USS Essex (1874)
USS Essex | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name | USS Essex |
| Namesake | Essex |
| Port of registry | |
| Ordered | 10 February 1873 |
| Builder | Donald McKay; Kitter Naval Yard |
| Laid down | 1874 |
| Launched | 1874 |
| Commissioned | 3 October 1876 |
| Out of service | 23 December 1930 |
| Stricken | 27 October 1930 |
| Identification | IX-10 |
| Fate | Burned to the waterline |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Steam sloop |
| Displacement | 1,375 long tons (1,397 t) |
| Length | 185 ft (56 m) |
| Beam | 35 ft (11 m) |
| Draft | 14 ft 3 in (4.34 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Sail plan | Barque-rigged |
| Speed | 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Armament |
|
| Notes | Partial surviving hulk is only known remnant of the work of Donald McKay |
USS Essex Shipwreck Site | |
| Location | Minnesota Point, Duluth, Minnesota |
| Coordinates | 46°42′46″N 92°1′43″W / 46.71278°N 92.02861°W |
| MPS | Minnesota's Lake Superior Shipwrecks MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 94000342 |
| Added to NRHP | 14 April 1994 |
USS Essex was an Enterprise-class wooden-hulled armed naval steam sloop of war. She was built between 1874 and 1876 by Donald McKay at the Kitter Naval Yard of East Boston, Massachusetts. She was commissioned on 3 October 1876 by the United States Navy. On 23 December 1930 Essex was sold for scrap, and on 14 October 1931 she was taken to the beach just outside Duluth Harbor where they set fire to her; she eventually burned to the waterline. On 14 April 1994 the remains of Essex were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Her partially surviving hulk is significant because she is the only known remnant of the work of master shipbuilder McKay.