View source for SS Ohio (1875)

{{short description|Wooden steamship wrecked in Lake Huron in 1894}}
{{other ships|List of ships named SS Ohio}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|infobox caption=}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Ohio ship.jpg
|Ship caption=''Ohio'' prior to her sinking
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship name=''Ohio''
|Ship namesake=[[Ohio]]
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States|merchant}}
|Ship operator=*C.W. Elphicke
|Ship ordered= 
|Ship registry={{flag|United States|civil}}
|Ship builder=John F. Squires of [[Huron, Ohio]]
|Ship yard number=30
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=April 1875<ref name="Ohio3">{{cite web |url=https://www.greatlakesvesselhistory.com/histories-by-name/o/ohio/ |title=Ohio |work=Great Lakes Vessel Histories of Sterling Berry |accessdate=24 March 2018}}</ref>
|Ship completed=1875
|Ship identification=U.S. Registry #19438
|Ship acquired=
|Ship in service=May 29, 1875
|Ship out of service=September 26, 1894<ref name="Ohio1"/>
|Ship fate=Struck by the schooner ''Ironton'', and sank on [[Lake Huron]]
|Ship notes= 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Lake freighter]]
|Ship tonnage=*{{GRT|1101.81}}<ref name="Ohio2">{{cite web |url=http://greatlakes.bgsu.edu/vessel/view/004029 |title=Ohio |work=Bowling Green State University |accessdate=24 March 2018}}</ref>
*{{NRT|850}}<ref name="Ohio2"/>
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length={{convert|202.2|ft}}<ref name="Ohio3"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|35|ft}}<ref name="Ohio2"/>
|Ship depth={{convert|18.50|ft}}<ref name="Ohio2"/>
|Ship draft=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship power=1 × [[Scotch marine boiler]]
|Ship propulsion=[[Steam engine|Low pressure condensing engine]]
|Ship speed=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship crew=16
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''SS ''Ohio''''' was a wooden hulled [[Lake freighter|Great Lakes freighter]] that served on the [[Great Lakes]] of North America from her construction in 1875, to her sinking in September 1894 when she collided with the [[schooner]] barge ''Ironton'' which also sank in the collision.<ref name="Ohio1">{{cite web |url=http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/17thunderbay/summaries/final/final.html |title=Two Historic Shipwrecks Discovered in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary |work=Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221121121/http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/17thunderbay/summaries/final/final.html |accessdate=24 March 2018|archive-date=2018-12-21 }}</ref> ''Ironton'' was being towed by the steamer ''Charles J. Kershaw'', which was also towing the schooner [[Moonlight (shipwreck)|''Moonlight'']]. ''Ohio'' was found upright in 2017, over 122 years after her sinking in over 200 feet of water off [[Presque Isle, Michigan]].<ref name="Ohio1"/> In March, 2023, it was announced that ''Ironton'' had been located in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Flesher |first1=John |title=Long-lost ship found in Lake Huron, confirming tragic story |url=https://apnews.com/article/great-lakes-shipwreck-discovery-ironton-91f6db8e3c42d37b2f8ade7b4df0a4bb |access-date=1 March 2023 |work=AP News |agency=Associated Press |date=1 March 2023}}</ref> The researchers who discovered ''Ohio'' plan to nominate her for a listing in the [[National Register of Historic Places]].

==History==
[[File:Ohio2.png|thumb|left|Construction of ''Ohio'']]
''Ohio'' (Official number 19438) was an early wooden [[bulk carrier]].<ref name="NOAA">{{cite web |url=https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/nov17/finding-history-two-lost-wrecks-discovered-in-thunder-bay-national-marine-sanctuary.html |title=Finding history: The discovery of two lost shipwrecks in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary |work=Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary |accessdate=24 March 2018}}</ref> She was built in 1875 by Ohio resident John F. Squires of [[Huron, Ohio]].<ref name="detroitnews">{{cite web |url=https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/researchers-discover-remains-of-2-century-old-shipwrecks-in-lake-huron |title=Two century-old shipwrecks discovered in Lake Huron |work=The Detroit News |date=2 September 2017 |accessdate=24 March 2018}}</ref> She was launched in April of 1875.<ref name="Ohio3"/> Her hull was {{convert|202.2|ft|m}} long, her beam was {{convert|35|ft|m}} wide and her cargo hold was {{convert|18.50|ft|m}} deep. She had a [[gross tonnage]] of 1101.81 tons and a [[net tonnage]] of 850.82 tons. She was powered by a [[Compound steam engine|low pressure condensing engine]] which was fueled by a single coal-burning [[Scotch marine boiler]]. She was used to haul [[bulk cargo]]es across the lakes such as [[iron ore]], [[coal]] and [[grain]].<ref name="Ohio3"/>

==Final voyage and sinking==
In September 1894 ''Ohio'' departed [[Duluth, Minnesota]] with a cargo of grain bound for [[Ogdensburg, New York]].<ref name="Ohio1"/> This journey took ''Ohio'' across [[Lake Superior]], through the [[Soo Locks]] into [[Lake Huron]], and past [[Presque Isle Township, Michigan|Presque Isle]] and [[Thunder Bay (Michigan)|Thunder Bay, Michigan]]. While on the Lake Huron leg of her journey ''Ohio'' encountered heavy weather.<ref name="Ohio1"/>

The steamer ''Charles J. Kershaw'' was towing two schooner barges, ''Moonlight'' and ''Ironton''. The three vessels were sailing north in rough weather when they saw ''Ohio'' which was also sailing through rough weather about {{convert|10|mi}} north of Presque Isle.<ref name="Ohio1"/> At the moment when the ships were about to pass each other, the [[hawser]] connecting ''Ironton'' and ''Moonlight'' snapped causing ''Ironton'' to veer off course and smash into the side of ''Ohio''.<ref name="Ohio1"/> Both ''Ohio'' and ''Ironton'' sank in about half an hour. All sixteen crew members from ''Ohio'' got into lifeboats and were picked up by ''Moonlight''. ''Ohio''{{`s}} First Mate was found clinging to a ladder and was later picked up by the ''Kershaw''.<ref name="Ohio1"/> The passing steamer ''Charles Hebard'' picked up two of ''Ironton''{{'s}} crew but five of the schooner's crew perished including Captain Peter Girard.<ref name="Ohio1"/>

==Discovery==
On May 23, 2017, researchers from the [[Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary]] discovered two shipwrecks deep within the waters of Lake Huron, off the coast of [[Presque Isle, Michigan]].<ref name="detroitnews"/> The researchers carried out several investigations between June and August; these investigations confirmed the identities of the steel-hulled steamer [[SS Choctaw|''Choctaw'']] and ''Ohio''. ''Choctaw'' was lost on July 11, 1915 when she collided with the [[canaller|package freighter]] ''Wahcondah''.<ref name="NOAA"/>

Since the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary did not announce the discovery of ''Choctaw'' and ''Ohio'' until September 1, 2017, avocational shipwreck hunters continued to search for ''Choctaw'' through the summer.<ref name="D. Fountain">{{cite web|url=https://www.marquette365.com/event/ships-that-go-bump-in-the-night-collisions-off-presque-isle-by-dan-fountain/|title=Ships that go Bump in the Night: Collisions off Presque Isle by Dan Fountain|work=Marquette 265|access-date=January 13, 2019}}</ref> While searching for ''Choctaw'', independent researchers Dan Fountain and Kurt Fosburg found ''Ohio'' on July 15, 2017, using a modified fishfinder. On July 30 Fountain returned to the site with veteran shipwreck hunters Ken Merryman and Jerry Eliason to image the wreck with Eliason’s homemade hi-definition drop video system, positively identifying the wreck as ''Ohio.''<ref name="Dan Fountain">{{cite web|url=http://www.miningjournal.net/life/2017/09/sunken-treasure/|title=Sunken Treasure|work=The Mining Journal|access-date=January 13, 2019}}</ref>

{{Blockquote
|text="These remarkable discoveries remind us that the mystery is still out there – there are still shipwrecks to find. Our team is excited to further document ''Ohio'' and ''Choctaw'', and tell their stories. We’ll keep looking for other wrecks and working to ensure that these treasures are preserved for future generations."
|author=Jeff Gray, the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary's superintendent.<ref name="NOAA"/> 
}}

{{Blockquote
|text="''Ohio'' and ''Choctaw'' are remarkable examples of two very significant Great Lakes watercraft, and both are beautifully preserved. Virtually all of their rigging and deck hardware is intact, and there is clear evidence of the accidents that claimed both vessels. Talk about keeping history alive!"
|author=Charles Patrick Labadie, a maritime historian.<ref name="NOAA"/> 
}}

{{Blockquote
|text= "These discoveries are a valuable addition to our Great Lakes maritime history. Even at their great depth, non-divers and divers alike can learn more about the shipwrecks’ stories through sanctuary efforts to document and preserve the sites."
|author=Steve Kroll, sanctuary Advisory Council member.<ref name="NOAA"/> 
}}

==''Ohio'' today==
The wreck of ''Ohio'' lies completely preserved in nearly 300 feet of cold fresh water. She sits upright with a list to starboard with her foremast still standing. Her wooden pilothouse with its double helm wheel is completely intact. Near the stern, the mizzen mast is still standing with its topmast broken off.<ref name="Ohio1"/> The researchers who discovered her plan to nominate her for a listing in the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="NOAA"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|author=Great Lakes Register|title=Great Lakes Register for the Construction and Classification of Steel and Wooden Vessels. Volume 18|location=Cleveland|publisher=Great Lakes Register|date=1916|hdl=2027/mdp.39015057176235}}
* Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping (1902) [https://books.google.com/books?id=R0EgAQAAMAAJ Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping]
* {{cite book |isbn=0-8028-7010-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MsrCAItQ9FIC |title=Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals |first=William |last=Ratigan |location=[[Grand Rapids, Michigan]] |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=1977}}

{{1894 shipwrecks}}

{{coord|45.513134|-83.503663|type:landmark_region:US-MI|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohio, SS}}
[[Category:1875 ships]]
[[Category:Great Lakes freighters]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Lake Huron]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1894]]
[[Category:Ships built in Ohio]]
[[Category:Ships sunk in collisions]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Michigan coast]]
[[Category:Shipwreck discoveries by Jerry Eliason, Ken Merryman and Kraig Smith]]
[[Category:Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary]]
[[Category:Wreck diving sites in the United States]]