SS Clifton

The SS Clifton was a lake freighter that operated on the Great Lakes. She was built in 1892 as a whaleback, a self-propelled barge, by the American Steel Barge Company in West Superior, Wisconsin. She had a 308-foot-long keel, a 30-foot beam and drew 24 feet of water. She was built for the iron ore trade as the Samuel Mather, named after a cofounder of Pickands Mather and Company. After 31 years of service, she was superannuated out of iron ore and was refitted as a carrier of stone aggregate. Her 1923-1924 refitting included the installation of topside self-unloading gear. While carrying a load of crushed stone from Sturgeon Bay to Detroit on the night of September 21-22, 1924, she was caught in a gale and foundered off Thunder Bay Island in Lake Huron with the loss of her entire crew of 25.^[1]

References

1. Boyer, Dwight (1968). Ghost Ships of the Great Lakes. New York City: Dodd, Mead and Company. pp. 40–58.