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: Roumania
• Official Number: 110733
• Year Built: 1887
• Builder: James Davidson, West Bay City, Michigan
• Original Owner: James Corrigan & Company, Cleveland, Ohio
• Vessel Type: Wooden-hulled bulk freighter
• Hull Materials: Wood with steel boilerhouse, diagonal steel straps, steel-reinforced hold beams
• Number of Decks: 1
• Propulsion: Screw, triple-expansion steam engine
• Engine: 21 in, 32 in, and 54 in cylinders with 42 in stroke, rated 900 HP at 85 RPM, built by Samuel F. Hodge Works, Detroit
• Boilers: Two 10 × 11′6″ Scotch boilers at 150 PSI, built by Lake Erie Boiler Works, Buffalo, NY
• Dimensions:
  • Length: 83.2 m (273 ft)
  • Beam: 11.9 m (39 ft)
  • Depth: 6.9 m (22.5 ft)
• Gross Tonnage: 1,837 tons
• Net Tonnage: 1,441 tons
• Number of Masts: 3
• Final Location: Southeast Shoal, Lake Erie
• Date Lost: 1930
• Disposition: Foundered while under tow from Ecorse, Michigan to Cleveland, Ohio

Vessel Type

The Roumania was a wooden bulk freighter, of the “Davidson type” built with robust wooden framing strengthened by steel knees, diagonal steel straps, and steel bracing to handle iron ore, coal, and grain on the Great Lakes.

Description

Roumania was among the largest wooden freighters of her day, built with one deck and a powerful triple-expansion steam engine — the first such engine installed in a lake bulk freighter. Her hull featured steel-reinforced boiler rooms, steam pumps, and heavy framing to resist hogging stresses. Her deck layout included a forward pilothouse, large open holds with hatches for bulk cargo, and a stern machinery space with a scotch boiler plant.

History

• May 1887: Launched at West Bay City, Michigan.
• May 20, 1887: First enrolled at Port Huron, Michigan.
• 1888: Towed the barge F.A. Georger as consort.
• 1889, March 12: Sold to W.C. Richardson, Cleveland, Ohio.
• October 1889: Collided with schooner David Yance in the St. Marys River, damaging both.
• April 19, 1890: Lost steering, crashing into Clark’s Dock, Sarnia, Ontario, demolishing a warehouse.
• 1894–1905: Acted as a towing mother ship to barges J.J. Barlum and Crete.
• 1916–1917: Passed through several owners in Cleveland and Duluth.
• 1918: Original triple expansion engine removed and placed in Sturgeon Bay. She received a compound engine from George H. Van Vleck, with 400 HP at 72 RPM.
• 1919: Sold to William Nicholson, Detroit.
• September 28, 1928: Official documents surrendered at Detroit, marked as “dismantled”.
• 1930: While being towed from Ecorse to Cleveland as a stripped hull, she foundered on Southeast Shoal, Lake Erie, and was lost.

Final Disposition

Roumania was being towed as a stripped hull in 1930 when she sank in Lake Erie, ending a 43-year working life.

Located By & Date Found

No modern dive survey confirms the hull’s exact resting place, and it is believed to lie in deep water off Southeast Shoal, Lake Erie.

Notmars & Advisories

None noted.

Resources & Links

• Maritime History of the Great Lakes
• Great Lakes Vessels Online Index – Bowling Green State University
• David Swayze Shipwreck File

Conclusion

Roumania is historically important as the first Great Lakes bulk freighter fitted with a triple-expansion steam engine, marking a major transition in inland shipping technology. Her long and busy career, punctuated by collisions, rebuildings, and engine replacements, demonstrates the durability and adaptability of Davidson-built wooden freighters. Though her final resting place is uncertain, her story represents the end of the large wooden freighter era on the Great Lakes.

Keywords, Categories, Glossary Terms

• wooden bulk freighter
• triple expansion engine
• Southeast Shoal
• Lake Erie shipwreck
• James Davidson
• Great Lakes
• steamship
• 19th-century
• foundered

roumania-us-110733 1930-07-06 19:05:00