Shotline Diving

Connecting You to the Depths of the Great Lakes

May Queen (1853)

Explore the wreck of the May Queen, a wooden sidewheel steamer that sank in Lake Michigan in 1868, reflecting the challenges of 19th-century Great Lakes navigation.

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

  • Name: May Queen
  • Type: Wooden sidewheel steamer
  • Year Built: 1853
  • Builder: Eli Bates, Trenton, Michigan
  • Dimensions: Length: 217.8 ft (66.4 m); Beam: 29.9 ft (9.1 m); Depth of hold: 11 ft (3.4 m)
  • Registered Tonnage: 688 29/95 tons (old measurement)
  • Location: Off Kalamazoo, Lake Michigan
  • Original Owners: John Owen et al., Detroit, Michigan; Eber Ward; John W. Strong et al.; Albert E. Goodrich; Galen Eastman
  • Number of Masts: 1

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

A large wooden-hulled sidewheel passenger and package freight steamer typical of the 1850s Great Lakes fleet, designed to carry both passengers and bulk cargo, with substantial engine power for the era.

Description

May Queen featured a single-deck, broad-beam layout with large side paddlewheels driven by a walking beam engine. Her tall vertical beam engine was among the largest on the lakes, delivering about 450 horsepower. She included typical accommodations of the time, with passenger cabins above the machinery space, and broad deck space for freight.

History

  • March 16, 1853: Launched at Trenton, Michigan; began service Detroit–Cleveland.
  • June 25, 1853: Enrolled at Detroit.
  • September 29, 1853: Broke both shafts and suffered machinery damage.
  • May 24, 1858: Collided with another vessel at Detroit.
  • November 23, 1858: Broke machinery near Point Pelee, Lake Erie.
  • 1859: Rebuilt.
  • August 21, 1860: Collision with schooner Preble at Bar Point, Lake Erie.
  • August 1862: Collision with schooner Altair at Little Point, Lake Erie.
  • May 1864: Owned by Eber Ward.
  • May 4, 1864: Sold to John W. Strong et al., Detroit.
  • June 1865: Owned by Albert E. Goodrich, Chicago, Illinois; remeasured at 220 × 28.3 × 11.5 ft, 694 gross tons.
  • September 18, 1865: Struck Sheboygan, Wisconsin pier and sank; later raised and repaired at Milwaukee.
  • January 15, 1866: Burned while laid up in winter quarters at Jones Island, Milwaukee.
  • June 1866: Machinery salvaged, later installed in steamer Chicago.
  • September 9, 1867: Sold to Galen Eastman, Grand River, Michigan.
  • October 31, 1867: Hull converted into a lumber barge, operated under tow by steamer New Era on the Chicago and Grand River route.
  • July 27, 1868: Repaired.
  • October 31, 1868: While operating as a lumber barge, waterlogged in Lake Michigan off Kalamazoo and sank.

Significant Incidents

  • September 29, 1853: Broke both shafts and suffered machinery damage.
  • May 24, 1858: Collided with another vessel at Detroit.
  • November 23, 1858: Broke machinery near Point Pelee, Lake Erie.
  • August 21, 1860: Collision with schooner Preble at Bar Point, Lake Erie.
  • August 1862: Collision with schooner Altair at Little Point, Lake Erie.
  • September 18, 1865: Struck Sheboygan, Wisconsin pier and sank; later raised and repaired at Milwaukee.
  • January 15, 1866: Burned while laid up in winter quarters at Jones Island, Milwaukee.

Final Disposition

Abandoned after waterlogging and foundering near Kalamazoo, Lake Michigan, on 31 October 1868.

Current Condition & Accessibility

There is no record of modern archaeological or dive documentation; presumed destroyed or buried in shifting sands.

Resources & Links

[shotline_reference_links slug=”may-queen-1853″ title=”References & Links”]

May Queen was a typical large Great Lakes sidewheeler of the mid-19th century, reflecting the evolution from wooden passenger steamers to later use as barges. Her working life, full of collisions, rebuildings, and final abandonment, is representative of the harsh service conditions on the Great Lakes. She was a product of ambitious steam engineering but eventually succumbed to age and harsh lake weather.

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: May Queen
  • Year Built: 1853
  • Builder: Eli Bates, Trenton, Michigan
  • Master Carpenter: Alvah C. Bovee
  • Original Owner: John Owen et al., Detroit, Michigan
  • Vessel Type: Wooden sidewheel steamer
  • Hull Materials: Wood
  • Number of Decks: 1
  • Number of Masts: 1
  • Propulsion: Sidewheel, vertical beam (walking beam) steam engine
  • Engine: One cylinder, 45 in × 11 ft stroke, 450 HP
  • Boilers: Two, firebox type (9 × 18 ft), 35 lb steam pressure
  • Builder of Machinery: Cuyahoga Steam Boiler Works, Cleveland, Ohio (some sources: Fletcher & Company, Hoboken, NJ, or DeGraff & Kendrick)
  • Sidewheels: 9.1 m (29′8″) diameter, 2.4 m (8′) wide
  • Dimensions:
    • Length: 66.4 m (217.8 ft)
    • Beam: 9.1 m (29.9 ft)
    • Depth: 3.4 m (11 ft)
  • Tonnage: 688 29/95 tons (old measurement)
  • Final Location: Off Kalamazoo, Lake Michigan
  • Date Lost: 31 October 1868
  • Final Cargo: Lumber

Vessel Type

A large wooden-hulled sidewheel passenger and package freight steamer typical of the 1850s Great Lakes fleet, designed to carry both passengers and bulk cargo, with substantial engine power for the era.

Description

May Queen featured a single-deck, broad-beam layout with large side paddlewheels driven by a walking beam engine. Her tall vertical beam engine was among the largest on the lakes, delivering about 450 horsepower. She included typical accommodations of the time, with passenger cabins above the machinery space, and broad deck space for freight.

History

  • March 16, 1853: Launched at Trenton, Michigan; began service Detroit–Cleveland.
  • June 25, 1853: Enrolled at Detroit.
  • September 29, 1853: Broke both shafts and suffered machinery damage.
  • May 24, 1858: Collided with another vessel at Detroit.
  • November 23, 1858: Broke machinery near Point Pelee, Lake Erie.
  • 1859: Rebuilt.
  • August 21, 1860: Collision with schooner Preble at Bar Point, Lake Erie.
  • August 1862: Collision with schooner Altair at Little Point, Lake Erie.
  • May 1864: Owned by Eber Ward.
  • May 4, 1864: Sold to John W. Strong et al., Detroit.
  • June 1865: Owned by Albert E. Goodrich, Chicago, Illinois; remeasured at 220 × 28.3 × 11.5 ft, 694 gross tons.
  • September 18, 1865: Struck Sheboygan, Wisconsin pier and sank; later raised and repaired at Milwaukee.
  • January 15, 1866: Burned while laid up in winter quarters at Jones Island, Milwaukee.
  • June 1866: Machinery salvaged, later installed in steamer Chicago.
  • September 9, 1867: Sold to Galen Eastman, Grand River, Michigan.
  • October 31, 1867: Hull converted into a lumber barge, operated under tow by steamer New Era on the Chicago and Grand River route.
  • July 27, 1868: Repaired.
  • October 31, 1868: While operating as a lumber barge, waterlogged in Lake Michigan off Kalamazoo and sank.

Final Disposition

Abandoned after waterlogging and foundering near Kalamazoo, Lake Michigan, on 31 October 1868.

Located By & Date Found

There is no record of modern archaeological or dive documentation; presumed destroyed or buried in shifting sands.

Notmars & Advisories

None noted.

Resources & Links

Conclusion

May Queen was a typical large Great Lakes sidewheeler of the mid-19th century, reflecting the evolution from wooden passenger steamers to later use as barges. Her working life, full of collisions, rebuildings, and final abandonment, is representative of the harsh service conditions on the Great Lakes. She was a product of ambitious steam engineering but eventually succumbed to age and harsh lake weather.

Keywords, Categories, Glossary Terms

wooden sidewheel steamer • Lake Michigan • lumber trade • shipwreck • 19th-century Great Lakes • Kalamazoo • walking beam engine

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