August 30, 1892 – On August 30, 1892, in Lake Superior, Western Reserve was loaded with ballast and traveling upbound to the Minnesota iron ranges, for a load of iron ore. At 9 p.m., she ran into a storm about 60 miles above Whitefish Point. With a loud crash, the ship broke in two and sank within 10 minutes. All 21 crew and six passengers were able to get off in two lifeboats, but both lifeboats sunk in the storm. Only one person, a ships mate survived by swimming to shore. The SS Western Reserve was the first steel plate lake freighter on the Great Lakes. She was constructed in 1890 by the Cleveland Shipbuilding Company for and invented by Peter G. Minch, a ship's captain, designer and operator who was pioneering the industrialization of bulk carrier freight service on the Great Lakes. Didja know? Millionaire Minch and his family members were among the victims of the disaster.