Kiowa
Bulk Freighter · United States · Lost 1929 · Whitefish Point & Eastern Lake Superior
A steel grain freighter whose shifting flaxseed cargo doomed her in a November gale, with five lives lost in the rescue effort.
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The Vessel and Her Loss
Kiowa was a steel bulk freighter built in 1920 at Wyandotte, Michigan. On November 30, 1929, a severe gale on Lake Superior shifted her cargo of flaxseed, making her unmanageable, and she grounded on a reef west of Au Sable Point. Sixteen of her crew were rescued, but five, including the captain, died when a lifeboat capsized. The broken wreck now lies in shallow water within the Alger Underwater Preserve.
Vessel
- 1920
- US official no. 220780
- Detroit Shipbuilding Company
- Wyandotte, Michigan
- Steel
- 251 ft
- 43.5 ft
- 2309
- Steam, triple expansion
- Kiowa Transportation Company
Loss
- November 30, 1929
- Storm
- Near Au Sable Point, Lake Superior
- Lake Superior
- Duluth, Minnesota → Chicago, Illinois
- Flaxseed
- 21
- 5
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 20-40
- Badly broken, machinery and hull pieces scattered
- Not established
- Not established
- Within Alger Underwater Preserve
Position
- 46.65° N 86.22° W
- Approximate position
- Grand Marais, Michigan
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
Michigan Underwater Preserve Council
Depth, location
Build data, loss narrative, casualties
