Designed by Scottish Born Great Lakes Captain Alexander McDougall, the whaleback originated as a design for a barge which could be easily towed and track well behind the towing ship. The whaleback hull had a continuous curve shape above the waterline which allowed for waves to easily wash over the deck. There were a total of 44 vessels built, 25 barges and 19 steamships.
The whalebacks were seaworthy vessels and fast for their time with an average speed of 15 knots. Whalebacks were at first designed to carry iron ore but evolved tocarry almost every commodity freighted by cargo ship. A number of the vessels left the Great Lakes for service on saltwater seas.
SS Meteor is the sole surviving whaleback. Built by the American Steel Barge Company (ASB) at their yard in Superior, Wisconsin, the ship was launched in 1886 as the “Frank Rockefeller”. The ship carried iron ore, coal and the occasional load of grain.
The ship was sold several times and in 1927 was renamed “South Park” and used as a sand dredge. In 1936, she changed hands again and became an auto carrier hauling new cars from Detroit, Milwaukee and Kewaunee.
During 1942, the ship wrecked but was she was sold to the Cleveland Tanker Company, and converted to a tanker due to the great need for shipping during World War II. The ship was renamed “Meteor” at this time.
In 1969, she ran aground on Gull Island Shoal off Marquette, Michigan. Instead of scrapping, the ship was sold in 1971 and preserved as a museum in Superior, Wisconsin. Meteor is 380 feet long with a 45 foot beam and a depth of 26 feet. The ship measures 2,750 gross register tons.