Evergreen City US 7240

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Name: Evergreen City
• Type: Wooden screw propeller, package freighter
• Year Built: 1856
• Builder: Peck & Masters, Cleveland, Ohio
• Dimensions: Length: 192.5 ft (58.6 m); Beam: 27.9 ft (8.5 m); Depth of hold: 12.1 ft (3.7 m)
• Registered Tonnage: 624 28/95 tons (old style)
• Location: Buffalo, New York, Lake Erie
• Official Number: 7240
• Original Owners: J.F. Kirkland & James Ball, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
• Number of Masts: 1

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

Wooden two-deck screw-propeller package freighter, designed to carry high-value, barrelled, or packaged general cargo on regular line services across the Great Lakes.

Description

The Evergreen City was a robustly built two-deck wooden freighter with a bluff bow, single low-pressure steam engine, and screw propeller. She was a pioneer in moving large amounts of package freight efficiently, bridging the gap between traditional bulk freighters and modern line steamers.

History

Launched in June 1856 at Cleveland, she was initially placed on the Peoples Line, running between Chicago and Buffalo. She rapidly proved herself in the growing package freight trade.

Chronology highlights include:

• 1858: Chartered to the Collingwood Line for Chicago–Milwaukee–Collingwood service.
• 1859: Overhauled; ownership passed to Peck & Masters, then John Ball of Cleveland.
• 1860: Chartered by Northern Railway of Canada; ran routes to Collingwood, Ontario. Later that year, suffered machinery failure in November.
• 1863: Acquired by Western Transit Co.; rebuilt and remeasured at 797 tons, and served the Erie & Green Bay Line.
• 1865: Again remeasured (193.4 × 28 × 10.7 ft) and returned to Buffalo–Detroit service.
• 1869: Sustained damage during a Lake Erie freshet.
• 1871: Acquired by A.F. Gay & Henry M. Loud of AuSable, Michigan, for lumber tow work.
  • November 18, 1871: Wrecked at Long Point, Lake Erie, carrying lumber-camp supplies.
  • July 12, 1872: Raised and towed to Buffalo for a full rebuild.
  • Converted to a one-deck, one-mast configuration, remeasured at 437.09 net tons.
• 1875: Struck ashore again in November near Point Rowan, freed and proceeded toward Buffalo, only to strand again at Maitland. There, the engine was removed, with plans to convert her to a towed barge.
• Late 1875: Abandoned at Buffalo as beyond economic repair.
• December 18, 1878: Official documents surrendered at Port Huron, Michigan, striking her from enrollment.

Though an 1881 collision report mentions the Evergreen City, it almost certainly referred to her stripped hulk, which still lingered along Buffalo’s waterfront.

Significant Incidents

• November 18, 1871: Wrecked at Long Point, Lake Erie, carrying lumber-camp supplies.
• Late 1875: Abandoned at Buffalo after repeated damage.

Final Disposition

Abandoned at Buffalo, New York, by late 1875 after repeated damage. Officially struck off the U.S. registry in December 1878.

Current Condition & Accessibility

No modern survey has confirmed any surviving remains of the hull. She was likely broken up or buried in fill along Buffalo’s waterfront.

Resources & Links

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The Evergreen City stands as a representative package freighter of the mid-19th century, evolving with repeated repairs, rebuilds, and changes of service to stay competitive. Her long career, despite serious damage in storms and groundings, shows the strength of wooden Great Lakes construction. Ultimately, she could not survive the transition to steel hulls and modern steam engines, and her abandonment in 1875 marked the end of her role in the region’s trade network.