SS John B. Cowle (1902)
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John B. Cowle
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Name: | John B. Cowle |
| Owner: | Cowle Transportation Co. |
| Port of registry: | Port Huron, Michigan |
| Builder: | Jenks Shipbuilding Co. |
| Completed: | 1902 |
| Fate: | Sank in Whitefish Bay 12 July 1909 after colliding with the Isaac M. Scott |
| Notes: | Official No. 77559 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Propeller, steamer, bulk freighter |
| Tonnage: | 3911 Net Register Tonnage |
| Length: | 420 ft (130 m) |
| Beam: | 50.16 ft (15.29 m) |
| Depth: | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Crew: | 24 |
| Notes: | Sank with the loss of 14 crewmembers |
The SS John B. Cowle (1902) was one of the early Great Lakes bulk freighters known as "tin pans". She was the first of two ships named for prominent Cleveland, Ohio citizen and shipbuilder, John Beswick Cowle. On her maiden voyage in 1909, the Isaac M. Scott rammed the Cowle in heavy fog off Whitefish Point. The Cowle sank in 3 minutes, taking 14 of her 24-man crew with her. Artifacts from her wreck were illegally removed in the 1980s. Her artifacts are now the property of the State of Michigan and are on display as a loan to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The wreck of the Cowle is protected as part of an underwater museum in the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve.
The steamer SS John B. Cowle was built in 1902 by the Jenks Shipbuilding Company for the newly formed Cowle Transit Company. She was the first of two ships named for prominent Cleveland, Ohio citizen, John Beswick Cowle, who was part owner of the Globe Iron Works that built the first iron and steel Great Lakes bulk freighters, which were known as "tin pans". By 1909 the Cowle was still owned by the Cowle Transit Company but for the sake of profit she was operated by the United States Transportation Company.
Just several days prior to the Cowle's sinking, one deckhand left her at Detroit, Michigan after his father talked him into quitting and three more deckhands quit the Cowle at the iron ore dock in Two Harbors, Minnesota . The four replacement deckhands all drowned on the Cowle just 2 days later.
On 12 July 1909, the 420-foot (128 m), 4,731 ton Cowle was laden with 7,023 tons of iron ore loaded at Two Harbors and downbound for Cleveland. The 504-foot (154 m), 6,372 ton Isaac M. Scott was a new steel steamer running light without cargo on her maiden voyage upbound for Duluth, Minnesota. The Frank H. Goodyear locked through the Soo Locks behind the Scott, also upbound for Duluth through a fog shrouded Whitefish Bay. In an era before radar, Captain Russel Hemenger of the Goodyear followed the Scott with all of the pilothouse windows open and standing propped on a side sill for intense listening, navigating by compass, clock, and the lights and whistles of other ships.
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