PEWABIC

1 min read

Steamer
165ffw 55m
200ft Length
Thunder Bay,
N44°57.890′ W83° 06.236′

The PEWABIC was a wooden propeller ship that met a tragic fate on August 9, 1865. Built in 1863 by Peck & Masters in Cleveland, the vessel measured 200 feet and had a tonnage of 997. It primarily served as a passenger and package freight carrier. On that fateful day, the PEWABIC collided with its sister ship, the Meteor, off Thunder Bay, Michigan, approximately 7 miles from Alpena. The ships were passing close to each other, possibly to exchange mail and news, when the PEWABIC unexpectedly cut across the Meteor’s bow, leading to an unavoidable collision. The impact caused a large hole in the port bow of the PEWABIC, causing it to sink rapidly. Tragically, at least 33 passengers and crew members lost their lives in the accident. Despite subsequent salvage attempts, the valuable copper cargo was left untouched, but the ship’s cabins were destroyed.

The loss of the PEWABIC was a result of poor decisions rather than adverse weather conditions. The sister ships regularly crossed paths between Lakes Superior and Erie, engaging in exchanges of news and mail. However, on that calm evening in August, the wheelsman of the PEWABIC turned the vessel into the path of the oncoming Meteor. The Meteor’s bow struck the PEWABIC, inflicting a massive gash in its side. Some passengers managed to leap onto the Meteor, but the PEWABIC quickly disappeared beneath the waves.

While the Meteor rescued many of the estimated 150 passengers, the tragedy claimed the lives of at least 35 individuals, making it one of Thunder Bay’s worst maritime disasters. Today, the PEWABIC remains at the bottom of the lake, serving as a gravesite and a silent memorial to those who perished in the sinking and subsequent salvage attempts.

Throughout its history, the PEWABIC had undergone several changes and salvage operations. In 1880, salvage dives began, leading to the gradual stripping of the ship’s cargo and fittings. In 1897, a salvage project employed dynamite and a diving bell to retrieve thousands of pounds of pure copper from the wreck. The vessel was enrolled in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 6, 1863, and was later measured in Cleveland on May 8, 1865, with dimensions of 198 x 31 x 20.6 feet and a gross tonnage of 979.07. On May 9, 1865, its home port was changed to Detroit, Michigan. However, its tragic sinking on Lake Huron marked one of the worst disasters in the history of the Great Lakes.