Shipwreck · Lake Superior · Foundered
SS John B. Cowle
A bulk freighter built in 1902, lost on Lake Superior in 1909. The record: “Sank in Whitefish Bay 12 July 1909 after colliding with Isaac M. Scott.”
The vessel
On the record
- Type
- Bulk freighter
- Builder
- Jenks Shipbuilding Co., Port Huron
- Launched
- 2 October 1902
- Completed
- 1902
- Length
- 420 ft (128 m)
- Beam
- 50 ft (15 m)
- Tonnage
- 4731 GRT; 3911 NRT; 6500 DWT
- Propulsion
- 3-cylinder triple expansion engine
- Crew
- 24
- Fate
- Sank in Whitefish Bay 12 July 1909 after colliding with Isaac M. Scott
- Lake
- Lake Superior
- Coordinates
- 46.7406° N, 84.9646° W
The story
Read the full history
The same year
Also lost in 1909
- SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2Erie · foundered
- SS Oscar T. FlintHuron · fire
- SS RussiaHuron · foundered
- SS W. P. ThewHuron · collision
- SS Francis HintonMichigan
- OttawaSuperior · fire
The same decade
Superior losses of the 1900s
- Amboy1905 · stranded
- Madeira1905 · foundered
- Moonlight1903
- Niagara (1904)1904
- Noquebay1905 · fire
- Sagamore1901 · collision
- Sevona1905 · foundered
- SS Bannockburn1902 · foundered
- SS Cyprus1907 · foundered
- SS D. M. Clemson1908 · foundered
On the bottom nearby
Nearest Superior wrecks
- SS Vienna0.0 mi · lost 1892
- SS Superior City4.5 mi · lost 1920
- SS Comet4.9 mi · lost 1875
- SS Myron5.5 mi · lost 1919
- Miztec6.7 mi · lost 1921
- SS M.M. Drake6.8 mi · lost 1901
Straight-line distance between published positions.
By boat
Closest launches
- Whitefish Point Harbor1.4 mi
- Tahquamenon Falls Bay14 mi
- Little Lake Harbor19 mi
On the horizon
Nearest lights
- Whitefish Point Light2.1 mi
- Crisp Point Light14 mi
On shore
Worth the stop
- Tahquamenon Falls and Whitefish Point2.1 mi · park
Source
Vessel facts on this page come from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article SS John B. Cowle (1902), 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.
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