Other Names #
- LEWIS WOODRUFF
The steam screw ARGUS, formerly known as the LEWIS WOODRUFF, was a steel bulk freighter built in 1903 by the American Shipbuilding Co. in Lorain, Ohio. It had an official number of 200211 and measured approximately 416 feet in length, 50 feet in beam, and 28 feet in depth. The vessel had a gross tonnage of 4,707 tons and a net tonnage of 3,380 tons.
In 1913, the LEWIS WOODRUFF was renamed ARGUS and came under the ownership of the Interlake Steamship Co., managed by Pickands, Mather & Co. On November 9, 1913, during the “Big Storm” that ravaged the Great Lakes from November 7 to November 9, the ARGUS was lost in Lake Huron. The vessel was upbound with a cargo of coal at the time of the incident. The storm was one of the largest ever to strike the Great Lakes.
Tragically, all 24 crew members on board the ARGUS, including 1 woman, lost their lives in the storm. The captain of the vessel was Captain Paul Gutch, and the chief engineer was George Zanger. The loss of the ARGUS, along with numerous other vessels, occurred during the Great Storm of 1913.
The location of the loss was off Kincardine, Ontario, in Lake Huron and the wreck of the ARGUS was discovered in 1972. The cargo of coal was valued at $30,000, while the vessel itself was valued at $155,000, resulting in a total loss of $185,000.
Please note that the information provided is based on historical records and may not be exhaustive.
