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NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8-86) Wisconsin Word Processing Format (Approved 3/87) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet ' Schooner-barge PRETORIA Section 8 Page 17 Ashland County, WI in 1900, had a combined capacity of nearly 8,000 tons. By contrast, the Rensselaer, a 474-foot steel bulk carrier, launched at Cleveland on the same day as the Pretoria at an estimated cost of $350,000, had a capacity of about 7,500 tons (Duluth Evening Herald 27 July 1900; Lake Carriers Association 1907:65; Ralph K. Roberts 1992, pers. comm.; C. Patrick Labadie 1993, pers. comm.; Runge Collection, n.d.). Davidson's investment in the steamer and consort is currently unknown, but was probably around $200,000, with the schooner-barge constituting about one-third of that figure (Duluth Evening Herald 27 July 1900; Wolfe 1990:108). By factoring in savings in insurance premiums, vessel maintenance, towing charges, and Lake Carrier Association dues, it begins to become apparent how Davidson's wooden fleet could compete with the new generation of long steel ships. In 1910 James Cooke Mills, in his book Our Inland Seas, described the ongoing evolution of Great Lakes freighters and remarked upon "the fine wooden steamship and consorts of large capacity, such as are of considerable importance in the lake shipping to this day. Steamers and schooners of this type were built as late as 1903, at which time the supply of oak timber suitable for ship material became practically exhausted." Mills singled out the Davidson fleet as "the best of its class afloat upon any waters of America" and predicted that the "stanch wooden ship will likely continue a factor in the carrying trade for a number of years to come" (Mills 1910:217-219) . Registration Requirements The schooner-barge Pretoria meets the registration requirements for Criteria A,C,and D, as established in the multiple property listing, Great Lakes Shipwrecks of Wisconsin. Of the fourteen schooner-barges known to have been lost or abandoned in Wisconsin waters, only six were actually built as schooner-barges. The most of the others, such as the Richard Mott, built in 1854, and the Helvetia built in 1873, were originally configured as fully rigged schooners. A few, like the Wisconsin, built in 1882, began their careers as steamers. Of the Wisconsin schooner-barge wrecks, Pretoria stands out as unique. While the other, older, true schooner-barges, like Noquebay, William McGregor, and Adriatic,