Dahlia, 1874
Dahlia: a plant of the genus Dahlia, indigenous to Mexico and Central America, with tuberous roots and usually large, variously colored flowers.
Builder: Neafie & Levy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Length: 141' 6"
Beam: 25'
Draft: 10' 6"
Displacement: 426 tons
Cost: $81,800
Commissioned: May, 1874
Decommissioned: 1909
Disposition: Sold
Machinery: steam engine; coal-fired boiler; single iron propeller
Performance & Endurance:
Max:
Cruising:
Deck Gear: Wood derrick
Complement: 21
Armament: None
Tender History:
The United States Lighthouse Tender Dahlia was the first tender built specifically for service on the Great Lakes. She was an iron-hulled steamer of over 400 tons displacement when fully loaded. She was assigned as an inspection tender to the 11th Lighthouse District on Lake Michigan.
She was sold for $5,400 on 17 February 1909 and became the passenger steamer Flora M. Hill. She later sank off Chicago Harbor on 11 March 1912.
Sources:
Douglas Peterson. United States Lighthouse Service Tenders, 1840-1939. Annapolis: Eastwind Publishing, 2000.