Steamer Continental
Historic Shipwreck
Type: Wooden bulk freighter
Built: 1882, George Presley, Cleveland, Ohio
Sank: December 13, 1904
Length: 245' Beam: 36'
Cargo: Iron Ore
Propulsion: Propeller
Depth of Wreckage: 15'
The wreck of the steam-powered bulk freighter Continental lies about a mile north of the Rawley Point Lighthouse.
After 22 years on the Great Lakes, the Continental met her fate in a blinding snowstorm. Early on a December morning in 1904, the Continental was steaming south past Twin Rivers Point (now Rawley Point), on her way to Manitowoc for the winter. Disoriented in the storm, the captain mistakenly steered toward shore. Without a cargo, the ship rode high in the water, and she approached shore at high speed. She finally hit a sand bar and slid far onto it. All 20 crew made their way safely to shore with help from local fishermen.
Tug boats tried to pull the Continental free, but she had grounded too hard. Over the winter, the power of expanding and shifting ice destroyed the vessel.
Today, the Continental sits in 15 feet of water. In periods of low water, the cylinder heads of her compound steam engine break the surface. Most of her hull structure remains. Sections of the wreckage are occasionally uncovered by shifting sand.
Marker is on Zlatnik Drive north of 18th Street, on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
