The steamer Crescent City was driven into rocks on the shore of Lake Superior northeast of Duluth 115 years ago today — Nov. 28, 1905. It was one of numerous wrecks during a storm that was most famous for sinking the Mataafa near the Duluth Ship Canal. Nine of 24 Mataafa crew members perished; everyone on Crescent City survived.
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your drawing and coloring pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Great Lakes Shipwreck
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
In June 2017 Duluthian Edward Simon dove to explore shipwrecks off of Isle Royale, and he recently posted his edited adventures. Shot by Michael Granke, edited by Edward Simon.
You may know Edward from such films as “Feeding the fish with Santa.”
A post last week of a 1925 photograph of the steamship America led to a tip about this story from the 2nd Quarter 2012 issue of Nor’easter, the journal of the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association. The story, written by Gina Temple-Rhodes and used here with permission from the LSMMA, includes a more complete history of the vessel, including tales from Arthur Wright, a Duluthian whose father was a crew member on America. Wright was 99 at the time of the article; he died a year later at the age of 100.
The America was a passenger and delivery ship that operated between Duluth and Port Arthur from 1902 to 1928, servicing outposts along the way such as Isle Royale and Split Rock Lighthouse.
