SS Home
Passenger Steamer · United States · Lost 1837 · The Outer Banks
A luxury steam packet that broke apart in a hurricane off Ocracoke in 1837, killing 90 and prompting the nation's first life-preserver law.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
SS Home was a fast, luxuriously appointed steam packet running between New York and Charleston when she was caught in Racer's Storm, a powerful hurricane, in October 1837. Already weakened by a damaged boiler, she grounded about 100 yards off Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, and was torn apart by the surf. With only two life preservers and inadequate lifeboats for the roughly 130 people aboard, ninety lives were lost, a toll that led Congress in 1852 to mandate life preservers on passenger vessels.
Vessel
- 1836
- Allaire Works
- New York City
- Wood
- 220 ft
- 22.5 ft
- 537
- Steam, side paddlewheel
- Red Bank Line, New York (New York and Charleston Steam Packet Company)
Loss
- October 9, 1837
- Storm
- Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
- Atlantic Ocean
- New York City → Charleston, South Carolina
- Not established
- 130
- 90
- Carleton White
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 35.11° N 75.98° W
- Approximate position
- Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
General position near Ocracoke Village; the wreck has not been definitively located.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (75/100)
The exact number of persons aboard and lost varies between contemporary and later accounts (90 of roughly 130, or 95 of 135); the wreck's precise remains have not been positively identified.
NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Loss narrative, casualty figures, cause, and legislative aftermath.
Village Craftsmen of Ocracoke Island
Detailed voyage and wreck narrative.
