. Several people searched for Cayuga after she sank. Five days after the incident, Captain Cyrus H. Sinclair of the Chicago-based C.A. McDonald & Company spent a day unsuccessfully searching for her.
The wreck of Cayuga was re-discovered in spring 1969 by John Steele and Gene Turner of Illinois. Her wreck rests with a 35° port list in 102 feet (31 m) of water at the lake bottom, and 75 feet (23 m) to her deck, southwest of Grays Reef Light, near Ile Aux Galets. Her cabins no longer exist. The wreck is partially collapsed forward of the engine room with the bow broken away, and lying on its port side. Her stern is intact. The remains of Cayuga's cargo remain in her hold. There are also two spare propeller blades within the hull. Four of the pontoons used during the salvage attempts are still attached to Cayuga's hull and the sunken derrick barge lies off her port side.
Location
- Recorded position: 45.7206, -85.1900 (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 SS Cayuga (revision 1362094479), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Salvage attempts”, “Cayuga today”; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- SS Cedarville 1965 · 41 km
- F. T. Barney 1868 · 108 km
- SS Etruria 109 km
- SS Choctaw 132 km
- Iris 134 km
- Louisiana 1913 · 140 km
Browse more: North America wrecks · wrecks off United States · Steam era