Shotline Diving

Connecting You to the Depths of the Great Lakes

William Rudolph US 807662

Explore the remains of the William Rudolph, a wooden-hulled steam freighter abandoned in 1913, once vital to the lumber trade on Lake Michigan.

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

  • Name: William Rudolph
  • Type: wooden-hulled steam screw freighter
  • Year Built: 1880
  • Builder: R. J. Kandt, Mount Clemens, Michigan
  • Dimensions: Length 145 ft (44.2 m); Beam 23.6 ft (7.2 m); Depth of hold 9 ft (2.74 m)
  • Registered Tonnage: 267.89 gt
  • Location: 12th Street area, Racine Harbor, WI
  • Coordinates: N 42° 44.018′ / W 087° 46.939′
  • Official Number: 80762
  • Original Owners: Camerin Lumber Co.
  • Number of Masts: 2 masts (likely schooner-barge rig for auxiliary sail use)

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

A wooden-hulled steam screw freighter, likely a steam barge or small package freighter typical of the Great Lakes lumber trade of the 1880s. Two masts suggest that she may have been rigged for auxiliary sail, a common feature for fuel conservation.

Description

  • Primary Function: Lumber and light bulk freight service on Lake Michigan
  • Power Plant: Single screw steam engine; auxiliary schooner rig (2 masts)
  • Construction: White oak and pine framing with copper/iron fastenings; deck likely planked for open cargo.
  • Tonnage & Role: 267.89 gross tons, classified as a medium-sized lumber steamer capable of towing or carrying deck loads.

History

  • Built for Great Lakes freight trade, possibly as part of Camerin Lumber Co.’s fleet out of Milwaukee.
  • Operated circa 1880–1913 in Lake Michigan’s lumber transport corridor, moving timber from northern ports (Green Bay, Door County) to Milwaukee and Chicago.
  • No recorded major accidents prior to abandonment; her last federal enrollment was surrendered in Milwaukee on November 15, 1913, marking her as “Total Loss”/Abandoned.

Significant Incidents

  • Date of Loss: 1913
  • Location: 12th Street area, Racine Harbor, WI
  • Cause: Abandonment, likely due to age, deterioration, and lack of economic viability after 33 years in service.
  • Casualties: None recorded
  • Type of Loss: Harbor abandonment; not a sinking event

Final Disposition

Historic notes suggest that many aging wooden steam barges were abandoned in harbor shallows during this period, often stripped of machinery and left to deteriorate.

Current Condition & Accessibility

  • This vessel’s remains were likely visible or partially submerged in 1913, but no modern diver or sonar surveys confirm its survival as a wreck.
  • Given the harbor disposal, the hull was likely dismantled or silted over in the Racine waterfront area.

Resources & Links

References are being reviewed for this wreck.

This small lumber steamer represents a class of Great Lakes steam barges that bridged the sail-to-steam transition. Her end as a harbor abandonment illustrates the fate of many aging wooden hulls rendered obsolete by steel freighters and changing trade demands in the early 20th century.