48°41′53″N 86°39′17″W / 48.69806°N 86.65472°W
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Whaleback_Barge_115.jpg) 115 in 1896, in Conneaut, Ohio, with the barge 118 in the background
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| History | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Flag_of_the_United_States_(1896%E2%80%931908).svg){kind=small} United States | |
| Name | 115 |
| Namesake | Her hull number |
| Owner | American Steel Barge Company of Buffalo, New York |
| Port of registry | Buffalo, New York, United States |
| Builder | American Steel Barge Company of Superior, Wisconsin |
| Yard number | 115 |
| Laid down | May 21, 1891 |
| Launched | August 15, 1891 |
| In service | August 25, 1891 |
| Out of service | December 18, 1899 |
| Identification | Registry number US 53268 |
| Fate | Stranded on Pic Island |
| Notes | Last shipwreck to occur on the Great Lakes during the 1800s |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Whaleback barge |
| Tonnage |
|
| Length | 256 feet (78.0 m) |
| Beam | 36 feet (11.0 m) |
| Depth | 18.75 feet (5.7 m) |
| Propulsion | Towed by a steamship |
| Crew | 8 |
115 (also known as Barge 115, No.115, or Whaleback 115) was an American whaleback barge in service between 1891 and 1899. She was built between May and August 1891, in Superior, Wisconsin (or West Superior, Wisconsin) by Alexander McDougall's American Steel Barge Company, for the "McDougall fleet", based in Buffalo, New York. She was one of a class of distinctive, experimental ship designed and built by McDougall. The whalebacks were designed to be more stable in high seas. They had rounded decks, and lacked the normal straight sides seen on traditional lake freighters. 115 entered service on August 25, hauling iron ore from Superior.
In December 1899, while being towed by the whaleback freighter Colgate Hoyt from Two Harbors, Minnesota, for Lake Erie with a load of iron ore, the two vessels encountered a storm. After 40 hours of slow progress across Lake Superior, 115 broke away from Colgate Hoyt at 6:05 a.m., on December 13. Colgate Hoyt searched for her for four hours, but due to the scarcity of fuel on board, she was forced to proceed to Sault Ste. Marie. After drifting around Lake Superior for five days, 115 crashed into Pic Island, near Marathon, Ontario. Her crew made it to shore in a makeshift raft, walking for several days, before being located by crew from the Canadian Pacific Railway.
The wreck of 115 was located in 1980, at a depth of between 40 and 80 feet (12.2 and 24.4 m) of water.