MANHATTAN

The bulk freighter MANHATTAN was built in 1887 in Detroit, MI. This wooden-hulled vessel featured twin stacks and a spar deck. It had diagonal straps on the frame, a steel boiler house, steam pumps, and electric lights. The MANHATTAN was constructed by the Detroit Dry Dock Co. and initially owned by the Inter Ocean Transportation Co. of Milwaukee, WI, with Ira H. Owen and others as owners.

Powered by a screw propulsion system, the MANHATTAN had a for-and-aft compound engine with two cylinders. It had three masts and a single propeller. The engine, built by Dry Dock Engine Works in 1887, produced 980 horsepower at 96 revolutions per minute. The vessel was equipped with two firebox boilers measuring 9’6″ x 15’6″ and operating at 90 pounds of steam, also built by Dry Dock Engine Works in 1887.

Measuring 252.4 feet in length, 38 feet in beam, and 19.4 feet in depth, the MANHATTAN had a gross tonnage of 1545.7 and a net tonnage of 1102.74. It had a carrying capacity of 2,000 tons or approximately 70,000 bushels of cargo.

The final location of the MANHATTAN was Grand Island in Lake Superior. On October 27, 1903, the vessel stranded and subsequently burned. It was carrying 76,000 bushels of wheat from Duluth, MN, to Buffalo, NY, when its steering gear failed, leading to the stranding. The crew was rescued by the tug WARD. In 1910, the wreck was salvaged and removed by Thomas L. Durocher from Sault Saint Marie, MI, although some remnants of the vessel remained.

Throughout its history, the MANHATTAN underwent ownership changes and served various purposes. It was enrolled in Detroit on April 12, 1887. In April 1888, it was owned by the same company but based in Milwaukee, WI, with S. Clement as President. The vessel frequently carried iron ore between Escanaba, MI, and Cleveland, OH. On October 19, 1888, it loaded 1800 tons of ore in just one hour and 15 minutes. In 1897, ownership transferred to David Vance & Co. of Milwaukee, and in 1899, it was owned by J.C. Gilchrist of Cleveland. The MANHATTAN towed the F.A. GEORGER in 1900. By April 18, 1903, it was owned by the Gilchrist Transportation Co. of Mentor, OH, with a homeport in Fairport. However, its final fate came on October 27, 1903, when it was wrecked in Lake Superior.