User:GreatLakesShips/sandbox/Archive 11



SS Choctaw was an American freighter in service between 1892 and 1915, on the Great Lakes of North America. Built in Cleveland, Ohio, she was a so-called "monitor vessel", a unique type of ship containing elements of traditional lake freighters and the whaleback ships invented by Alexander McDougall. Choctaw was initially owned by the Lake Superior Iron Company, but was sold to the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company in 1894 and spent the rest of her working life with it. On her regular route between various Michigan ports and Cleveland, she carried iron ore downbound, and coal upbound. Choctaw's career ended on Lake Huron on July 11, 1915, after she was rammed by the Canadian canaller Wahcondah. Despite her quick sinking, her entire crew survived. Due to Choctaw's unique design, her wreck was highly sought after. After several unsuccessful search attempts, many of which resulted in several other shipwreck discoveries, her wreck was found on July 23, 2017, by a team from the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The wreck, which rests under 300 ft of water, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 2018