Pretoria (ship) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Pretoria (schooner-barge) Shipwreck Site
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Launching of Pretoria
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| Nearest city | Bayfield, Wisconsin |
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| Area | 47°05.36′N 90°23.66′W / 47.08933°N 90.39433°W |
| Architect | Davidson, James |
| MPS | Great Lakes Shipwreck Sites of Wisconsin MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 94000835 |
| Added to NRHP | August 17, 1994 |
The Pretoria was a huge American schooner barge. This means she was a large ship with sails, but she was mainly built to carry cargo and was often pulled by another ship. She was one of the largest wooden ships ever made!
Pretoria was 103 meters (338 feet) long. That's longer than a football field! She was also 13.4 meters (44 feet) wide and 7 meters (23 feet) deep. James Davidson built her in West Bay City, Michigan to sail on the Great Lakes.
How Was the Pretoria Built?
To make Pretoria super strong, her builders used special materials. They added steel plates, steel chords, and steel arches inside her wooden frame. She also had steel straps placed diagonally across her hull.
Even with all this strength, Pretoria needed a special engine. This engine ran a pump to keep her inside dry. It helped remove any water that might get in.
Launching a Giant Ship
The newspaper "The Courier-Herald" from Saginaw, Michigan wrote about Pretoria's launch. This happened on July 26, 1900. A huge crowd came to watch this amazing event.
The newspaper said:
The schooner "Pretoria," the largest wooden boat ever built, was launched at Davidson's shipyard this afternoon, in the presence of a vast multitude.
Pretoria was built to carry a lot of cargo. She could hold 5,000 tons of iron ore. Or, she could carry 175,000 bushels of wheat. She could even carry 300,000 bushels of oats!
The Final Voyage
On September 1, 1905, Pretoria was loading cargo in Superior, Wisconsin. Another famous ship, the lake freighter Sevona, was also loading cargo nearby.
The very next day, both ships faced a terrible storm. A huge gale hit them near the Apostle Islands. The storm was so powerful that both Pretoria and Sevona sank to the bottom of Lake Superior.
Images for kids
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Pretoria at a dock.
