SS Ira H. Owen

Ira H. Owen before she was sold to the National Steamship Company
History
United States
NameIra H. Owen
Operator
  • Owen Line (1887–1899)
  • National Steamship Company (1899–1905)
Port of registryChicago, Illinois, United States
BuilderGlobe Iron Works Company of Cleveland, Ohio
Yard number14
LaunchedJuly 7, 1887
In service1887
Out of serviceNovember 28, 1905
IdentificationUS official number 100410
FateSank in the Mataafa Storm on Lake Superior
General characteristics
Class and typeLake freighter
Tonnage
Length
  • 278.3 feet (84.8 m) LOA
  • 262 feet (80 m) LBP
Beam39 feet (12 m)
Depth19 feet (5.8 m)
Installed power
Propulsion1 × fixed pitch propeller
Crew19

SS Ira H. Owen was a steel-hulled American lake freighter in service between 1887 and 1905. One of the first steel lake freighters, she was built in 1887 in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Globe Iron Works Company, and was built for the Owen Line of Chicago, Illinois. Early in her career, Ira H. Owen carried iron ore from Escanaba, Michigan. In April 1898, Ira H. Owen was chartered by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. She was sold to the National Steamship Company of Chicago, on December 30, 1899, for whom she frequently carried coal and grain. Throughout her career, Ira H. Owen was involved in multiple accidents and incidents.

On the morning of November 28, 1905, Ira H. Owen left Duluth, Minnesota, with a "light load" of 116,000 bushels of barley bound for Buffalo, New York. As she passed the Apostle Islands, the weather conditions were deteriorating, but her captain opted not to seek shelter. As Ira H. Owen was passing Outer Island, she was hit by the full force of what would become the Mataafa Storm. She was spotted by Captain Alva Keller of the freighter Harold B. Nye, and appeared to be in trouble; Harold B. Nye, however, was unable to assist Ira H. Owen. The snow eventually blocked Ira H. Owen from Captain Keller's view. After the storm had passed, he looked for Ira H. Owen with his binoculars, but was unable to locate her.

On December 1, the freighter Sir William Siemens located wreckage from Ira H. Owen, 12 miles (19.3 km) east of Michigan Island. None of Ira H. Owen's 19 crewmen survived, and her wreck has not been located.