SS S. R. Kirby
47°28′48″N 88°15′00″W / 47.480000°N 88.250000°W
S. R. Kirby in the Soo Locks c. 1900 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name | S. R. Kirby |
| Namesake | Stephen R. Kirby |
| Operator | Northwestern Transportation Company |
| Port of registry | Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Builder | Detroit Dry Dock Company |
| Yard number | 100 |
| Launched | May 17/24, 1890 |
| In service | June 1890 |
| Out of service | May 8, 1916 |
| Identification | U.S. Registry #116325 |
| Fate | Sank on Lake Superior |
| Wreck discovered | June 2018 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | |
| Beam | 42 feet (13 m) |
| Depth | 23 feet (7.0 m) |
| Installed power | 2 × Scotch marine boilers |
| Propulsion | 1,500 hp (1,100 kW) triple expansion steam engine |
| Crew | 22 |
SS S. R. Kirby was a composite-hulled bulk carrier that served on the Great Lakes of North America from her construction in 1890 to her sinking in 1916. On May 8, 1916, while heading across Lake Superior with a cargo of iron ore and the steel barge George E. Hartnell in tow, she ran into a storm and sank with the loss of all but two of her 22-man crew off Eagle Harbor, Michigan (on the Keweenaw Peninsula). For over 102 years the location of S. R. Kirby's wreck remained unknown, until June 2018, when her wreck was discovered by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) in 825 feet (251 m) of water, completely broken up.