On this day February 4, 1915, the Goodrich wooden passenger steamer IOWA was crushed by ice off Chicago sinking about three miles off the river mouth. Huge cakes of ice surged against the sides of the ship causing leaks and punctures. The crew tried to stop the leaks but it wasn’t to be. The order was given and the crew and passenger climbed over the side and walked to shore on the ice a distance of the three to six miles depending on the route they chose. All made it safely.
Newspaper reports really vary on how many crew were aboard – 17, 35, 70 – but they all agreed on only one passenger. Within half an hour from the time she began to settle, she listed to the starboard and sank on an even keel.
The IOWA in ice off Racine, Wis., March 7, 1912
The IOWA was no stranger to being stuck in ice. In March 1912, she and the RACINE were stuck for five days off Racine. They were within half a mile of each other and about two miles from shore. The captain of the IOWA and two of the crew walked ashore so they could communicate with Goodrich’s main offices their predicament. According to the Racine Journal Times of March 4, 1912, the captain reported:
“The steamer IOWA left Chicago for Racine and Milwaukee shortly after nine o’clock Saturday night and during the entire night we were in wireless communication with other steamers of the company and from them we received reports as to ice conditions. Between Chicago and Waukegan the ice was very heavy and the steamer had difficulty in working through the floes.
The IOWA in ice off Racine, Wis., March 7, 1912
“I heard from other steamers that if we passed Waukegan safely we would have no trouble in getting to Racine as it was reported that the ice was being carried out into the lake. The ice conditions were, however, far different than reported as after passing Waukegan, we found the ice heavier than before. It was 6:50 last evening when I turned the steamer towards Racine harbor and our troubles began. Time and time again we would run ahead and buck the ice then back up. Suddenly the ice swept about the steamer holding it as thought held in a vice.
“We carry one passenger from Chicago, who came ashore with me, and a crew of seventy men. There is no danger from being driven ashore. If the wind shifts to the northeast or the east the IOWA will be carried to port and if it shifts to the west it will be carried into midlake. The steamer RACINE is in a more dangerous position as she is nearer shore off Fifteenth street.”
The IOWA in ice off Racine, Wis., March 9, 1912
Both the IOWA and RACINE were able to move out of the ice to clear water after dynamite was used to open a channel several hundred feet long.
The IOWA sunk in the Chicago River at the North Dock after a collision with the sidewheeler SHEBOYGAN, July 17, 1913
The IOWA was also no stranger to sinking in Chicago. On July 17, 1913, after arriving from Milwaukee and unloading her passengers, crew and part of her cargo, she was rammed by her sister ship the SHEBOYGAN in heavy fog in the Chicago River. The SHEBOYGAN crashed head on into the starboard side about 20 feet forward of the pilot house tearing a 30 foot hole. Water rushed in and the IOWA went down with about $60,000 worth of cargo still on board.
The IOWA was built at Manitowoc, Wis., in 1896 on the hull of the burned wooden steamer MENOMINEE which had been built in 1872 and was owned by Goodrich. It was a total rebuild and the IOWA had accommodations of 52 state rooms for 108 passengers on the cabin deck and 24 state rooms for 48 passengers on the hurricane deck. The main saloon and other apartments were well supplied with electric light. She was built larger measuring 215 feet in length and 30 feet in beam. Goodrich owned her from 1872 until her loss in 1915.
Suzette Lopez
PHOTO CREDIT: Great Lakes Marine Collection of the Milwaukee Public Library and Wisconsin Marine Historical Society.
