SS Cayuga

45°43′14.34″N 85°11′24.06″W / 45.7206500°N 85.1900167°W / 45.7206500; -85.1900167

Cayuga on the ways, prior to her launching
History
United States
Name	Cayuga
Namesake	Cayuga Creek
Operator	Lehigh Valley Transit Company, Buffalo, New York Managed by John Gordon, later W.P. Henry
Port of registry	Buffalo, New York, United States
Builder	Globe Iron Works Company, Cleveland, Ohio
Yard number	24
Launched	April 2, 1889
In service	1889
Out of service	May 10, 1895
Identification	US official number 126556
Fate	Sank in a collision on Lake Michigan
General characteristics
Class and type	Package freighter
Tonnage	2,669 GRT 1,939 NRT
Length	308.8 feet (94.1 m) LOA 290 feet (88 m) LBP
Beam	40.66 feet (12.39 m)
Draught	16.5 feet (5.0 m)
Depth	23.5 feet (7.2 m)
Installed power	Engine: 1 × 1,500 hp (1,100 kW) 85 rpm triple expansion steam engine Boilers: 3 × 160 pounds per square inch (1,100 kPa) Scotch marine boilers
Propulsion	1 × 4–bladed fixed pitch propeller
Speed	c. 14 miles per hour (12 kn)
Capacity	c. 3,000 long tons (3,000 t)
Crew	30

SS Cayuga was a steel-hulled American package freighter in service between 1889 and 1895. She was built in 1889 in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Globe Iron Works Company for the Lehigh Valley Transit Company of Buffalo, New York. One of five identical sister ships, Cayuga entered service in 1889, carrying package freight between Buffalo and Chicago, Illinois, also making stops in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Gladstone, Michigan. Prior to her sinking, Cayuga was involved in two accidents. In the first in 1890, when she went aground in a gale just outside of Buffalo harbour; six tugboats managed to pull her free that same day. The second accident occurred in 1891, when Cayuga was involved in a collision with the package freighter Delaware near Cheboygan, Michigan.

On the morning of May 10, 1895, Cayuga while bound for Buffalo with a cargo of oats, flour and general merchandise. A thick fog hung over Lake Michigan. As Cayuga neared Ile Aux Galets, her crew spotted the lights of the downbound wooden freighter Joseph L. Hurd. At 4:00 or 4:30 a.m., Joseph L. Hurd struck Cayuga on her starboard side, tearing a hole in her hull; Joseph L. Hurd lost her bow, but was kept afloat by her cargo, while Cayuga sank 25 minutes later. The passing freighter Manola rescued the crews of the two vessels. The steward/cook of Joseph L. Hurd was the only casualty.

The wreck of Cayuga was located later in 1895. Due to her value, multiple attempts to raise her were made between 1896 and 1900 by Captain James Reid of Bay City, Michigan. His efforts were plagued by problems such as decompression sickness, the loss of several steel pontoons, a derrick barge and the alleged death of a hard-hat diver. Cayuga's wreck was re-discovered in the spring of 1969 by John Steele and Gene Turner.