City Of Glasgow – Lake Michigan Freighter Shipwreck (1917)

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Name: City of Glasgow
• Type: wooden bulk freighter
• Year Built: 1891
• Builder: West Bay City, Michigan
• Dimensions: Length 297 ft (90.5 m); Beam 41 ft (12.5 m); Depth of hold 20.5 ft (6.25 m)
• Registered Tonnage: 2,002 GT
• Location: Lily Bay, approximately 3 miles north of the Sturgeon Bay Canal, Lake Michigan
• Official Number: 126729
• Original Owners: James Davidson Transportation Co., Buckeye Steamship Co.

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

Large wooden bulk freighter, originally constructed with two decks and later converted into a barge. Designed primarily for ore and coal transport on the upper Great Lakes.

Description

• Hull: Wood
• Length: 297 ft (90.5 m)
• Beam: 41 ft (12.5 m)
• Depth: 20.5 ft (6.25 m)
• Gross Tonnage: 2,002 GT
• Net Tonnage: 1,672 NT
• Propulsion (as built):
  • Type: Screw propeller
  • Engine: Triple-expansion, 20″, 33″, & 54″ × 42″, 1175 hp at 84 rpm
  • Engine Builder: Dry Dock Engine Works, Detroit, MI
  • Boilers: Two scotch boilers, 11.5′ × 131″, 150 psi, by Lake Erie Boiler Works, Buffalo, NY

History

• 1891: Enrolled at Port Huron. Operated by James Davidson Transportation Co., Hampton, MI.
• 1895: Sold to Buckeye Steamship Co., Willoughby Township, Ohio.
• 1890s-1900s: Regularly towed vessels such as Celtic, Aberdeen, Harold, and Abyssinia.
• 1904-1907: Multiple groundings and salvage incidents including Peshtigo Reef and Green Bay.
• 1907, December: Aground off Green Bay; bunkers caught fire and vessel burned to the waterline and sank.
• 1908: Raised by Leathem & Smith Co., machinery removed.
• 1909–10: Converted to a barge (reduced size and tonnage).
• 1911: Re-enrolled as barge at Milwaukee: 196.5 ft (60 m) length, 958 NT.
• 1917, September: Sunk at Leathem & Smith dock at Sturgeon Bay, later refloated.
• 1917, October 6: Final grounding and abandonment in a storm at Lily Bay, Lake Michigan.
• 1922: Registration documents officially surrendered.

Significant Incidents

• Grounded during a storm and subsequently abandoned on October 6, 1917.
• Multiple groundings and salvage incidents throughout its service history.
• Burned to the waterline after a fire in December 1907.

Final Disposition

Went ashore during a storm and was left as a derelict in Lily Bay, north of the Sturgeon Bay Canal. No fatalities were reported. Her remains, largely dismantled or destroyed by weather and salvage operations, are not currently visible or intact as a dive site.

Current Condition & Accessibility

Not known to be located or surveyed in modern wreck registries. Considered a lost or scattered wreckage site due to fire damage, salvage, and prolonged exposure.

Resources & Links

[shotline_reference_links slug=”city-of-glasgow-us-126729″ title=”References & Links”]

The City of Glasgow is a classic example of a late 19th-century wooden bulk freighter repurposed after mechanical obsolescence. With a history of repeated salvage, conversion, and final abandonment, her fate illustrates both the rugged demands of Great Lakes shipping and the eventual decline of wooden freight carriers in the steel-dominated 20th century.