John M. Osborn (steamboat)
Encyclopedia
The John M Osborn’s short career as a wooden steam barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
lasted just two years. The Osborn sank with the loss of five lives when she was rammed by the larger, steel hulled Alberta who was called a “steel monster" and "terror of the lakes". The Osborn’s wreck was discovered 100 years after her sinking. The wreck was illegally salvaged in the 1980s. Many of the Osborn’s artifacts became the property of the State of Michigan after they were seized from Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is located at the Whitefish Point Light Station north of Paradise in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The light station property was transferred to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society , the Michigan Audubon Society , and the United States...
. The State allows the museum to display the artifacts as a loan. The Osborn's wreck is now protected by the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
The Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve was established in 1987 to protect and conserve shipwrecks and historical resources on of Lake Superior bottomlands in Whitefish Bay and around Whitefish Point, Michigan. The formation of the Michigan Underwater Preserves helped stop controversy over...
as part of an underwater museum.
Construction
The John M. Osborn was a propellerPropeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
wooden steam barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
built in 1882 by Morley and Hill in Marine City, Michigan
Marine City, Michigan
Marine City is a city in St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located on the west bank of the St. Clair River, it is one of the cities in the River District north of Detroit and south of Lake Huron. The population was 4,652 at the 2000 census...
. She rebuilt in 1884 in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
for increased tonnage. She was owned by owned by George F. Cleveland and the Cleveland Mining Ore Company.
Final voyage
Captain Thomas Wilford’s wife Fannie and his two daughters, Cora and Adelaide were on board the Osborn on her final day of 27 July 1884. They enjoyed a sunny day walking the deck, attending Sunday school services, and talking to the sailors, including the mate, George F. Cleveland, who also owned the Osborn. The children were to put to bed as night fell and a thick fog developed. Mrs. Fannie Wilford was uneasy and stayed near her husband’s side on deck near the bow.The wooden Osborn was downbound for the Soo Locks
Soo Locks
The Soo Locks are a set of parallel locks which enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. They are located on the St. Marys River between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, between the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario...
with a cargo of 1,120 tons of iron ore and towing two schooner barges, the George W. Davis and the Thomas Gawn. The Alberta was upbound with her usual amount of passengers and freight on her regular run between Owen Sound, Ontario
Owen Sound, Ontario
Owen Sound , the county seat of Grey County, is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada...
and Port Arthur, Ontario
Port Arthur, Ontario
Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario which amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Port Arthur was the district seat of Thunder Bay District.- History :...
. The Osborn carefully whistled her approach through the fog but one ship whistled once for a starboard
Port and starboard
Port and starboard are nautical terms which refer to the left and right sides, respectively, of a ship or aircraft as perceived by a person on board facing the bow . At night, the port side of a vessel is indicated with a red navigation light and the starboard side with a green one.The starboard...
course and the other ship whistled twice for a port
Port and starboard
Port and starboard are nautical terms which refer to the left and right sides, respectively, of a ship or aircraft as perceived by a person on board facing the bow . At night, the port side of a vessel is indicated with a red navigation light and the starboard side with a green one.The starboard...
course. Shipwreck historian Frederick Stonehouse wrote:
As reported in the local papers, ‘the barge blew three whistles, the Alberta answering, and checked down to seven miles per hour, but in a moment the Osborn appeared under the Alberta’s bow and the latter struck her midway between the main and mizzen mastsWhen the larger 263 foot, 2,282 ton, steel steamer Alberta rammed the smaller 178 ft (54 m), 891 ton, wooden Osborn, she penetrated 16 ft (5 m) to the center of the ship cutting her almost in two. The large gash in the Osborn’s hull caused the water to hit her hot boilers which exploded and immediately killed two crewmen. The Alberta stayed locked with Osborn long enough for Captain Wilford and his wife to transfer to her. One of the Alberta’s passengers jumped to the Osborn to save three lives, including Captain Wilford’s children. While this rescuer from the Alberta was still below decks, the Osborn broke free and took his life and two crewmen.Mast (sailing)The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
on the starboard side, cutting her almost in twain.’
Following the collision, the Alberta was vilified by the press. In her first year of service, she was involved in four minor collisions and a fifth major collision that sank the Osborn. The Cleveland News Leader said of the Alberta, "This huge steel monster, during the few months she has been afloat has become the terror of the lakes. Proud of her reputation as one of the fastest side-wheel steamers on fresh water, she has been run in an extraordinarily reckless manner."
The Buffalo Daily Courier reported, “Since the collision much has been said about [the Alberta] being cumbersome and unwieldy, to which the accident was partially attributed.
A lawsuit brought by the owners of the Osborn and her cargo lasted nearly three years. The United States District Court ruled both vessels were at fault for excessive speed for conditions. The Osborn loss was about $88,000 and the Alberta’s damages was about $20,000. Following admiralty rule for both vessels at fault, the damages were divided by deducting the Alberta’s loss from the Osborn’s loss and equally dividing the remainder with a pecuniary result of the Alberta’s owners paying the owners of the Osborn and her cargo $33,000. Years later Stonehouse concurred that thick fog and both ships traveling too fast for conditions was the likely cause of the disaster.
Wreck history
The wreck of the John M. Osborn was discovered 100 years after she sank in 1984 by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society [GLSHS] and the Oddessey Foundation of Lansing, MichiganLansing, Michigan
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...
. In 1985, shipwreck historian Frederick Stonehouse wrote, “Reportedly the Osborn is nearly intact and a time capsule of an earlier era of Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
maritime history. “ However, Great Lakes diver Steve Harrington reported by 1990, “The remains of the J.M. Osborn were discovered in the mid-1980s and were quickly stripped for the benefit of a local museum. State officials turned a blind eye to the salvage operation.”
Michigan’s Antiquities Act of 1980 prohibited the removal of artifacts from shipwrecks on the Great Lakes bottomlands. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment 1992 raid on the GLSHS offices and Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum included seizure of artifacts that were illegally removed from the John M. Osborn.
Wreck today
Artifacts from the Osborn's wreck are on display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum as a loan from the State of Michigan by a 1993 settlement agreement with the GLSHS following the DNR raid on the museum in 1992.The Osborn lies in 165 feet (50.3 m) of water at 46°51.974′N 85°05.210′W in Whitefish Bay
Whitefish Bay
Whitefish Bay is a large bay on the eastern end of the southern shore of Lake Superior between Michigan and Ontario. It begins in the north and west at Whitefish Point in Michigan, about 10 miles north of Paradise, Michigan and ends at the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie on the southeast...
of Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
. .
Scuba diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
to the Osborn wreck requires advanced technical diving skills. Great Lakes diver Steve Harrington reported, “Today, the J.M. Osborn is upright and mostly intact. Divers enjoy exploring the hull, cargo holds, and cabins of the vessel. The name board and other key artifacts were recovered by the museum." The Osborn wreck is protected for future generations by the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve as part of an underwater museum.