SS Ira H. Owen

Ira H. Owen before she was sold to the National Steamship Company
History
United States
Name	Ira H. Owen
Operator	Owen Line (1887–1899) National Steamship Company (1899–1905)
Port of registry	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Builder	Globe Iron Works Company of Cleveland, Ohio
Yard number	14
Launched	July 7, 1887
In service	1887
Out of service	November 28, 1905
Identification	US official number 100410
Fate	Sank in the Mataafa Storm on Lake Superior
General characteristics
Class and type	Lake freighter
Tonnage	1,753.22 GRT 1,497.77 NRT
Length	278.3 feet (84.8 m) LOA 262 feet (80 m) LBP
Beam	39 feet (12 m)
Depth	19 feet (5.8 m)
Installed power	Engine: 1 × 750 hp (560 kW) 85 rpm fore and aft compound steam engine Boilers: 2 × 112 pounds per square inch (770 kPa) Scotch marine boilers
Propulsion	1 × fixed pitch propeller
Crew	19

SS Ira H. Owen was a steel-hulled American lake freighter in service between 1887 and 1905. One of the first steel lake freighters, she was built in 1887 in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Globe Iron Works Company, and was built for the Owen Line of Chicago, Illinois. Early in her career, Ira H. Owen carried iron ore from Escanaba, Michigan. In April 1898, Ira H. Owen was chartered by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. She was sold to the National Steamship Company of Chicago, on December 30, 1899, for whom she frequently carried coal and grain. Throughout her career, Ira H. Owen was involved in multiple accidents and incidents.

On the morning of November 28, 1905, Ira H. Owen left Duluth, Minnesota, with a "light load" of 116,000 bushels of barley bound for Buffalo, New York. As she passed the Apostle Islands, the weather conditions were deteriorating, but her captain opted not to seek shelter. As Ira H. Owen was passing Outer Island, she was hit by the full force of what would become the Mataafa Storm. She was spotted by Captain Alva Keller of the freighter Harold B. Nye, and appeared to be in trouble; Harold B. Nye, however, was unable to assist Ira H. Owen. The snow eventually blocked Ira H. Owen from Captain Keller's view. After the storm had passed, he looked for Ira H. Owen with his binoculars, but was unable to locate her.

On December 1, the freighter Sir William Siemens located wreckage from Ira H. Owen, 12 miles (19.3 km) east of Michigan Island. None of Ira H. Owen's 19 crewmen survived, and her wreck has not been located.