AH-WR-0029

SS Algoma

Passenger And Freight Steamer · Canada · Lost 1885 · Isle Royale & Lake Superior

One of the earliest steel-hulled Great Lakes vessels, Algoma broke apart in a violent 1885 storm off Isle Royale with heavy loss of life.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Algoma was a steel screw steamer built in 1883 for the Canadian Pacific Railway's Great Lakes passenger and freight service. On November 5, 1885, during a severe storm at the close of a poor shipping season, she was wrecked on the rocks off Mott Island, Isle Royale, and broke apart. Dozens of those aboard were lost. The wreck site was later listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Vessel

Built: 1883
Registry: US 85766
Builder: Aiken & Mansell
Yard: Not established
Material: Steel
Length: 270 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 1773
Propulsion: Steam, single screw
Owners: Canadian Pacific Railway Company

Loss

Date: November 5, 1885
Cause: Storm
Location: Southeast shore of Mott Island, Isle Royale, Michigan
Water: Lake Superior
Voyage: Owen Sound, Ontario → Port Arthur, Ontario
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 37
Master: John Moore

The Wreck Today

Depth: 10-100
Condition: Broken apart, scattered wreckage along the shoreline of Mott Island
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Within Isle Royale National Park; listed on the National Register of Historic Places