M.M. Drake
Wooden Steam Barge · United States · Lost 1901 · Whitefish Point & Eastern Lake Superior
A steam barge that sank trying to rescue the crew of the vessel she was towing during an 1901 gale on Lake Superior.
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The Vessel and Her Loss
M.M. Drake was a wooden steam barge built in 1882 that spent nineteen years towing ore and coal cargoes on the Great Lakes, rescuing at least four other foundering crews along the way. On October 2, 1901, while towing the schooner Michigan in a gale, her tow line parted and Michigan began to sink; Drake went alongside to take off her crew, but the two hulls collided in the heavy seas and Drake herself went down. Both crews were saved by other steamers. She was found in 1978 and lies within the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve.
Vessel
- 1882
- US official number 91485
- Union Dry Dock Company
- Buffalo, New York
- Wood
- 201 ft
- 34.42 ft
- 915
- Steam, single screw
- John Green, Buffalo, New York
Loss
- October 2, 1901
- Collision
- Off Vermilion Point, Lake Superior
- Lake Superior
- Not established
- Iron ore
- Not established
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 45-50
- Not established
- Not established
- 1978
- Within Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
Position
- 46.78° N 85.10° W
- Approximate position
- Vermilion Point, Michigan
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
Build details, ownership, tonnage, loss circumstances, and salvage history.
