Pillsbury

1892                                  Pillsbury                                  1934

Steel whaleback bulk and package freight vessel

Built at West Superior WI by American Steel Barge Co., Hull 125
First frames laid Jan 4, 1892, launched June 25, 1992

335’ LOA, 320’ LBP, 42’ beam, 25’ depth
2 decks, 8 hatches @ 24’, coal-fired boilers, triple expansion engine, 1400 IHP

Enrolled at Marquette MI June 21, 1892 (#44)
320.0 x 42.0 x 25.0, 2234.49 GT, 1571.65 NT     US 150587     to:
American Steel Barge Co., Buffalo NY (home port Buffalo NY)

Entered service Aug 17, 1892

Enrolled at Marquette MI Sept 29, 1892 (#23) to Minneapolis, St. Paul & Buffalo Steamship Co., a subsidiary of the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway (the Soo Line)

Sold 1896 to Bessemer Steamship Co., Cleveland OH (home port to Duluth MN) and renamed Henry Cort.

Fleet merged March 1901 into Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Duluth MN, a subsidiary of United States Steel Corporation, A. B. Wolvin, Mgr.

Converted 1909 to 1 deck and arch construction

Sank Dec 17, 1917 in collision with the steamer Midvale near the mouth of the Detroit River, Lake Erie.  No lives lost.  Raised Sept 1918 and towed to Toledo OH, where hull repairs were made by the Toledo Shipbuilding Co., and then to Conneaut OH, where her superstructure was rebuilt and a trunk deck added by the Pittsburgh & Conneaut Dock Co..
Remeasured to 315.9 x 42.3 x 24.2, 2394 GT, 1465 NT

Stranded March 1927 on Colchester Reef, near the location of her earlier sinking.  Abandoned to the underwriters as a constructive total loss.

Sold April 8, 1927 to Lake Ports Shipping & Navigation Co., Detroit MI.  Converted to crane vessel at Lorain OH by American Ship Building Co.

Wrecked Nov 30, 1934 on breakwater off the harbor at Muskegon MI in heavy storm trying to enter the shelter of the harbor.  No lives lost on the vessel but one life was lost on the Coast Guard rescue crew.

Hull scrapped 1935

See history in Scanner Feb 1989 (#171)
Also in Detroit Marine Historian March 1953 (#43)
Also in Great Lakes Ships We Remember p. 146

 

X206

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *