SS William C. Moreland was a 600-foot (180 m) long Great Lakes freighter that ran aground on Sawtooth Reef, Lake Superior on 18 October 1910, only a month after entering service.[1] Visibility was poor due to the smoke from several forest fires, causing the William C. Moreland to ran full steam onto a reef. There were many attempts to salvage the ship, but eventually only the 278-foot (85 m) long stern was salvaged and was used to build the 580-foot (180 m) long Sir Trevor Dawson.[2][3][4]
Sir Trevor Dawson was christened on 18 October 1916, exactly six years after William C. Moreland wrecked. Sir Trevor Dawson continued to sail for fifty-four years until she was scrapped in 1970, in Spain as the steamer Parkdale.[5]
William C. Moreland in Ashtabula, Ohio before her final voyage
Due to the increasing demand for iron ore Jones and Laughlin Steel Company commissioned two identical vessels; William C. Moreland from the American Shipbuilding Company (AMSHIP) and Willis L. King from the Great Lakes Engineering Works (GLEW). They were identical in every respect and had a length of 600 feet (180 m) and a 12.000 cargo capacity.
It was reported that William C. Moreland was the last launching of the year at AMSHIP's Lorain, Ohio yard. Miss Esther Moreland of Pittsburgh christened the new vessel. She was the niece of the vessel's namesake, a prominent Pittsburgh attorney who was a vice-president and secretary of Jones and Laughlin Steel Company.
On August 23, 1910 William C. Moreland was temporarily enrolled at Cleveland, Ohio and assigned a U.S. official identification number U.S. #207851 for delivery to Jones and Laughlin's Interstate Steamship Company fleet. William C. Moreland cost nearly $450,000, she was 600 feet in overall length (580 feet, 180 m between perpendiculars) with a beam of 58 feet (18 m) feet and a depth of 32 feet (9.8 m) feet and measured at 7,514 gross register tons and 5,803 net register tons. The she was powered by a 2,000-horsepower (1,500 kW) triple-expansion steam engine and fueled by two coal-fired Scotch marine boilers. She had an arch frame construction[clarification needed] and three cargo holds with 36 cargo hatches placed on 12-foot (3.7 m) centers. William C. Moreland was Jones and Laughlin's largest ship at the time of her construction. William C. Moreland usually carried coal when she was upbound and iron ore when she was downbound.
Final voyage
On her fifth trip William C. Moreland left Superior, Wisconsin during the early hours October 18, 1910 with 10,700 tons of iron ore bound for Ashtabula, Ohio. The weather on Lake Superior was relatively mild with little or no wind or wave action, but visibility was hampered by smoke coming from several forest fires burning on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Vast stretches of brush and forests were burning on the peninsula due to drought-like conditions in the area causing severe visibility problems. Approaching the Keweenaw Peninsula about 17 hours after she left port the first mate, unsure of William C. Moreland's position sighted an unidentified beam of white light. He called Captain Claude Ennes to the bridge at about 9:00 at night. A few minutes later William C. Moreland ran aground Sawtooth Reef.
Salvage efforts
The wreck of William C. Moreland
Efforts to salvage William C. Moreland in 1911
The hull of William C. Moreland remained intact until October 20, 1910 when the ship broke in two between the tenth and eleventh hatch due to the pressure the hull was under.[8] Further cracking occurred near hatch 23 due to the enormous strain put on the hull by the flooded and loaded cargo holds and the unsupported midsection.[9] The salvage rights were eventually sold to the Reid Wrecking Company of Sarnia, Ontario. The Reid Wrecking Company managed to salvage the 278-foot (85 m)-long stern of the ship, the 302-foot (92 m)-long bow stayed on the reef until it slid off and sank. The stern was reused as part of Sir Trevor Dawson.[10]
On March 25, 1911, American Shipbuilding Company launched the 605-foot (184 m)-long freighter Thomas Walters which was ordered by the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company to replace William C. Moreland. Thomas Walters sailed until 1984 when she was scrapped in Ashtabula, Ohio.[11]
William C. Moreland wreck
The remains of William C. Moreland rest in 25 to 40 feet (7.6 to 12.2 m) of water.[12] The wreck has been largely flattened by years of ice and wave action, but there is still a lot of machinery, and numerous pieces of her hull left on the wreck site. William C. Moreland's wreck is part of the Keweenaw Underwater Preserve.
References
^"AmShip Lorain". Shipbuilding History. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
^"Moreland, William C." Bowling State Green University. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
^"American Steel Barge, Superior WI". Shipbuilding History. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
^"William C. Moreland 214499 (Canada 316355)". OhioLINK. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
^"Moreland, William C." Great Lakes Vessel History. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
^"Jones And Laughlin Steel Corporation (The Interstate Steamship Co.)". The Scanner. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
^"Great Lakes Ships To Be Remembered No.35 William C. Moreland" (PDF). Mshd.org. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
^"William C. Moreland". Flickr. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
^Jennifer Billock (2014). Keweenaw County. Arcadia Publishing. p. 91. ISBN978-1-4671-1123-2.
^. ship-wrecks.net. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
^"Walters, Thomas". Great Lakes Vessel History. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
^"SS William C. Moreland (Bow) (+1910)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to William C. Moreland (ship, 1910).
Diving the wreck of the Moreland
January 07, 2023
william, moreland, coordinates, 41400, 32883, 41400, 32883, foot, long, great, lakes, freighter, that, aground, sawtooth, reef, lake, superior, october, 1910, only, month, after, entering, service, visibility, poor, smoke, from, several, forest, fires, causing. Coordinates 47 24 84 N 88 19 73 W 47 41400 N 88 32883 W 47 41400 88 32883 SS William C Moreland was a 600 foot 180 m long Great Lakes freighter that ran aground on Sawtooth Reef Lake Superior on 18 October 1910 only a month after entering service 1 Visibility was poor due to the smoke from several forest fires causing the William C Moreland to ran full steam onto a reef There were many attempts to salvage the ship but eventually only the 278 foot 85 m long stern was salvaged and was used to build the 580 foot 180 m long Sir Trevor Dawson 2 3 4 William C Moreland before she sankHistoryNameWilliam C Moreland 1910 1910 Sir Trevor Dawson 1916 1920 Charles L Hutchinson 1920 1951 Gene C Hutchinson 1951 1962 Parkdale 1962 1970OperatorInterstate Steamship Company Jones and Laughlin Steel Company W H Becker Mgr Port of registry United States Duluth MinnesotaBuilderAmerican Ship Building Company Lorain OhioYard number387Launched27 July 1910Maiden voyage1 September 1910In service6 September 1910Out of service18 October 1910IdentificationU S Registry 207851FateRan aground and wrecked on Sawtooth Reef on 18 October 1910General characteristicsTypeBulk freighterTonnage7 514 GRT 5 803 NRTLength600 ft 180 m LOA 580 ft 180 m LBPBeam58 ft 18 m Height32 ft 9 8 m Installed power2 x Scotch marine boilersPropulsion2 000 hp 1 500 kW triple expansion steam engine attached to a single fixed pitch propellerSpeed11 knots 20 km h 13 mph Capacity12 000 tonsCrew25Sir Trevor Dawson was christened on 18 October 1916 exactly six years after William C Moreland wrecked Sir Trevor Dawson continued to sail for fifty four years until she was scrapped in 1970 in Spain as the steamer Parkdale 5 Contents 1 History 2 Final voyage 3 Salvage efforts 4 William C Moreland wreck 5 References 6 External linksHistory EditIn 1906 the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company commissioned two 552 foot 168 m long freighters named B F Jones and James Laughlin both named after the company s founders and both built by the Great Lakes Engineering Works GLEW of Ecorse Michigan 6 The large fleet was managed by W H Becker a prominent fleet manager and owner from Cleveland Ohio 7 Launch of William C Moreland in Lorain Ohio William C Moreland in Ashtabula Ohio before her final voyage Due to the increasing demand for iron ore Jones and Laughlin Steel Company commissioned two identical vessels William C Moreland from the American Shipbuilding Company AMSHIP and Willis L King from the Great Lakes Engineering Works GLEW They were identical in every respect and had a length of 600 feet 180 m and a 12 000 cargo capacity It was reported that William C Moreland was the last launching of the year at AMSHIP s Lorain Ohio yard Miss Esther Moreland of Pittsburgh christened the new vessel She was the niece of the vessel s namesake a prominent Pittsburgh attorney who was a vice president and secretary of Jones and Laughlin Steel Company On August 23 1910 William C Moreland was temporarily enrolled at Cleveland Ohio and assigned a U S official identification number U S 207851 for delivery to Jones and Laughlin s Interstate Steamship Company fleet William C Moreland cost nearly 450 000 she was 600 feet in overall length 580 feet 180 m between perpendiculars with a beam of 58 feet 18 m feet and a depth of 32 feet 9 8 m feet and measured at 7 514 gross register tons and 5 803 net register tons The she was powered by a 2 000 horsepower 1 500 kW triple expansion steam engine and fueled by two coal fired Scotch marine boilers She had an arch frame construction clarification needed and three cargo holds with 36 cargo hatches placed on 12 foot 3 7 m centers William C Moreland was Jones and Laughlin s largest ship at the time of her construction William C Moreland usually carried coal when she was upbound and iron ore when she was downbound Final voyage EditOn her fifth trip William C Moreland left Superior Wisconsin during the early hours October 18 1910 with 10 700 tons of iron ore bound for Ashtabula Ohio The weather on Lake Superior was relatively mild with little or no wind or wave action but visibility was hampered by smoke coming from several forest fires burning on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan s Upper Peninsula Vast stretches of brush and forests were burning on the peninsula due to drought like conditions in the area causing severe visibility problems Approaching the Keweenaw Peninsula about 17 hours after she left port the first mate unsure of William C Moreland s position sighted an unidentified beam of white light He called Captain Claude Ennes to the bridge at about 9 00 at night A few minutes later William C Moreland ran aground Sawtooth Reef Salvage efforts Edit The wreck of William C Moreland Efforts to salvage William C Moreland in 1911The hull of William C Moreland remained intact until October 20 1910 when the ship broke in two between the tenth and eleventh hatch due to the pressure the hull was under 8 Further cracking occurred near hatch 23 due to the enormous strain put on the hull by the flooded and loaded cargo holds and the unsupported midsection 9 The salvage rights were eventually sold to the Reid Wrecking Company of Sarnia Ontario The Reid Wrecking Company managed to salvage the 278 foot 85 m long stern of the ship the 302 foot 92 m long bow stayed on the reef until it slid off and sank The stern was reused as part of Sir Trevor Dawson 10 On March 25 1911 American Shipbuilding Company launched the 605 foot 184 m long freighter Thomas Walters which was ordered by the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company to replace William C Moreland Thomas Walters sailed until 1984 when she was scrapped in Ashtabula Ohio 11 William C Moreland wreck EditThe remains of William C Moreland rest in 25 to 40 feet 7 6 to 12 2 m of water 12 The wreck has been largely flattened by years of ice and wave action but there is still a lot of machinery and numerous pieces of her hull left on the wreck site William C Moreland s wreck is part of the Keweenaw Underwater Preserve References Edit AmShip Lorain Shipbuilding History Retrieved 20 January 2018 Moreland William C Bowling State Green University Retrieved 20 January 2018 American Steel Barge Superior WI Shipbuilding History Retrieved 31 January 2018 William C Moreland 214499 Canada 316355 OhioLINK Retrieved 31 January 2018 Moreland William C Great Lakes Vessel History Retrieved 7 January 2018 Jones And Laughlin Steel Corporation The Interstate Steamship Co The Scanner Retrieved 31 January 2018 Great Lakes Ships To Be Remembered No 35 William C Moreland PDF Mshd org Retrieved 20 January 2018 William C Moreland Flickr Retrieved 13 February 2018 Jennifer Billock 2014 Keweenaw County Arcadia Publishing p 91 ISBN 978 1 4671 1123 2 William C Moreland ship wrecks net Archived from the original on 22 December 2017 Retrieved 7 January 2018 Walters Thomas Great Lakes Vessel History Retrieved 15 February 2018 SS William C Moreland Bow 1910 Wrecksite Retrieved 12 December 2017 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to William C Moreland ship 1910 Diving the wreck of the Moreland Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title SS William C Moreland amp oldid 1108599241, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
