SS D.M. Clemson

SS D.M. Clemson was a 468-foot (143 m) long steel-hulled Great Lakes freighter that went missing on 1 December 1908, on Lake Superior. The ship was last seen coming through the Soo Locks, onto Lake Superior. The ship was built in 1903 for the Provident Steamship Company. She is known for sinking on Lake Superior, on the night of 1 December 1908 with all hands; 24 men lost their lives. The wreck of D.M. Clemson is still missing, and the cause of her sinking remains a mystery to this day.[1]

D.M. Clemson prior to her disappearance
History
 United States
Name: D.M. Clemson
Operator: Provident Steamship Company (A.B. Wolvin, Mgr.)
Port of registry:  United States, Duluth, Minnesota
Builder: Superior Shipbuilding Company, Superior, Wisconsin
Yard number: 510
Completed: July 3, 1903
In service: August 14, 1903
Identification: U.S. Registry #157703
Fate: Sunk on 1 December 1908, on Lake Superior
Status: Missing
General characteristics
Class and type: Bulk Freighter
Tonnage: 5531 gross 3991 net
Length: 468 ft (143 m)
Beam: 52 ft (16 m)
Height: 30 ft (9.1 m)
Installed power: 2 x Scotch marine boilers
Propulsion: Triple expansion steam engine
Crew: 24

Possible cause of the sinking

Frederick Stonehouse (a historian and author) discussed the disappearance of the Clemson in his book "Went Missing". According to Stonehouse the Clemson suffered some structural damage when she struck a lighthouse pier at Ashtabula, Ohio on October 20, 1908.[2] The incident damaged 10 hull plates and a water tank on the starboard side. Temporary repairs were made until the Clemson went into layup for the winter of 1908.[3] Another theory suggests that the Clemson's wooden hatch covers failed causing water to leak into the cargo hold and sink the ship.

Aftermath

There were no survivors to tell what happened to the ship. However, for weeks debris and some bodies from the 24 crew members washed ashore from the ill-fated ship between Crisp Point and Grand Marais. One of the bodies found was the body of the Clemson's watchman, Simon Dunn of Dublin, Ireland, which washed ashore at Crisp Point. Dunn was wearing a life jacket with D.M. Clemson written on it. Later, pieces of the ship's cabin, 23 of the ship's wooden hatch covers and at least three more bodies were seen floating further west. Only one other body was recovered, and was identified as second mate Charles Woods of Marine City, Michigan.

A second vessel named D.M. Clemson was launched in 1917.[4]

See also

References
  1. "D.M. Clemson (Propeller), sunk, 2 Dec 1908". Maritime History of the Great Lakes. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  2. "Cyprus". Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  3. "Mystery ship D.M. Clemson". perdurabo10.tripod.com. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  4. "Clemson, D.M. 2". Great Lakes vessel history. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
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