Lake Superior Shipwrecks
 Samuel P. Ely

S.P. Ely, ca. 1890

Historic Name: Samuel P. Ely (U.S. Registry 23780)

Vessel Type: Schooner-barge

Designer: John Pearson Clark, Detroit, Michigan, 1869


Starboard bow view in Duluth Ship Canal with tugs, ca. 1890; Northeast Minnesota Historical Center, Duluth, MN

(Essex) (space)
The Samuel P. Ely was a single-decked, three-masted schooner built at the J.P. Clark Shipyards near Detroit, Mich. It was placed in the iron-ore trade as soon as it was fitted for sea. The Ely is historically significantfor its associations with Two Harbors and Minnesota's iron-ore trade. The Ely is also significant because of its exceptional structural integrity. The remains of the Ely were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

S.P. Ely underwater image


orange dotHistoric Description
orange dotConstruction and Career
orange dotDescription of the Loss-Wreck Event
orange dotPost-Depositional Impacts
orange dotPresent Description
orange dotStatement of Significance Summary
orange dotHistoric and Underwater Photographs

Mast-hole in midship portion of S.P. Ely wreck; Jerry Eliason photo, Scanlon, MN


Adapted from the National Register of Historic Places nomination written by: Karen Lee Krepps, Detroit District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.


|--Hesper-- |--Onoko-- |--Madeira-- |--Thomas Wilson-- |--U.S.S. Essex--|
|--Amboy-- |--George Spencer-- |--Niagara-- |--Samuel P. Ely--|
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