Steamer Appomattox
Historic Shipwreck
Type: Wooden bulk carrier
Built: 1896, Davidson Shipyard, West Bay City, Mich.
Sank: November 2, 1905, stranded
Length: 319’ Beam: 42’
Cargo: Iron ore, coal
Propulsion: Triple-expansion steam engine, propeller
Depth of Wreckage: 20’
Listed on National Register of Historic Places
Just 150 yards from here, in 20 feet of water, lies the Appomattox, the largest wooden steamer ever to sail the Great Lakes, possibly the world. Her builder, Captain James Davidson, pushed the limits of wooden shipbuilding techniques to 320 feet well after steel ships had become the norm, and “Davidson’s Goliaths” competed successfully with their steel counterparts. Powered by a triple-expansion steam engine, the Appomattox could carry 3,000 tons of ore herself and could tow a barge with another 5,000 tons.
On November 2, 1905, the Appomattox and her barge Santiago were loaded with coal and approaching Milwaukee. A blinding mixture of fog and industrial smoke from the city engulfed the vessels, and they ran aground off present-day Atwater Beach. Tugboats quickly pulled the Santiago free, but wrecking crews worked for 13 days to release the Appomattox. Even after jettisoning her cargo, however, they failed to free her. Storms and heavy seas pounded the ship on the bottom, and finally the crew removed everything of value.
Today, large sections of the ship’s bilge, keel, and port-side hull remain intact. Seasonally marked by a Wisconsin Historical Society mooring buoy, the Appomattox is often visible from the surface.
Marker is on N. Lake Dr. 0.1 miles north of E. Capitol Dr., on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
