Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name: Contraband
- Type: Sidewheel Steamer
- Year Built: 1864
- Builder: George Halbert
- Dimensions: Length 72.2 ft (22.0 m); Beam 16.2 ft (4.94 m); Depth of hold 4.5 ft (1.37 m)
- Registered Tonnage: 48 24/95 tons initially; 69.95 gross tons (revised 1867)
- Depth at Wreck Site: 1.37 m / 4.5 ft
- Location: Lake Michigan
- Official Number: 5407
- Original Owners: Cutler, Whitbeck & Co., Chicago, IL
- Number of Masts: 0 (steam-only river vessel)
Wreck Location Map
Vessel Type
Sidewheel steamer designed for river and nearshore work. Classified as a “scow-bottom” steamer — a flat-bottomed hull suited to shallow rivers and harbor operations. It was likely used for towing, lumber work, and light transport.
Description
- Hull Material: Wood
- Hull Configuration: Scow-bottom riverboat
- Number of Decks: 1
- Length: 22.0 m (72.2 ft)
- Beam: 4.94 m (16.2 ft)
- Depth: 1.37 m (4.5 ft)
- Tonnage (Old Style): 48 24/95 tons initially
- Revised Tonnage (1867):
- Length: 22.9 m (75 ft)
- Beam: 4.88 m (16 ft)
- Depth: 1.52 m (5 ft)
- Gross Tons: 69.95
- Net Tons: 36.49
History
- 1864, Jun 13: First enrolled in Chicago, IL. Operated likely in the lumber trade and cargo towing along rivers and southern Lake Michigan ports.
- 1867, Sep 5: Owned by Chicago Lumbering Company (J.S. Reig, president); remeasured.
- 1873: Listed as “lost” in one source with no explanation. No known incident or confirmed date of wrecking, abandonment, or destruction.
Significant Incidents
No significant incidents are recorded beyond the vessel’s loss in 1873.
Final Disposition
The vessel is recorded as lost by 1873. There are no surviving contemporary accounts confirming whether it sank, was scrapped, destroyed by fire, or abandoned. No confirmed wreck site is associated with the Contraband.
Current Condition & Accessibility
No confirmed wreckage or survey has located the Contraband.
Resources & Links
[shotline_reference_links slug=”contraband-us-5407″ title=”References & Links”]
Contraband represents a class of modest but essential sidewheelers serving industrial needs in the post-Civil War Midwest. Its scow-bottom design made it versatile in shallow inland waterways. Though small and largely forgotten, it was emblematic of early industrial maritime activity out of Chicago. Its undocumented loss is not unusual for small craft of this era.
Legacy Notes & Full Historical Record
This section preserves the original unedited Shotline content for this wreck so that no historical detail is lost as we transition to the new logbook format.
Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name(s): Contraband
- Official Number: 5407
- Year Built: 1864
- Built At: Chicago, Illinois
- Builder: George Halbert
- Original Owner(s): Cutler, Whitbeck & Co., Chicago, IL (including John S. Reed, A. E. Cutler, John H. Whitbeck, George Whitbeck)
- Final Status: Noted as lost, 1873 (details unknown)
Vessel Type
Sidewheel steamer designed for river and nearshore work. Classified as a “scow-bottom” steamer — a flat-bottomed hull suited to shallow rivers and harbor operations. It was likely used for towing, lumber work, and light transport.
Description
- Hull Material: Wood
- Hull Configuration: Scow-bottom riverboat
- Number of Decks: 1
- Length: 22.0 m (72.2 ft)
- Beam: 4.94 m (16.2 ft)
- Depth: 1.37 m (4.5 ft)
- Tonnage (Old Style): 48 24/95 tons initially
- Revised Tonnage (1867):
- Length: 22.9 m (75 ft)
- Beam: 4.88 m (16 ft)
- Depth: 1.52 m (5 ft)
- Gross Tons: 69.95
- Net Tons: 36.49
Power
- Propulsion: Sidewheel
- Engine Type: Not specified in existing records
- Number of Masts: 0 (steam-only river vessel)
History
- 1864, Jun 13: First enrolled in Chicago, IL. Operated likely in the lumber trade and cargo towing along rivers and southern Lake Michigan ports.
- 1867, Sep 5: Owned by Chicago Lumbering Company (J.S. Reig, president); remeasured.
- 1873: Listed as “lost” in one source with no explanation. No known incident or confirmed date of wrecking, abandonment, or destruction.
Final Disposition
The vessel is recorded as lost by 1873. There are no surviving contemporary accounts confirming whether it sank, was scrapped, destroyed by fire, or abandoned. No confirmed wreck site is associated with the Contraband.
Located By & Date Found
No confirmed wreckage or survey has located the Contraband.
Notmars & Advisories
None noted.
Resources & Links
- C. Patrick Labadie Collection
- Lytle List of Merchant Vessels
- H. G. Runge Collection, Milwaukee Public Library
- John E. Poole Notes, Bowling Green State University
Conclusion
Contraband represents a class of modest but essential sidewheelers serving industrial needs in the post-Civil War Midwest. Its scow-bottom design made it versatile in shallow inland waterways. Though small and largely forgotten, it was emblematic of early industrial maritime activity out of Chicago. Its undocumented loss is not unusual for small craft of this era.
Keywords, Categories, Glossary Terms
- Sidewheel steamer
- River steamer
- Scow-bottom vessel
- Chicago lumber industry
- Great Lakes towboats
- Unknown loss
- Inland waterways vessel