The PS Alpena was a sidewheel steamer built by Thomas Arnold of Gallagher & Company at Marine City, Michigan in 1866. She was operated by the Goodrich Line after being purchased from Gardner, Ward & Gallagher in April 1868. The Alpena sank in Lake Michigan in the "Big Blow" storm on October 15, 1880, with the loss of all on board.^[1]

Quick Facts History, General characteristics ...

History
Name	Alpena
Owner	The Goodrich Line
Port of registry	United States
Builder	Thomas Arnold of Gallagher & Company at Marine City, Michigan
Completed	1866
Acquired	Purchased from Gardner, Ward & Gallagher in April, 1868.
Refit	Completely overhauled at Manitowoc, Wisconsin in the winter of 1875-1876
Fate	Sunk in Lake Michigan during the "Big Blow" storm of 15 October 1880.
General characteristics
Class and type	Paddlewheel steamship
Tonnage	654 tons
Length	197 ft
Beam	26.66 ft
Depth	12 ft
Installed power	a single cylinder vertical beam steam engine
Propulsion	a pair of 24 ft radius side wheels

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Built in 1866, by the Thomas Arnold of Gallagher & Company of Marine City, Michigan, the Alpena was 197 feet (60 m) in length, 27 feet (8.2 m) in breadth, with a depth of 12 feet (3.7 m). It was rated at 654 tons displacement. The vessel was driven by a steam engine, and photographs of the vessel show its walking beam suspended above the paddlewheels.

At least 80 people died when the ship, also carrying a large cargo of apples, capsized in the middle of the lake. The ship was on a trip from Grand Haven, Michigan, to Chicago, Illinois, and was spotted at 8:00 am on October 16 in heavy seas. Some time later, probably due to a shift in the cargo on deck caused by the waves, it capsized and drifted northwest. On the 17th, debris including a piano came ashore in Holland, Michigan, while apples and wood debris were found at Saugatuck. A section of beach near Holland where debris was found is still called Alpena Beach.^[2]The loss of life is estimated at about 60-consisting of about 25 crew^[3]and about 35 passengers^[4]

Another ship named Alpena was a freighter built in 1874 and burned to the waterline in 1891. Another Alpena was a tugboat which sank in 1943 at Huron, Ohio.

SS City of Alpena was a paddlewheel steamboat operating between Detroit and Mackinac Island by the Detroit and Cleveland Navigation Company from 1893 to 1921. She was 285 ft (87 m) long, carried 400 passengers, and was powered by 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) steam engines.^[5]

There is also a Great Lakes ship named Alpena, formerly the Leon Fraser,^[6] owned by Inland Lakes Management, an affiliate of Lafarge. It is used as a bulk freighter to haul cement. Built in 1942 and equipped with a steam turbine engine, it was originally 639 feet (195 m) long, 67 feet (20 m) in breadth with a depth of 35 feet (11 m). It has a 15,550 ton capacity. It was renamed, shortened and converted to a bulk cement carrier in 1991. The Alpena is a moderate sized ship in the Great Lakes fleet; the largest Lakers are almost twice its length and breadth and carry four times its cargo. She is able to transit the canals of the St. Lawrence Seaway due to her small size.

• List of maritime disasters in the 19th century
• List of storms on the Great Lakes
• Sea Wing disaster
• SS Eastland