AH-WR-1815

Belle

Steam Screw Vessel · United States · Lost 1869 · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan

A wooden screw steamer burned off Port Washington in November 1869; two people drowned during its abandonment.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Belle was built by D.M. Hagadon at Port Huron, Michigan, and launched on July 9, 1860. It initially served the Cleveland–Black River–Kelly Island run before moving to the Manitowoc–Milwaukee route. On November 20, 1869, it was carrying wood, shingles and lumber from Milwaukee to Manitowoc when cabin woodwork around the smokestack caught fire near Port Washington. The captain and one crew member drowned during abandonment; the brig C.J. Hutchinson rescued the survivors, and Belle was completely destroyed.

Vessel

Built: 1860
Registry: US registry no. 2159
Builder: D.M. Hagadon
Yard: Port Huron, Michigan
Material: Wood
Length: 90.5 ft
Beam: 19.6 ft
Tonnage: 235
Propulsion: Steam, screw
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: November 20, 1869
Cause: Fire
Location: Near Port Washington, Wisconsin, about three miles from land
Water: Lake Michigan
Voyage: Milwaukee, Wisconsin → Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Cargo: 30 cords of wood, 53,000 shingles and 4,000–5,000 feet of hardwood lumber
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 2
Master: Not established