SS Tahoe
Encyclopedia
The SS Tahoe was a steamship that operated on Lake Tahoe
at the end of the 19th century and first half of the 20th. Scuttled in 1940, the wreck presently lies in 400 feet of water off Glenbrook, Nevada
. The wreck was first visited in 2002 by a Team from New Millennium Dive Expeditions (NMDE) in a record-setting high-altitude dive for Lake Tahoe. As a result of the work that NMDE did on the SS Tahoe site from 1999 up to their dives in 2002, the SS Tahoe became the first maritime site in Nevada
to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places
.
ordered the vessel from San Francisco's Union Iron Works
in 1894. It was shipped by rail in pieces to Carson City
, then by wagon to Glenbrook, reassembled, and launched with much acclaim on June 24, 1896.
At 169 feet, Tahoe was the largest of the lake steamers; she was propelled by two wood-fired engines developing a total of 1200 hp, each driving a three-bladed propeller. Her 200 passengers enjoyed a well-appointed interior, with leather upholstery, carpeting, and marble fixtures in the lavatories. Modern technologies included electric lights and bells, hot and cold running water, and steam heating.
From 1901, Tahoe operated from a railroad pier in Tahoe City during the summers, leaving in the morning, making a daily circuit of the shoreline communities, and returning in late afternoon. In addition to the passengers, she carried freight and mail.
The completion of an automobile road all around the lake in 1934-35, followed by the loss of the mail contract in 1934 to the Marian B, made the Steamer Tahoe uneconomical to operate, and she lay unused for several years. In 1940, Bliss' son William Seth Bliss repurchased the vessel from the operating company; his intent was scuttle her in shallow water off Glenbrook as a memorial to a bygone era, visible to glass bottomed boats. Tahoe was scuttled on August 29, 1940, but the underwater slope was unexpectedly steep at the chosen location, and the ship slid down out of sight, ending up with the bow at 385 feet and the stern at 460 feet.
when they reached the wreck of Tahoe. The information they gathered on the wreck was a crucial part of the documentation enabling Tahoe to be listed on the National Register. The work of the NMDE team continued in 2009 where in August and September the visited the wreck again successfully in preparation for 3 visits in the summer of 2010.
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of , it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is , making it the USA's second-deepest...
at the end of the 19th century and first half of the 20th. Scuttled in 1940, the wreck presently lies in 400 feet of water off Glenbrook, Nevada
Glenbrook, Nevada
Glenbrook is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. The community is named after the Glenbrook House hotel and is at an elevation of...
. The wreck was first visited in 2002 by a Team from New Millennium Dive Expeditions (NMDE) in a record-setting high-altitude dive for Lake Tahoe. As a result of the work that NMDE did on the SS Tahoe site from 1999 up to their dives in 2002, the SS Tahoe became the first maritime site in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Service history
By the end of the 19th century, Lake Tahoe had become known as a vacation resort, with a handful of hotels and communities scattered around its shores, serviced by a number of steamers crossing the lake. Lumber magnate Duane Leroy BlissDuane Leroy Bliss
Duane Leroy Bliss 19th-century Nevada timber and mining magnate. He founded the Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company from Gold Hill, Nevada...
ordered the vessel from San Francisco's Union Iron Works
Union Iron Works
Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries.-History:...
in 1894. It was shipped by rail in pieces to Carson City
Carson City, Nevada
The Consolidated Municipality of Carson City is the capital of the state of Nevada. The words Consolidated Municipality refer to a series of changes in 1969 which abolished Ormsby County and merged all the settlements contained within its borders into Carson City. Since that time Carson City has...
, then by wagon to Glenbrook, reassembled, and launched with much acclaim on June 24, 1896.
At 169 feet, Tahoe was the largest of the lake steamers; she was propelled by two wood-fired engines developing a total of 1200 hp, each driving a three-bladed propeller. Her 200 passengers enjoyed a well-appointed interior, with leather upholstery, carpeting, and marble fixtures in the lavatories. Modern technologies included electric lights and bells, hot and cold running water, and steam heating.
From 1901, Tahoe operated from a railroad pier in Tahoe City during the summers, leaving in the morning, making a daily circuit of the shoreline communities, and returning in late afternoon. In addition to the passengers, she carried freight and mail.
The completion of an automobile road all around the lake in 1934-35, followed by the loss of the mail contract in 1934 to the Marian B, made the Steamer Tahoe uneconomical to operate, and she lay unused for several years. In 1940, Bliss' son William Seth Bliss repurchased the vessel from the operating company; his intent was scuttle her in shallow water off Glenbrook as a memorial to a bygone era, visible to glass bottomed boats. Tahoe was scuttled on August 29, 1940, but the underwater slope was unexpectedly steep at the chosen location, and the ship slid down out of sight, ending up with the bow at 385 feet and the stern at 460 feet.
Wreck discovery
In 2002, Reno-based Non-Profit organization New Millennium Dive Expeditions set a record for high altitude scuba divingScuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
when they reached the wreck of Tahoe. The information they gathered on the wreck was a crucial part of the documentation enabling Tahoe to be listed on the National Register. The work of the NMDE team continued in 2009 where in August and September the visited the wreck again successfully in preparation for 3 visits in the summer of 2010.