Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name: Miami
- Type: Wooden-hulled propeller bulk freight steambarge
- Year Built: 1888
- Builder: M. Lester, Marine City, Michigan
- Dimensions: 131 ft × 27 ft × 10 ft; 288 GRT, 191 NRT
- Registered Tonnage: 288 GRT, 191 NRT
- Location: Approximately mid-lake, about 48 miles off Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
- Official Number: 91991
Wreck Location Map
Vessel Type
The Miami was a single-screw wooden freight steamer, designed for bulk cargo—likely grain, coal, or similar commodities. As a steambarge, she was built robustly to work alongside barges, offering utility within regional Great Lakes shipping lines.
Description
The Miami was a single-screw wooden freight steamer, designed for bulk cargo—likely grain, coal, or similar commodities. As a steambarge, she was built robustly to work alongside barges, offering utility within regional Great Lakes shipping lines.
History
Served as a regional freight vessel, hauling goods across Lake Huron. Specific tonnage carried on her final voyage isn’t specified, though record lists don’t note fatalities on her sinking.
Significant Incidents
- Date: August 6, 1924
- Location: Approximately mid-lake, about 48 miles off Thunder Bay Island, Michigan—on route to Spragge, Ontario, between Thunder Bay, MI and Burnt Island, ON.
- Incident: A fire erupted aboard—cause undetermined—leading to Miami burning and sinking.
- Aftermath: All crew were rescued by the nearby tug Edna A; no lives lost.
Final Disposition
Likely resides within offshore waters (estimated depth >100 ft); precise coordinates not recorded. Submerged as a burned steamer; remnants possibly include charred hull timbers, machinery, or structural debris.
Current Condition & Accessibility
No documented Notices to Mariners were filed, and no navigational hazards have been linked to the wreck.
Resources & Links
[shotline_reference_links slug=”ss-miami-us-91991″ title=”References & Links”]
Miami’s destruction by fire and sinking without loss of life typifies early 20th-century Great Lakes steam freight emergencies. With its mid-lake location and timber construction, its wreck could yield valuable insights into maritime fire dynamics, wood-steamer design, and crew evacuation practices of the period. A targeted underwater survey may finally locate her remains.
Full Wreck Record — complete historical article, construction details, voyage logs, incident reports, dive conditions, and all research sources.
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