View source for SS Frank O'Connor

{{Short description|Bulk carrier that sank in Lake Michigan}}
{{Infobox NRHP
|name = ''Frank O'Connor'' (bulk carrier)
|image = Frank O'Connor ship.jpg
|caption = The ''Frank O'Connor'' in dock
|location = [[Lake Michigan]] off the coast of [[North Bay, Door County, Wisconsin]]
|locmapin  = Wisconsin
|coordinates = {{coord|45|6|52|N|87|0|44|W|display=inline,title}}
|refnum = 94000656
|added = June 1, 1994
}}

'''SS ''Frank O'Connor''''' was a [[bulk carrier]] that sank in [[Lake Michigan]] off the coast of [[North Bay, Door County, Wisconsin]], United States. In 1994 the shipwreck site was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=89957|title=Steamer Frank O'Connor Historic Shipwreck — Wisconsin's Maritime Trails |publisher=The Historical Marker Database|date=June 16, 2016}}</ref>

==History==
Originally called the ''City of Naples'', the ''Frank O'Connor'' was built in [[West Bay City, Michigan]] in 1892.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wisconsinshipwrecks.org/explore_oconnor_serv.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203051217/http://wisconsinshipwrecks.org/explore_oconnor_serv.cfm |archive-date=2010-12-03 |title=Service History|publisher=Wisconsin Shipwrecks.org|access-date=2012-02-10}} (Archived December 3, 2010)</ref> The vessel was renamed in 1916.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wisconsinshipwrecks.org/explore_oconnor_serv3.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203091717/http://wisconsinshipwrecks.org/explore_oconnor_serv3.cfm |archive-date=2010-12-03 |title=Service History page 3|publisher=Wisconsin Shipwrecks.org|access-date=2012-02-10}} (Archived December 3, 2010)</ref>

On September 29, 1919, ''Frank O'Connor'' left [[Buffalo, New York]] en route to [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]] carrying 3,000 tons of coal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org/explore_oconnor_final.cfm|title=Final Voyage|publisher=Wisconsin Shipwrecks.org|access-date=2012-02-10}}</ref> Three days later, she passed through the [[Straits of Mackinac]] and was expected to make port ahead of schedule. On October 3 at 4:00&nbsp;p.m., a fire broke out in the [[Bow (ship)|bow]]. Roughly an hour later, the ship's steering gear was destroyed by the fire, leaving it drifting in the water about two miles off the coast of [[Cana Island]]. The keeper of the [[Cana Island Light]] had noticed the burning vessel from land and, along with his assistant, was able to tow the ''O'Connor''{{'}}s crew on their lifeboats to shore. A portion of the ''Frank O'Connor''{{'}}s cargo was later recovered, but the ship itself remained lost.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wisconsinshipwrecks.org/explore_oconnor_final2.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203092640/http://wisconsinshipwrecks.org/explore_oconnor_final2.cfm |archive-date=2010-12-03 |title=Final Voyage page 2|publisher=Wisconsin Shipwrecks.org|access-date=2012-02-10}} (Archived December 3, 2010)</ref>

Despite the fire, most of ''Frank O'Connor''{{'}}s machinery remained intact and upright, making it a popular archaeological and recreational site. The ship is owned by the State of Wisconsin and the site is managed by the [[Wisconsin Historical Society]] and the [[Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wisconsinshipwrecks.org/explore_oconnor_today.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203051050/http://wisconsinshipwrecks.org/explore_oconnor_today.cfm |archive-date=2010-12-03 |title=Today page 4|publisher=Wisconsin Shipwrecks.org|access-date=2012-02-10}} (Archived December 3, 2010)</ref>  She lies in {{convert|50|to|67|ft|m}} of water about {{convert|2|mi|km|0}} off Cana Island.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kohl |first=Cris |title=The Great Lakes Diving Guide |location=West Chicago, Ill. |publisher=Seawolf Communications, Inc. |year=2001}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{commonscat|Frank O'Connor (ship, 1892)}}

{{Registered Historic Places}}
{{NRHP Lake Michigan shipwrecks of Wisconsin|state=collapsed}}
{{World's largest wooden ships}}
{{1919 shipwrecks}}
{{Recreational dive sites|wresit}}
{{italic title|string=Frank O'Connor}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frank O'Connor}}
[[Category:1892 ships]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Wisconsin coast]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Door County, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1919]]
[[Category:Ships built by James Davidson]]
[[Category:Great Lakes freighters]]
[[Category:Wreck diving sites in the United States]]