AH-WR-1827

Emerald

Sidewheel Steamer · United States · Lost Abandoned sometime after apparently last sailing in 1893; precise abandonment and settling dates unknown. · Apostle Islands & Western Lake Superior

A wooden sidewheel steamer serving the Apostle Islands ended her career abandoned in Ashland Harbor.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Emerald was built by Charles Hinman at Algonac, Michigan, in 1862 as a Great Lakes packet steamer. Brought to Ashland in the 1880s, she towed logs and carried excursionists around the Apostle Islands and between Ashland, Bayfield and Washburn. She also carried wrecking equipment. Apparently last operated in 1893, she was abandoned afterward and settled in about fifteen feet of water in Ashland Harbor. Her machinery was subsequently removed for scrap.

Vessel

Built: 1862
Registry: US registry no. 8253
Builder: Charles Hinman
Yard: Algonac, Michigan
Material: Wood
Length: 144 ft
Beam: 22.5 ft
Tonnage: 215.60 gross tons
Propulsion: Steam, sidewheel; walking-beam engine
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: Abandoned sometime after apparently last sailing in 1893; precise abandonment and settling dates unknown.
Cause: Not established
Location: Ashland Harbor, west of the Lake Superior District Power Plant, near the former W.R. Durfee dock
Water: Lake Superior
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 15 ft
Condition: Remains survive after removal of the boiler, walking-beam engine and other machinery; present structural extent unknown.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

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

Harbor locality is documented; inventory map coordinates not independently verified and omitted.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (87/100)

Precise abandonment and settling dates, casualty totals and present structural extent are not established.

Wisconsin Shipwrecks — Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Sea Grant
Full construction table including registry 8253, dimensions, wood, sidewheel propulsion and zero masts; packet/excursion/log towing/wrecking service, tentative last sailing, post-service abandonment, Ashland Harbor remains at about fifteen feet and machinery salvage.