AH-WR-1835

City of Ashland

Sidewheel Steamer · United States · Lost 1887 · Apostle Islands & Western Lake Superior

A wooden sidewheel timber tug burned and sank near Washburn in 1887 while towing logs to Ashland.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

City of Ashland was built at Ashland in 1883 for the Superior Lumber Company. The wooden sidewheeler towed log rafts from the Bad River area to local sawmills. On August 8, 1887, fire broke out behind the pilothouse near Washburn. Four of five crewmen were rescued by Cyclone and S.B. Barker; the vessel burned to the waterline and sank.

Vessel

Built: 1883
Registry: US registry no. 126240
Builder: Doherty
Yard: Ashland Lumber Company's boatyard, Ashland, Wisconsin
Material: Wood
Length: 90 ft
Beam: 20 ft
Tonnage: 84.62 gross tons
Propulsion: Steam, sidewheel
Owners: Superior Lumber Company, Ashland, Wisconsin

Loss

Date: August 8, 1887
Cause: Fire
Location: Within three miles northeast of Washburn, Wisconsin
Water: Lake Superior
Voyage: Bad River area, Wisconsin → Ashland, Wisconsin
Cargo: Towing a raft of logs
Aboard: 5
Lives lost: The narrative records four of five crewmen rescued but does not explicitly state the fifth man's fate; numerical header placeholders are not used.
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Burned to the waterline before sinking; present condition is not established.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Washburn, Wisconsin
Region: Apostle Islands & Western Lake Superior

Named Washburn locality fits the existing region; displayed inventory position not established as surveyed and omitted.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (83/100)

A surveyed wreck position, depth, present condition and the fifth crewman's fate are not established.

Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Sea Grant — Wisconsin Shipwrecks: City of Ashland
Full construction/service/final voyage narrative: 1883 Ashland construction, Doherty, registry 126240, 90 x 20 ft wooden sidewheeler, log towing, August 8 1887 fire northeast of Washburn, four of five rescued, burned to waterline and sank, raft salvage; no vessel salvage indicated. Zero header counters ignored.