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The SS ''Superior City'' was considered a pioneer vessel at her launching in 1898. She was the largest vessel ever built on freshwater at that time. She sailed the Great Lakes for twenty-two years until she sank after a collision in 1920 with the steamer ''Willis L. King'' in Whitefish Bay of Lake Superior that resulted in the loss of 29 lives. Controversy was immediate over the collision. It was subsequently ruled that the captains of both ships failed to follow the “rules-of-the-road”. Controversy started again in 1988 when the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society produced a video called "Graveyard of the Great Lakes" that included extensive footage of the skeletons of the ''Superior City'' crew. The controversy continued as late as 1996 over artifacts removed from her wreck. She is now a protected shipwreck in the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve. ==History== The ''Superior City'' launched 13 April 1898 in the yards of the Cleveland Ship Building Company (later named the American Ship Building Company) at Lorain, Ohio.〔Bowen, Dana Thomas, (1940, 1975,. ''Lore of the Great Lakes'', pp. 223, 226 – 227., Freshwater Press, Cleveland, Ohio, USA. LCCN 40-33309.〕 The ''Superior City'' was a pioneer vessel representing the steady progression of bigger, longer, and stronger craft from the days of ships powered by sails.〔Havighurst, Walter, (1942, 1975). ''The Longs Ships Passing: The story of the Great Lakes'', p. 221. MacMillan Publishing, Inc., New York, New York, USA. ISBN 0-02-549100-8.〕 At her launching, she was the largest vessel ever built on freshwater. The whole town of Lorain crowded the river front to watch her launch.〔 On April 26, 1909, Dr. Griffin, the local health officer at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan received reports that boats tied up at the Soo Locks had been quarantined and a couple of the lockmen said that they heard that the ''Superior City'' had displayed a smallpox sign for a few hours on the previous night. Dr. Griffin boarded the ''Superior City'' and had a heated conference in which everyone denied any knowledge of a smallpox sign. Dr. Griffin issued a warning that any misuse of a contagious disease sign would be immediately reported to the Michigan Secretary of State. Shipwreck historian Wes Oleszewski reported, "In the ensuing days, there were far fewer uninvited guests aboard any of the boats tied up at the Soo Locks, especially the ''Superior City''." 〔Oleszewsik, Wes, (1993). ''Ice Water Museum'', pp. 21 -22, Avery Color Studios, Marquette, Michigan, USA. ISBN 978-0-932212-78-8.〕 The ''Superior City'' sailed the lakes for twenty-two years before she came to an untimely end in the worst collision ever occurring on Lake Superior.〔〔Stonehouse, Frederick (1973). ''The Great Wrecks of the Great lake: A directory of the shipwrecks of Lake Superior'', p. 110. The Book Concern, Printers, Hancock, Michigan, USA. LCCN 73-75623.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「SS Superior City」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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