1880 — Oct 16, Steamer Alpena Sinks, Lake Michigan Storm, off Holland, MI –60-101

— 101 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, pp. 19 and 688.
–60-101 Ratigan. Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals (Revised). 1969, p. 69.
–60-101 Swayze. Shipwreck!…Directory of…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 19.
— 100 Swayze. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter A.
— 70-80 Childs. A History of the United States In Chronological Order. 1886, p. 248.
— 80 Michigan Shipwreck Research Association. “Alpena.” Michiganshipwrecks.org.
— 75 Univ. of Detroit Mercy. Father Edward J. Dowling, S.J. Marine Historical Collection. Alpena.
— 70? Maritime History of the Great Lakes. “Alpena, (Stmr.), 1880.
— 70 Simonds. The American Date Book. 1902, p. 102.
— 60 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 233.
— 60 US Life-Saving Service. Annual Report…June 30,1881. 1893, pp. 254 and 295.
— 57 Thompson. Graveyard of the Lakes. 2004, p. 23.

Narrative Information

Nash: “Background: The 653-ton interlake passenger steamer Alpena, first launched in 1865 with an overall length of 175 feet and a width of 35 feet, foundered in a lake Michigan storm on the evening of October 15, 1880. All 101 passengers and crew on board were lost.

“After picking up passengers and freight and Grand Haven and Muskegon. Michigan, Captain Nelson W. Napier headed his steamship, Alpena, toward Chicago, 108 miles to the west. October 15, 1880, changed rapidly from a warm fall day to a storm afternoon, purple black clouds hustling monstrous waves across Lake Michigan in a matter of minutes. It was one of the worst natural disasters in Great Lakes history. The storm destroyed groves of trees and fishing shacks along the shore and trapped and severely damaged ninety ships, many of which were in harbor. By the time the storm struck, the Alpena was far from shore. She began to break up rapidly. None of the 101 persons on board survived.

“For four days, flotsam from the steamer washed ashore, first thousands of apples that had escaped from the hold. Next came small pieces of debris, then buckets and flags marked ‘Alpena’ (this storm was known by mariners afterward as the ‘Alpena Storm’). Then human bodies and whole wooden slabs from the shredded cabins of the doomed ship drifted ashore….” (Nash. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 19)

Michigan Shipwreck Research Association: “The Alpena left Grand Haven Michigan on Friday October 15, 1880 at 9:30 PM [for Chicago]….By 3:00 AM Saturday, October 16, 1880, the ‘worst gale in Lake Michigan recorded history’ swept across the lake. The Alpena was seen at 6:00 AM, 7:00 AM and at 8:00 AM by the schooner Irish and by Captain George Boomsluiter of the barge City of Grand Haven when about 35 miles off Kenosha, Wisconsin, laboring heavily in the high seas.

“Several other vessel captains, one of whom reported the Alpena lying on her side with one of her paddle-wheels out of the water, spotted the vessel over the next several hours. Ten car loads of apples were stowed on her main deck and some speculate this cargo became unmanageable in the storm, shifted, and led to the capsizing.

“Reports indicate the Alpena may have drifted north the rest of the day — and perhaps until Sunday morning — then back toward the east side of the lake. The wind shifted to the west/northwest and brought debris onto the beaches at Holland, Michigan.

“The Saugatuck Commercial Record newspaper reported shingles, lath, lumber and other pieces of the ill-fated Alpena were scattered thickly on the shore there. It also was reported that thousands of apples were found bobbing in the surf at Saugatuck.

“No exact count of the victims is available, although the Holland City News stated 80 persons may have been on board. the only passenger list was aboard the vessel at the time of the loss….” (Michigan Shipwreck Research Association. “Alpena.” Michiganshipwrecks.org.)

Swayze: “Official no. : 404
Type at loss : sidewheeler, wood, passenger & package freight
Build info : 1867, Arnold & Gallagher, Marine City, MI
Specs : 197x27x12, 643g
Date of loss : 1880, Oct 15
Place of loss : probably near Holland, MI
Lake : Michigan
Type of loss : storm
Loss of life : 100 (ca.) [all]
Carrying : passengers
Detail: She was overtaken by a storm and went missing – last seen off Racine, WI. The first indication that she had been lost was when masses of wreckage began washing ashore along the coast near Manistee. It took several days for the magnitude of the disaster to be realized. Her paddlebox nameboard washed ashore at “Alpena Beach,” just north of Holland, in 1909, after a storm, the same location where much wreckage and bodies came ashore after the disaster. The beach is located along Lakewood Blvd. (formerly Alpena Rd.). Owned by the Goodrich Line.”
(Swayze. Great Lakes Shipwrecks “A”)

Swayze: “Alpena. Passenger and package freight sidewheeler of 643 t. [tons], and 170 ft., launched at Marine City, MI, in 1867.

“Lake Michigan: In one of the best known of Lakes disasters, the passenger steamer Alpena was overtaken by a storm and went missing on October 15, 1880, with between 60 and 101 passengers and crew. She was last seen off Racine, Wisconsin and is thought to lie somewhere near Holland, Michigan.” (Swayze. Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory of Over 3,700 Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 19.)

Thompson: “Under the command of Captain Nelson W. Napier, the 175-foot passenger and freight steamer Alpena had cleared Grand Haven, Michigan, bound for Chicago, on the evening of Friday, October 15. Thirty-five passengers and a crew of twenty-two men were aboard….Wind speeds increased rapidly and reached storm intensity just a few hours after the Alpena departed Grand Haven. Winds continued to blow ferociously throughout Saturday and Sunday [16th-17th], whipping the waters of Lake Michigan into towering waves. Sometime Saturday evening, the Alpena was sighted by another ship that had been caught out in the blow, but she didn’t appear to be experiencing any difficulties. That was the last time the Alpena was ever seen. Either Saturday night or Sunday night, the ship broke up and sank. It’s almost certain that the wreck happened at night, because most of the bodies later found were wearing nightclothes. Unfortunately, none of those aboard survived to tell us what happened….”

“A water-soaked note was eventually found among the debris. ‘This is terrible,’ it said. ‘The steamer is breaking up fast. I am aboard from Grand Haven to Chicago. It was signed by ‘George Conner,’ or ‘George Connell.’ It was difficult to decipher the signature on the water-soaked note.” (Thompson 2006, p. 23.)

Sources

Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. Boston: Mariners Press Inc., 1972.

Childs, Emery E. A History of the United States In Chronological Order From the Discovery of America in 1492 to the Year 1885. NY: Baker & Taylor, 1886. Google digitized. Accessed 9-4-2017: http://books.google.com/books?id=XLYbAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Maritime History of the Great Lakes. “Alpena, (Stmr.), 1880.” Accessed 9-8-2009 at: http://www.hhpl.on.ca/GreatLakes/wrecks/Details.asp?ID=20488&n=745

Michigan Shipwreck Research Association. “Alpena.” Michiganshipwrecks.org. Accessed 11-10-2020 at: http://www.michiganshipwrecks.org/shipwrecks-2/shipwreck-categories/shipwrecks-lost/alpena

Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters from Ancient Times to the Present. New York: Pocket Books, Wallaby, 1977, 792 pages.

Ratigan, William. Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals (New Revised and Enlarged Edition). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1969.

Simonds, W. E. (Editor). The American Date Book. Kama Publishing Co., 1902, 211 pages. Google digital preview accessed 9-8-2017 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=JuiSjvd5owAC

Swayze, David D. Great Lakes Shipwrecks Beginning with the letter A. Accessed 9/8/2009 at: http://greatlakeshistory.homestead.com/files/a.htm

Swayze, David D. Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory of Over 3,700 Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. Boyne City, MI: Harbor House Publications, Inc., 1992.

Thompson, Mark L. Graveyard of the Lakes. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2004.

United States Life-Saving Service. Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1881. Wash.: GPO, 1881. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=6oADAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

University of Detroit Mercy. Archives. Fr. Edward J. Dowling, S.J. Marine Historical Collection. “Alpena.” Accessed 11-10-2020 at: https://libraries.udmercy.edu/archives/special-collections/index.php?collectionSet=community&collectionCode=gls&record_id=233