Lake Superior Shipwrecks
 George Spencer

George Spencer photo

Historic Name: George Spencer (U.S. Registry 85849)

Vessel Type: Bulk freighter

Designer: Thomas Quayle & Sons, Cleveland, Ohio, 1884


Historic photo of the George Spencer; C. Patrick Labadie Collection, Duluth, MN

(Essex) (space)
The George Spencer was a wooden bulk freighter built in 1884 for Captain Thomas Wilson. It was built for the coal and iron ore trade and was one of the first boats to load at Two Harbors when the port opened in 1884. The George Spencer is historically significant for its association with the iron ore industry of the Great Lakes. It sunk during the famous Mataafa Storm of 1905 while towing the schooner-barge Amboy. The remains of the George Spencer were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

George Spencer 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
orange dotHistoric and Underwater Photographs

Spencer wreck site - bilge keelsons and thick strakes, 1993; Ken Merryman photo, Fridley, MN


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


|--Hesper-- |--Onoko-- |--Madeira-- |--Thomas Wilson-- |--U.S.S. Essex--|
|--Amboy-- |--George Spencer-- |--Niagara-- |--Samuel P. Ely--|
|--Back to Minnesota Lake Superior Shipwrecks--|