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Sinking of the Hesper, 1905

Sinking of the Hesper, 1905

Creator:
Contributor: Minnesota Historical Society Press
Source: Minnesota History 58, no. 8 (Winter 2003–2004): 381
Black and white photograph of the Hesper, c.1900.

Starboard bow view of the Hesper in St. Mary's River, c.1900.

In late October 1896, Hesper, a wooden-hulled steamer, was caught in a Lake Superior tempest as she towed the schooner-barge Samuel P. Ely from Duluth to Two Harbors. Unable to steer both vessels into the safety of Agate Bay, Hesper's crew severed the towline. Ely dropped anchor, hoping to ride out the storm, while Hesper fought her way into the bay. The storm proved too much for Ely, hurling her against the harbor's west breakwater where she broke apart and sank. The crew survived. Several years later, Hesper would suffer a similar fate.

Hesper was launched at Radcliffe Yard in Cleveland on June 28, 1890. Constructed for that city's Bradley Transportation Company, she was a bulk freighter with a forward pilot-house, designed to haul loads like grain and iron ore across the Great Lakes. With masts and a steam engine, Hesper was a hybrid that reflected the transition from wind-powered vessels to mechanically propelled ships. About 250 feet long, she was large for her day; today, many Great Lakes freighters measure more than 1,000 feet.

Hesper's career was mostly uneventful. On May 3, 1905, however, as she forged through a northeaster en route to Duluth, the crew lost its bearings and the ship was thrown against a reef near present-day Silver Bay. She was repeatedly bludgeoned against the rocks until an enormous wave pitched her over the reef. Fortunately, the ship's crew escaped before she sank.

Today, Hesper rests thirty to fifty feet below the surface of Lake Superior, abutting the west breakwater at Silver Bay Harbor, a port constructed long after the ship went down. The port and starboard sides of the hull, which was split near the turn of the bilge, now lie adjacent to the hull's base. Hesper was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994, two years after Ely.
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Gardner, Denis. "Sinking of the Hesper, 1905." MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society. https://www3.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/event/sinking-hesper-1905
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First Published: July 29, 2011
Last Modified: April 14, 2025

Bibliography

"Hesper is Wrecked." Duluth Evening Herald, May 5, 1095.

James, Stephen R. "Hesper (US Registry 96054)." National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, September 1994. State Historic Preservation Office, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Wolff, Dr. Julius F., Jr. Julius F. Wolff Jr.'s Lake Superior Shipwrecks. Contributing ed. Thomas R. (Thom) Holden. Duluth, MN: Lake Superior Port Cities, Inc., 1990.

Related Resources

Secondary

Anfinson, Scott F. "The Wreck of the USS Essex." Minnesota History 55, no. 3 (Fall 1996): 94–103.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/55/v55i03p094-103.pdf

Anfinson, Scott F., ed. Archaeological and Historical Studies of Minnesota's Lake Superior Shipwrecks. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office, 1993.

Daniel, Stephen B. A Diver's Guide to Shipwrecks Along Lake Superior's North Shore. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2008.

Engman, Elmer. Shipwreck Guide to the Western Half of Lake Superior. Duluth, MN: Innerspace, 1976.

Gardner, Denis. "Hesper." Minnesota History 58, no. 8 (Winter 2003–2004): 381
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/58/v58i08p380-381.pdf

Opheim, Lee Alfred. "Twentieth Century Shipwrecks in Lake Superior." PhD diss., St. Louis University, 1971.

Web

The Minnesota Historical Society. Lake Superior Shipwrecks, Hesper.
http://www.mnhs.org/places/nationalregister/shipwrecks/hesper/hesper.html

Related Images

Black and white photograph of the Hesper, c.1900.

Starboard bow view of the Hesper in St. Mary's River, c.1900.

Black and white photograph of the the Hesper at Manitowoc, c.1900

Starboard bow view in river at Manitowoc, c.1900

Black and white photograph of bronze capstan from the Hesper

Bronze capstan from the wreck of the Hesper.

Black and white photograph of the Hesper, c.1900.

The Hesper, c.1900

Starboard bow view of the Hesper in St. Mary's River, c.1900.

Public domain

Holding Location

C. Patrick Labadie Collection, Duluth

Articles

More Information

Black and white photograph of the the Hesper at Manitowoc, c.1900

The Hesper at Manitowoc, c.1900

Starboard bow view in river at Manitowoc, c.1900

Public domain

Holding Location

C. Patrick Labadie Collection, Duluth

Articles

More Information

Black and white photograph of bronze capstan from the Hesper

Bronze capstan from the Hesper

Bronze capstan from the wreck of the Hesper.

Public domain

Holding Location

Lake Superior Maritime Collections, Duluth

Articles

More Information

Related Articles

Turning Point

On May 3, 1905, the bulk freighter Hesper loses her way on Lake Superior in a storm, is thrown against a reef, and sinks near present-day Silver Bay.

Chronology

1890
Hesper is launched at Radcliffe Yard in Cleveland on June 28. She is about 250 feet long, with masts and a steam engine.
1896
In late October, Hesper is caught in a Lake Superior tempest as she tows the schooner-barge Samuel P. Ely. Hesper survives the storm but Ely sinks.
1905
On May 3, Hesper loses her way on Lake Superior in a storm, is thrown against a reef, and sinks near present-day Silver Bay.
1994
Hesper is added to the National Register of Historic Places, two years after Samuel P. Ely.

Bibliography

"Hesper is Wrecked." Duluth Evening Herald, May 5, 1095.

James, Stephen R. "Hesper (US Registry 96054)." National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, September 1994. State Historic Preservation Office, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Wolff, Dr. Julius F., Jr. Julius F. Wolff Jr.'s Lake Superior Shipwrecks. Contributing ed. Thomas R. (Thom) Holden. Duluth, MN: Lake Superior Port Cities, Inc., 1990.

Related Resources

Secondary

Anfinson, Scott F. "The Wreck of the USS Essex." Minnesota History 55, no. 3 (Fall 1996): 94–103.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/55/v55i03p094-103.pdf

Anfinson, Scott F., ed. Archaeological and Historical Studies of Minnesota's Lake Superior Shipwrecks. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office, 1993.

Daniel, Stephen B. A Diver's Guide to Shipwrecks Along Lake Superior's North Shore. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2008.

Engman, Elmer. Shipwreck Guide to the Western Half of Lake Superior. Duluth, MN: Innerspace, 1976.

Gardner, Denis. "Hesper." Minnesota History 58, no. 8 (Winter 2003–2004): 381
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/58/v58i08p380-381.pdf

Opheim, Lee Alfred. "Twentieth Century Shipwrecks in Lake Superior." PhD diss., St. Louis University, 1971.

Web

The Minnesota Historical Society. Lake Superior Shipwrecks, Hesper.
http://www.mnhs.org/places/nationalregister/shipwrecks/hesper/hesper.html