47°5′41.7″N 91°32′57.66″W / 47.094917°N 91.5493500°W / 47.094917; -91.5493500

Lafayette before she sank
History
United States
Name	Lafayette
Operator	Pittsburgh Steamship Company
Port of registry	United States
Builder	American Ship Building Company, Lorain, Ohio
Yard number	301
Completed	1900
In service	1900
Identification	U.S. Registry #141657
Fate	Broke up in the 1905 Mataafa Storm on 28 November 1905
General characteristics
Class and type	Bulk Freighter
Tonnage	5113 gross 3827 net
Length	454 ft (138 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Height	28.48 ft (8.68 m)
Installed power	2 x Scotch marine boilers
Propulsion	Triple expansion steam engine
Crew	29

SS Lafayette was a 454-foot (138 m) long Great Lakes bulk freighter that broke in two in the Mataafa Storm of 1905 near Encampment Island, Two Harbors, Minnesota.^[1] She was part of the "College Line" of ships; a group of five completely identical vessels named after the colleges attended by five of Pittsburgh Steamship's executives. The Lafayette's sister ships were: Harvard, Cornell, Princeton and the Rensselaer.

Lafayette was sailing with her barge Manilla, which crashed into her when she ran ashore. The waves caused the ship to break in two, the stern stayed on the rocks, while the bow was pounded to pieces by the waters of Lake Superior.^[2] One life was lost. The ship was declared a total loss (the cost of the ship was about $300,000).^[3] The stern of Lafayette was used in 1909 to build the steamer J.S. Ashley.

References