The City of Bangor was a wooden-hulled freighter built in 1896 at Bay City, Michigan, that served for approximately 30 years on the Great Lakes. Originally designed for ore transportation, the vessel was converted into an automobile carrier in 1925, reflecting a significant modification to accommodate the emerging automobile industry. At the time of her wreck in 1926, she was owned by the Nicholson Transit Company. Under the command of Captain William J. Mackin, the City of Bangor was engaged in a voyage from Detroit to Duluth on the night of November 30, 1926. She was carrying 248 new Chrysler automobiles, specifically 1927 Model 50s, valued at around $750 to $830 each, along with 18 cars that slipped overboard during the storm. The ship encountered a severe storm off Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, driven onto the rocks of the Keweenaw Peninsula, and became trapped in ice. Eighteen of the cars on deck were lost overboard amid the chaos. The crew of 29 managed to abandon ship and reach safety after the storm subsided, though they faced exposure and frostbite. The subsequent recovery efforts involved the U.S. Coast Guard retrieving the crew and eventually salvaging 202 automobiles from the wreck. The vehicles, protected by a strong partition from the flooded engine room, were in good condition and were driven off the frozen lake ice to Copper Harbor. From there, they were transported by train to Detroit for repair and resale, marking the incident as a notable early 20th-century maritime automobile salvage operation. The City of Bangor was declared a total loss shortly after the wreck, and by 1929, she was cut down to the waterline. Her remains were dismantled for scrap during World War II in 1944. Today, the wreck site lies within the Keweenaw Underwater Preserve and is accessible to divers, though only limited remains are visible. A museum at the site preserves artifacts, including one of the 1927 Chrysler cars, and the story of her wreck is detailed in Larry Jorgenson's book "Shipwrecked and Rescued: Cars and Crew."

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.