- Rig
- Wooden bulk freighter / steam barge
- Dates
- 1889 – 1924-11-03
- Official no.
- 130439
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- maritimeshippingshipwreckssalvage
- Media
- Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision
Summary
The wooden steam vessel Niko, official number 130439, foundered in an early November 1924 gale after leaving Saint James harbor with a barge in tow. A contemporary Port Huron Times Herald report says the towline fouled the propeller, opened the hull, and sent the vessel down in 24 feet of water on the beach of Garden Island after the crew escaped to the barge.
The exact date has a one-day discrepancy: the Thursday, 6 November report says “early Monday,” which resolves to 3 November, while a modern compiled vessel history gives 2 November. This article uses the date implied by the contemporary report and retains the conflict.
Location conflict
The 1978 History Map places the casualty five miles west of Hog Island. That is not compatible with the contemporary account’s Garden Island beach location. A February 1979 Beaver Beacon sidebar gives a broader reef location between Garden and Hog Islands, while a December 1924 regional report found identified Niko wreckage on the southwest beach of St. Helena Island. The latter is drift evidence, not the wreck site. No coordinates are assigned until a casualty report, charted obstruction, or archaeological survey resolves the position.
Afterlife
Later island accounts remember the wreck as a source of timbers and other material used in shipwreck furniture, including work associated with Beaver Gems. This is a salvage tradition, not evidence for the map’s plotted location.
Open questions
- Can the original Port Huron Times Herald page and Coast Guard casualty records settle the 2/3 November date difference?
- Where is the surveyed wreck site relative to Garden and Hog islands?
- What enrollment documents establish the vessel’s full ownership and rebuild history?
Sources
- Contemporary report says Niko sank early Monday, 3 November, in 24 feet of water on the beach of Garden Island after leaving St. James harbor towing a barge. It attributes the foundering to a towline caught in the propeller that opened the hull; the crew escaped to the tow barge. The newspaper image is not held locally, so this uses a modern transcription of a named and dated primary source.
- Compiled vessel history gives official number 130439, construction at Trenton in 1889, and foundering on 2 November 1924 off Garden Island while light for Manistique towing C. E. Redfern. Its date differs by one day from the contemporary Thursday report's “early Monday,” so this article uses 3 November and records the discrepancy.
- “Wreckage on St. Helena,” *Charlevoix Sentinel*, 4 December 1924, reprinting *St. Ignace Republican-News*, 20 November 1924.Contemporary regional reprint says the southwest beach of St. Helena Island was strewn with Niko wreckage and that the caretaker identified the name on a life preserver. Drifted wreckage does not establish the sinking point. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
- Later local account places the wreck on the reef between Garden and Hog Islands and says its remains supplied wood for shipwreck furniture. It is evidence for island memory and salvage, not a contemporary casualty position. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1979-02_Beaver-Beacon
- Described in this archive: Beaver Island History Map, 1978 revision.Marks Niko with a 1924 dagger “west side of Hog Island (5 miles).” Contemporary reporting instead places the sinking on Garden Island's beach after departure from St. James; the exact wreck position remains unresolved.
Added 7 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Niko”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/vessels/niko-1889/, accessed [date], citing *Port Huron Times Herald*, 6 November 1924, “Fierce Gales Sweep Lake Michigan; One Small Vessel Lost,” transcribed by Chicagology. (and 4 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-07. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.