A.L. Hopkins
Steam Bulk Freighter · United States · Lost October 1911; waterlogged October 2, crew rescued October 3, still afloat October 17; final sinking date unknown · Apostle Islands & Western Lake Superior
Waterlogged in an October 1911 squall, A.L. Hopkins drifted on Lake Superior for two weeks after the crew was rescued.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built at Marine City, Michigan, in 1880 as a package freighter, A.L. Hopkins was also known as Amos L. Hopkins. She was converted to bulk-freighter service at Cleveland in 1910. Heavy seas and a squall waterlogged her late on October 2, 1911, after loading lumber and lath at Bayfield. The crew was rescued by Dinkey on October 3, but the partially submerged vessel continued drifting and was last sighted by William F. Corey on October 17. The institutional account places the wreck east of Michigan Island without establishing its final sinking date or a confirmed position.
Vessel
- 1880
- US registry no. 105937
- Morley & Hill Shipyard
- Marine City, Michigan
- Wood
- 174 ft
- 31.5 ft
- 639 gross tons
- Steam, screw
- Lawrence Brown
Loss
- October 1911; waterlogged October 2, crew rescued October 3, still afloat October 17; final sinking date unknown
- Storm
- Lake Superior east of Michigan Island; final sinking position unconfirmed
- Lake Superior
- Bayfield, Wisconsin
- 360,000 feet of lumber and 300,000 feet of lath
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Institutional account places wreckage east of Michigan Island without a confirmed survey or present-condition description.
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Michigan Island, Apostle Islands, Wisconsin
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (86/100)
Final sinking date, confirmed wreck position, depth and numerical crew or casualty totals are not established.
Wisconsin Shipwrecks — Wisconsin Sea Grant and Wisconsin Historical Society — A.L. Hopkins
Full construction table, service history, final voyage and present-condition narrative; earlier recovery, final-loss chronology and source conflicts distinguished.
