Built 1916 NRHP Reference # 01000737 | Architect A. M. Main Added to NRHP July 18, 2001 | |
Location Lake Michigan off the coast of Kenosha, Wisconsin | ||
Rosinco was a luxury diesel-powered yacht that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of Kenosha, Wisconsin. She was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
History
Originally known as the Georgiana III, the ship was constructed by Harlan and Hollingsworth in Wilmington, Delaware. Uniquely, she was built with a Southwart-Harris diesel engine so that if needed, she could be used for wartime purposes. A Fairbanks-Morse diesel engine was later installed.
In 1918, she was purchased by W. L. Baum of the Chicago Yacht Club and renamed the Whitemarsh. Robert Hosmer Morse of Fairbanks-Morse bought the vessel in 1925 and gave her the name Rosinco.
In September 1928, the Rosinco set off for Milwaukee, Wisconsin from Chicago, Illinois. On the 18th of September, Robert Hosmer Morse left Milwaukee to visit the Fairbanks-Morse plant in Beloit, Wisconsin and the Rosinco was to return to Chicago. In the early morning hours of the 19th, the Rosinco reportedly struck a raft of sawed wooden beams that ruptured the hull and began sinking rapidly. While all humans aboard survived, the ship's mascot, a canary, did not.
The Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association has been researching the shipwreck since 1998. The Rosinco is held in public trust by the State of Wisconsin and is managed by the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.