Shipwreck · Lake Superior · Stranded
SS George Spencer
A bulk Freighter built in 1884, lost on Lake Superior in 1905. The record: “Ran aground on Lake Superior in the Mataafa Storm of 1905.” The wreck is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The vessel
On the record
- Type
- Bulk Freighter
- Builder
- Thomas Quayle & Sons
- Completed
- 1884
- Length
- 242 ft (74 m)
- Beam
- 37 ft (11 m)
- Tonnage
- 1360.75 GRT; 1082.79 NRT
- Propulsion
- 625 horsepower fore and aft compound engine
- Fate
- Ran aground on Lake Superior in the Mataafa Storm of 1905
- Wreck site
- Cook County, Minnesota
- National Register
- Listed April 14, 1994 · ref. 94000341
- Lake
- Lake Superior
- Coordinates
- 47.4779° N, 90.9983° W
The same year
Also lost in 1905
- SS William EdenbornErie · foundered
- MinnedosaHuron · foundered
- SS EtruriaHuron · collision
- SS KaliyugaHuron · foundered
- R. J. HackettMichigan · foundered
- SS AppomattoxMichigan · stranded
- SS EastlandMichigan
- AmboySuperior · stranded
- MadeiraSuperior · foundered
- NoquebaySuperior · fire
The same decade
Superior losses of the 1900s
- Moonlight1903
- Niagara (1904)1904
- Ottawa1909 · fire
- Sagamore1901 · collision
- SS Bannockburn1902 · foundered
- SS Cyprus1907 · foundered
- SS D. M. Clemson1908 · foundered
- SS Fedora1901 · fire
- SS Hudson1901 · foundered
- SS John B. Cowle1909 · foundered
On the bottom nearby
Nearest Superior wrecks
- Amboy0.1 mi · lost 1905
- SS Hesper19 mi · lost 1905
- Madeira25 mi · lost 1905
- Sevona33 mi · lost 1905
- SS Lafayette37 mi · lost 1905
- Ottawa43 mi · lost 1909
Straight-line distance between published positions.
By boat
Closest launches
- Taconite Safe Harbor4.6 mi
- Schroeder6.8 mi
- Temperance River SPK7.8 mi
- Tofte9.8 mi
On shore
Worth the stop
- Split Rock Lighthouse26 mi · lighthouse
Source
Vessel facts on this page come from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article SS George Spencer, retrieved 2026-10-11. We print the fields as recorded and add nothing; a missing field means the record is silent. Tonnage and dimensions were often measured more than one way in their day, so they can differ between sources.
Chart shoreline generalized from Natural Earth (public domain). Not for navigation. Something wrong or missing? Write to contact@greatamericanlakes.com.