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5. Adiramled

Adiramled

Historical Background

The wooden steambarge Adiramled was originally built as the package freight propeller City of Fremont by Thomas Quayle and John Martin at Cleveland, Ohio in 1866. As built, City of Fremont was 165 feet long, 27.6 feet in breadth, with a depth of 11.6 feet below the tonnage deck, and measured 600 tons burthen. The vessel was propelled by a single-cylinder high-pressure steam engine and a 20-foot-long boiler, both made by the Cuyahoga Iron Works of Cleveland, Ohio. The vessel was completed at a cost of $65,000.

Initially employed in packet service on the Buffalo-Fremont line on Lake Erie, City of Fremont spent the next 40 years in packet and passenger service for numerous owners on numerous lines including the Port Huron-Chicago, Milwaukee-Grand Haven, Chicago-Duluth, and Milwaukee-Chicago line

In 1906, City of Fremont was converted into a steambarge, and was renamed Adiramled the following year. In 1912, Adiramle was sold to Canadian owners who subsequently formed the Lachine Transportation Company of Montreal.

On June 16, 1912, Adiramled departed Erie, Pennsylvania, downbound for the Welland Canal and Fairhaven, New York, where it was scheduled to load 700 tons of coal for Montreal, Quebec. Adiramled arrived at Fairhaven leaking after a rough passage.

With the pumps keeping up with the leaks, Adiramled loaded 570 tons of coal in its hold with another 130 tons carried as a deck load. Due to damage sustained to two of its hatches while unloading at Erie, only the first and fourth hatches were covered and battened. The remaining hatches were filled with coal and were secured only by a tarpaulin laid over them with the deck load of coal piled over it. Once loaded, Adiramled had only 8 to 14 inches of freeboard remaining (height between the loaded waterline and the deck). On the evening of June 17, Adiramled departed Fairhaven for the St. Lawrence River but was forced to return after encountering heavy seas, which aggravated the existing leaks.

Early the following morning, Adiramled again departed Fairhaven, the weather having calmed. By 9:00 a.m., it was mid-lake when the weather began to worsen. Battered by the waves, the leaks increased, outpacing the ship’s pumps. As Adiramled steamed north and east, waves washed over the portside, flooding through the un-battened hatches. Adiramled took on a port list. With waves breaking onto the deck, the deck load shifted, increasing the vessel’s list and causing further flooding through the open hatches. Around 10:15 a.m., the crew abandoned Adiramled to the boats and watched it sink by the bow shortly thereafter. The crew came safely ashore near Henderson that afternoon.

Wreck Site

A site photo model of the steambarge Adiramled. Credit: OECI/NOAA

Adiramled is among the largest and best-preserved examples of a steambarge within the sanctuary, laying beyond recreational scuba depth limits, and within technical diving depth limits (less than 330 feet/100 meters).

Adiramled lies upright and mostly intact, though the bow sustained considerable damage in the sinking, having split open. The forecastle, which has been disarticulated from the hull, lies off the starboard bow along with both anchors. The windlass and bilge pump remain on the deck at the bow. Aft of the forecastle, the well deck remains intact, retaining four hatches which open in to the coal-filled hold.

At the stern, the outer structure of the aft cabins and portions of the upper deck remain intact. Among the highlights of the stern are the single-cylinder high-pressure steam engine and a large boiler . The propeller is partly embedded in the bottom, while the rudder, which remains in place, is turned to starboard.

Adiramled was discovered by Mr. Tim Caza and Mr. Dennis Gerber in June 2019. NOAA archaeologists visited the site in August 2024 with subsequent research identifying the wreck as Adiramled. In May 2025, the wreck was extensively documented by NOAA and the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.