Lifeline for the Meteor

The SS Meteor, sole survivor of the unique "whaleback" vessels built in Duluth-Superior in the late 1800s, is looking for a lifeline.

A fundraising campaign by the Superior Public Museums to determine if the Meteor can be restored is nearly 90 percent completed, but the final 10 percent is proving elusive. "Although we're tantalizingly close," said Susan Anderson, museum executive director, "bridging the gap is an essential and difficult task."

So far, the campaign has netted about $160,000 in direct contributions and pledges. An estimated $180,000 is required to engage a contractor to develop a report that would 1.) identify options and costs for restoration, 2.) thoroughly document the vessel's history and 3.) become the basis for seeking the Meteor's designation as a National Historic Landmark.

Forty-two whalebacks were built in the Twin Ports beginning in 1888 when shipbuilding legend Alexander McDougall launched the first of his cigar-shaped vessels in Duluth. McDougall moved his American Steel Barge Co. to Superior in 1890, and the Meteor (originally the Frank D. Rockefeller) was built in 1896.

The whalebacks' small hatch openings rendered them uncompetitive when new unloading machinery was introduced near the turn of the century. Nonetheless, the Rockefeller, later to be known as the South Park, stayed in productive service carrying automobiles, grain and other cargoes before being converted to a tanker in 1943 and renamed the Meteor. The vessel was retired in 1969 after sustaining damage in a grounding near Marquette, Mich. It was acquired by the City of Superior in 1972, partially filled with concrete and nestled into the ground on Barker's Island where, since 1973, it has been a public museum.

Museum officials and Meteor supporters say, however, that its longevity is now at stake because of extensive deterioration over the past 30-plus years.

"A historic-structures report will provide a master plan for the restoration," Anderson said. "It will also serve as a guideline for caretakers of the vessel, giving them an understanding of how physical alterations will impact the historic fabric, significant features and character of the ship, information which clearly was not available when major modifications were made in the 1970s."

In September, the museum sponsored a fundraising event that generated about $8,000 plus about 40 new members of the Friends of the Meteor. Anderson said part of the $20,000 still required would be used to match a $50,000 challenge grant awarded in early 2005 by the Jeffris Family Foundation of Janesville, Wis.

Interested parties may contact the museum at (715) 394-5712. For more information about the Meteor or Capt. McDougall visit www.superiorpublicm usuems.org. For more about whalebacks, see Chapter Nine, "The Shipbuilders," in Pride of the Inland Seas: An Illustrated History of the Port of Duluth-Superior, available via www.aftonpress.com.