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Eureka
 VA
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Max Depth: 111-120ft/34-37m
Entry Type: Boat
Bottom Composition: Sand
Aquatic Life: Might See Something
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Year Built
1884
Date Sunk
6 May 1888
Previous Name
None
Depth
115 feet
Gross Tonnage
3,531
Dimensions
351’ x 42’ x 32’
Vessel Type
Freighter
Power
Coal-fired Steam
Builder
Wm. Cramp & Sons
Official Designation
None
Owner
Southern Development
Location
26875.5
Home Port
New York City
Location
41243.8
Cause of Sinking
Collision w/SS Benison
Location
50 miles offshore
In Brief
Along with it’s cargo this wreck was worth "in excess of a million dollars" and after salvage and demolition was forgotten for 100 years when Michael Boring, anchored on an unidentified wreck in 1990.
Captain Boring, after anchoring his diveboat "Sea Hunter", found the capstand of the wreck on his first dive and identified the wreck as the remains of the Eureka.
The wreck is upright with the with relief provided by the engine, boilers, and the bow which is completely intact.
Local divers have recovered hundreds of pieces of the china dolls that the ship was transporting, as well as portholes, dental cream, inkwells buttons and hinges.
Source "Shipwrecks of Virginia" Gary Gentile 1992
Traveling in a thick fog from New York to New Orleans with a cargo of general
merchandise, the
Eureka collided with the
Benison. The
Eureka was equipped with steamer’s engines as well as rigged with four
masts for the use of sails. The damage from the collision was too great, and
soon the
Eureka lay upright on the bottom with her mast exposed. The
wreck was further disgraced by demolition from the
USS Despatch, as she
presented a hazzard to navigation. Divers from the Baker Salvage Company first
descended on the wreck in August, contracted to recover the cargo that still
remained with the wreck. After work was completed, the wreck was abandoned.
YouTube;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oUzOzIJDhs