SS Ira H. Owen

The SS Ira H. Owen was a Great Lakes freighter that sank near Outer Island in the Apostle Islands, Lake Superior, in the Mataafa Storm on November 28, 1905. She was loaded with 116,000 bushels of barley which was considered a "light load". The 19 crew of the Ira H. Owen's died in the vessel's sinking.[1][2] The wreck of the Ira H. Owen has never been found, but some people claim she reappears as a ghost ship.[3]

Ira H. Owen before she was sold to the National Steamship Company
History
United States
Name: Ira H. Owen
Operator:
  • Owen Line (1887-1899)
  • National Steamship Company (1899-1905)
Port of registry:  United States, Chicago, Illinois
Builder: Globe Iron Works Company
Yard number: 14
Launched: July 7, 1887
Completed: 1887
In service: 1887
Out of service: 1905
Identification: U.S. Registry #100410
Fate: Wrecked in the Mataafa Storm on 28 November 1905
Status: Missing
General characteristics
Class and type: Bulk freighter
Tonnage:
Length: 278.3 ft (84.8 m)
Beam: 39 ft (12 m)
Depth: 19 ft (5.8 m)
Propulsion: Triple expansion steam engine
Crew: 19
Notes: The Ira H. Owen was one of the first steel-hulled Great Lakes freighters

History

The Ira H. Owen was a product of the Globe Iron Works Company of Cleveland, Ohio. She was launched on July 7, 1887 as hull #14 and entered service on July 28, 1887. She was one of the first steel-hulled lake freighter to sail on the Great Lakes. She had a length of 278.3 feet (84.8 m), a beam of 39 feet (12 m) and a height of 19 feet (5.8 m).[4] She had a gross register tonnage of 1753.22 tons and a net register tonnage of 1497.77 tons.[5] She also had two smokestacks.

On November 29, the Ira H. Owen ran aground near the Soo Locks.[6] In June 1892, the vessel collided with the two-masted schooner Belle Brown in a heavy fog about sixteen miles (26 km) off Ludington, Michigan. On July 3, 1893 she was holed by an obstruction off Cedar Point above Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and was beached. Ira H. Owen was later refloated, repaired and returned to service.[7] On July 20, 1897, the Ira H. Owen collided with the steamer Susquehanna in heavy fog off Presque Isle Point, Lake Huron. Both the Ira H. Owen and Susquehanna sustained damage, $10,000 damage for Ira H. Owen.[8] In December 1903, the Ira H. Owen suffered a fire in her boiler room. She was bound from Manitowoc, Wisconsin to Buffalo, New York with a load of grain at the time the fire occurred. She was later towed to Sturgeon Bay for repairs by the tugboats Ann Arbor No. 1, George Burnham and Hyacinth. In October 1904, the Ira H. Owen was fully loaded with coal when she collided with the Henry W. Oliver in the St. Marys River.

Final voyage

Author James M. Keller wrote about the final voyage of the Ira H. Owen in his book The "Unholy Apostles":

On the morning of November 28, 1905 the Ira H. Owen left Duluth downbound with a load of barley. The weather was worsening as she passed the Apostles, but Captain Hulligan decided against seeking shelter at this point. As she was steaming by outer Island the furious gale picked up and started pounding the Owen mercilessly. Enormous seas swelled, temperatures dropped below zero, hurricane force winds whipped the driven snow -- and the Ira H. Owen found herself in open water with no place of refuge in sight. Desperately the brave crew fought the wild seas as best they could. At the height of the terrible storm Captain Alva Keller of the steamer Harold B. Nye spotted the Owen. She appeared to be in dire straits and was constantly blowing distress signals, but the 380 foot Nye was in so much trouble herself that she couldn't possibly lend assistance. The dense snow squall then descended upon the Owen, completely blocking her from Keller's view. The Nye continued to ride out the monstrous waves for two hours when slowly, the squall lifted and faint visibility was restored. Keller immediately grabbed his binoculars and pointed them in the direction where he last sighted the Owen. Anxiously, tensely, he scanned the water, but saw nothing. The Ira H. Owen had vanished.[9][10]

Wreck

Although her wreck has not been located, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society the wreck of the Ira H. Owen most likely lies in deep water off Outer Island in the Apostles.[11]

References
  1. "Owen, Ira H." Great Lakes Vessel History. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  2. "Mixstory 1905". Ric Mixter. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  3. "The Mataafa Blow: The Stormy Horror of 1905". Lake Superior Magazine. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  4. "Owen, Ira H." Bowling Green State University. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  5. "Ira H. Owen (1887)". Wisconsin Shipwrecks. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  6. "Owen, Ira H.; 1887; Bulk Freighter; US100410". Great Lakes Maritime Database. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  7. "Marine news of 1893" (PDF). Marsh Collection Society. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  8. "Annual report of the Supervising Inspector-general Steamboat-inspection Service, Year ending June 30, 1898". Washington: Government Printing Office. 1898. p. 67. Retrieved 7 April 2020 – via Haithi Trust.
  9. Keller, James M. The Unholy Apostles. ISBN 0-933577-001.
  10. "Ira H. Owen (Propeller)". Maritime History of the Great Lakes. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  11. "Wisconsin's Historic Shipwrecks-An Overview and Analysis of Locations for a State/Federal Partnership with the National Marine Sanctuary Program" (PDF). Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
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