Morton House Museum

As a diver in Michigan, the winter months are a time spent researching what shipwreck sites to dive in the summer or where a missing shipwreck may be.

So for the last few months, I’ve been doing research on the missing steamship “Chicora” and its possible location. In doing this, I have reviewed the obvious sources for this information, such as books already written on the topic by a multitude of authors and a review of newspaper articles written during that period of time that covered the sinking and search for the wreck.

An information source that I had not previously thought of was taking advantage of the “Morton House Museum”.

The Morton House Museum, located in Benton Harbor, is “The Home of Benton Harbor History” and housing a tremendous amount of material on Benton Harbor from its beginning as Brunson Harbor to the present day. My specific interest was, of course, what could I find about the Morton & Graham Steamships.

The commercial shipping interest started with Henry Morton, who with Sterne Brunson and Charles Hull, were instrumental in creating a market for the farmers from the area now known as St. Joseph, on the east side of the St. Joseph River. These three men were also the driving force behind the building and operation in 1862 of the almost mile-long shipping canal through the wetland between the river and what was then the future Benton Harbor.

One of the major shipping companies operating between St. Joseph and Chicago was the local firm of Henry Graham and James Stanley Morton. This later became the Graham & Morton Transportation company in 1874 which dominated the boat traffic at St. Joseph for the better part of 80 years.

In reviewing the history of the Morton family, and the Graham & Morton Transportation Company, one cannot do so without talking about the SS Chicora.

The Chicora was built for, owned and operated by the Graham & Morton Transportation Company. The Chicora has been considered one of the most famous ships of Lake Michigan mostly due to her untimely sinking with her final resting place remaining secret for over 100 years.

The Chicora was described as a “masterpiece”, with “lines as symmetrical and beautiful as any yacht”. She was considered to be the premier ship of the Graham and Morton Line, and one of the finest vessels on Lake Michigan,  the “Queen Mary” of the lake.

Built for service between St. Joseph and Chicago,  the Chicora once made the 65-mile run between Benton Harbor and Chicago in 3 hours 40 minutes, at an average speed in excess of 19 miles per hour. In the winter of 1893/94, Chicora was placed on the St. Joseph– Milwaukee route, and again the following winter.

The Chicora went missing on January 21^st, 1895 with all hands while hauling a cargo of flour from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has since been considered one of the most famous missing ships on lake Michigan.

Now a bit about the  Steam Ship (SS) Chicora

The SS Chicora was a wooden-hulled, screw-propelled, passenger-cargo ship, built in 1892 by the Detroit Cradock Company of  Detroit, Michigan, for the Graham & Morton Transportation Company. Built at a cost of $150,000, she was launched 26 June 1892.

Approximately 200 feet in length—217 feet overall—with a beam of 35 feet 40 feet over the guards and moulded depth of 15 feet. She had a tonnage of 1,123 gross tons,  or 900 tons burden. Note: Moulded depth meant its Length overall (LOA) is the extreme length from one end to the other. Moulded depth(D) is the vertical distance measured from the top of the keel to the underside of the upper deck at side.

The Chicora was licensed to carry 1,500 passengers as a summer excursion boat, with passenger accommodations which included 56 staterooms, sleeping quarters for 200, a large smoking room and “spacious” social hall. Her passenger cabins, grand staircase and gangways were all finished in mahogany, and an electric plant provided power for the ship’s 250 lights. For freight service in the winter off-season, Chicora was built “especially stout” and had six-inch outer planking and three waterproof compartments.

Chicora was powered by a 2,500 horsepower triple-expansion steam engine with cylinders of 20,33 and 54 inches) and 42 inches stroke, driving a single screw propeller, while steam was provided by two steel forced-draft Scotch boilers with a working pressure of 165 pounds. The ship had a speed of approximately 15.5 knots (17.8 mph) a fast speed for the time.