The schooner ALVA BRADLEY, with a tonnage of 617 tons, was wrecked on Lake Superior on October 23, 1887. The ship was carrying a cargo of coal at the time of the incident. A severe storm with strong winds and blinding snow caused the vessel to run aground at Shot Point, approximately ten miles from Marquette. Fortunately, the entire crew managed to escape the sinking ship.
After the wreck, efforts were made to rescue the crew of the ALVA BRADLEY. A tug was sent to attempt the rescue but couldn’t get close enough due to the rough conditions. The Portage Canal life-saving crew was then summoned, and they arrived in Marquette with their lifeboat at 10 o’clock on Monday night. Despite suffering from the cold, the lifeboat crew immediately set out to rescue the imperiled crew on the stranded vessel. The rescue mission was successful, and all the crew members were taken off the ALVA BRADLEY at 10 o’clock on Tuesday morning.
Following the incident, the vessel was lightered of considerable coal, and efforts were made to stop a big hole in the ship’s hull using a diver. The condition of the ship’s bottom was reported to be fair, and the water inside the vessel was kept under control with pumps.
The ALVA BRADLEY was built in Cleveland in 1870 and was owned by Bradley of Cleveland. It had a gross tonnage of 649.18 tons and net tonnage of 616.72 tons. The vessel measured 189.5 feet in length, 32.0 feet in width, and 13.9 feet in depth. Despite the wreck and the damages sustained, the ALVA BRADLEY was valued at $25,000.
