Lake Superior Shipwrecks
Hesper

Photo of the Hesper

Historic Name: Hesper (U.S. Registry 96054)

Vessel Type: Bulk freighter

Architect/Builder: William H. Radcliffe, Ship Owners Dry Dock Company, Cleveland, Ohio


 Starboard bow view in river at Manitowoc, ca. 1900; C. Patrick Labadie Collection, Duluth, MN

(Hesper) (space)
The Hesper was a wooden-hulled, single propeller, triple-masted, freight-carrying steamship which towed schooner-barges. It was launched at the Ship Owners Dry Dock Company at the Radcliffe Yard in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 28, 1890. The Hesper is historically significant for its association with the Great Lakes iron-ore industry, as well as Minnesota's grain trade. The well preserved remains of the Hesper embody the bulk freight steamer and are representative of the naval type, a hybrid which is unique to the Great Lakes. Although somewhat disarticulated, the remains can yield specific data relative to construction methods and materials for this important Great Lakes vessel type. The remains of the Hesper were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

Hesper wreck photo

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
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Hesper wreck - stern futtocks, ca. 1987; Ken Merryman, Fridley, MN


Adapted from the National Register of Historic Places nomination written by: Stephen R. James, Jr., Panamerican Consultants, Inc.


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