On This Day In Alabama History: SS Selma Was Laid To Rest

By Graydon Rust Alabama 200

March 9, 1922

A private company towed the SS Selma to a specially dug channel near Pelican Island, Texas, and laid it to rest. Built by F.F. Ley & Company in Mobile, the Selma was one of 12 experimental concrete ships completed by various contractors during World War I. Weighing 7,500 tons, the 434-feet-long ship launched on June 28, 1919 — the same day World War I officially ended — and soon entered service as a private oil tanker on the Gulf Coast. The ship suffered a 60-foot crack in its hull after striking a jetty in 1920, and no facilities had the ability to repair concrete hulls. The ship now lies as a permanent fixture in the harbor in Galveston, Texas and is the Official Flagship of the Texas Army National Guard.

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