O.E. Parks
Steam Barge · Lost 1929 · Thunder Bay & Lake Huron
A pulpwood steam barge lost in heavy seas and snow; everyone aboard was rescued.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
O.E. Parks was launched by James Elliott at Saugatuck in 1891. On May 3, 1929, the steam barge encountered heavy seas and snow while carrying pulpwood from Sault Ste. Marie to Alpena. Water entered its hold and an SOS was sent. The Thunder Bay Island Life Saving Station rescued everyone aboard.
Vessel
- 1891
- James Elliott
- Saugatuck, Michigan
- Not established
- Not established
- 28 ft
- 393 gross tons
- Steam (NOAA vessel classification; engine configuration unspecified)
- Not established
Loss
- May 3, 1929
- Storm
- Off Thunder Bay Island, Lake Huron
- Lake Huron
- Sault Ste. Marie → Alpena, Michigan
- Pulpwood
- Not established
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 62 ft
- Lower bilge survives from stern shaft log to bow with rider keelsons and stanchion braces; detached port side lies south of the main wreck. Probable fuel tanks and a metal hogging truss lie astern.
- Not established
- Not established
- Within Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Position
- 45.052° N 83.175° W
- Surveyed position
- Thunder Bay Island, Michigan
NOAA GPS N45°03.114′ W83°10.527′, converted directly to decimal degrees.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Well documented (90/100)
Original vessel length, unsourced fittings and crew headcount are not established in the reviewed account. Complete-hull artwork is interpretive, not a survey of the remains.
NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary — O.E. Parks
Type, builder and launch/build year and place, published GPS and depth, beam and gross tonnage, cargo and dated loss account, surviving wreck structure. NOAA wreck length is not treated as original hull length.
