Gills Rock in Door County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Rudder from the "City of Glasgow"
Sunk in Lily Bay
— Oct. 6, 1917 —
Sunk in Lily Bay, Oct. 6, 1917
Raised by Century Divers, Aug. 29, 1971
and donated to the
Door County Maritime Museum.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical date for this entry is October 6, 1917.
Location. 45° 17.521′ N, 87° 1.266′ W. Marker is in Gills Rock, Wisconsin, in Door County. Marker can be reached from West Wisconsin Bay Road, 0.1 miles north of State Highway 42, on the right when traveling north. Marker is located on the grounds of Death's Door Maritime Museum, beside the City of Glasgow rudder exhibit, near the southeast corner of the museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 12724 West Wisconsin Bay Road, Ellison Bay WI 54210, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Air Funnel (within shouting distance of this marker); Anchor (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Anchor (within shouting distance of this marker); Windlass & Associated Equipment (within shouting distance of this marker); The Fishtug Skipper (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Skipper (about 500 feet away); Ancient Shorelines (approx. 1.7 miles away); The Niagara Escarpment (approx. 1.7 miles away).
More about this marker. Marker is an embossed metal tablet, mounted at eye-level on a metal post beside the recovered City of Glasgow rudder.
Also see . . . City of Glasgow (1891). The City of Glasgow started her life as one of the largest Great Lakes wooden freighters carrying bulk cargoes such as coal. The vessel was built in 1891 and continued in various trades until 1907. Then, a fire broke out and she burned to the waterline, sinking and blocking navigation in and out of the port of Green Bay. After much trouble, the Leathem and Smith Company managed to move the City of Glasgow to the city of Green Bay where her machinery was removed and her stern was cut off. They then towed her to Sturgeon Bay where she sat until 1910. Finally, after a year of work, mainly dealing with the gutted aft section of the vessel, Leathem and Smith finished converting the City of Glasgow into a crushed stone barge. On October 6, 1917, the tug John Hunsader was towing both the Glasgow into Sturgeon Bay during a strong storm blowing out of the south. The tow line from the John Hunsader broke leaving the Glasgow on her own. The Sturgeon Bay Coast Guard rescued the crew from the Glasgow, but the ship ended up on the beach. She was pumped out, but a number of attempts to free the vessel proved futile. After years of ice, wind and wave damage, the Glasgow was officially abandoned in 1922. (Submitted on March 3, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Additional keywords. Rudder from the "City of Glasgow"
Credits. This page was last revised on March 4, 2019. It was originally submitted on March 2, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 205 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on March 3, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.