Agnes W. shipwreck

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The wooden steamer AGNES W was built in 1887 at the Wolf & Davidson shipyard in Milwaukee, WI. She was launched as the ROSWELL P. FLOWER and was owned by the Milwaukee Steamship Company. For a brief period, she was the largest wooden vessel on the Great Lakes. Her dimensions were: length, 264 feet; beam, 38.1 feet; hull depth, 17.7 feet; and gross tonnage, 1593 tons.

In 1915, the Flower was acquired by Captain John D. Wanvig of Milwaukee and renamed the AGNES W. in honor of his daughter. The vessel was sold to a Mr. D. W. Stocking of Duluth, MN in May of 1918. On July 3, 1918, the AGNES W. ran aground for the final time at Traverse Point (formerly Canada Point) on the south side of Drummond Island.

Final Voyage

Unfortunately, little is known about the AGNES W’s final voyage and final wrecking incident. What is known is that the vessel was carrying a cargo of grain from Fort William, Ontario, ran aground in a severe summer storm, was pounded to pieces by the waves, and no lives were lost. Typically the stranding of a large vessel would warrant a major news article containing much of the detail surrounding the event. However, in the summer of 1918, the United States was heavily engaged in World War I and newspaper space priorities were different. The stranding of the AGNES W did not even make the Detroit newspapers and only warranted a brief one-liner in the Sault Ste. Marie News.

Wreck Description

The wreck lies in less than 15’ of water and very near Traverse Point. The site should be visited only on calm days and boaters should use caution when approaching due to the shallowness of the water and the presence of many large rocks. While only the lower hull section remains, the wreckage is quite massive, measuring approximately 180 feet x 35 feet. Around the wreckage lie a variety of other small artifacts. Divers and snorklers will find this an interesting wreck to visit. Since most of the wreckage is visible from the surface, kayakers will also enjoy this wreck.