The Selah Chamberlain was enrolled as a steam barge in May of 1873; it was named after influential Cleveland businessman Selah Chamberlain. The steam barge primarily sailed the Great Lakes transporting ore from the upper lakes to eastern ports, often towing schooners as its consorts; this ore was often retrieved from ports in Michigan, such as Escanaba or Marquette. The steam barge was not limited to ore, however, and as a bulk freighter would take on whatever cargo lead to profit. The vessel ran aground on its first ever voyage in 1873 when it failed to negotiate the Straits of Mackinac; it sustained only minor damage. The ship received another deck only a year after its launch, increasing its carrying capacity. The Selah Chamberlain rescued the crew of schooner Tom Boy after it sank in Lake Michigan in 1880. The ship survived what was claimed to be the most severe gale on Lake Superior in 1884, its consort, schooner John Martin, was caught by the current and was dragged onto the beach of Duluth, Minnesota; the Selha Chamberlain was driven into the middle of a wagon bridge, damaging the bridge heavily.
On October 13, 1886, the Selah Chamberlain and consort Fayette Brown left Milwaukee bound for Escanaba, Michigan, to load up on iron ore that would then be transported to Cleveland. While heading north the Chamberlain encountered inclement weather. That evening at 8:30 and approximately seven miles from shore the Chamberlain heard another vessel's whistle directly ahead. Captain Greenly immediately signaled its whistle once and turned the vessel's wheel aport. The Selah Chamberlain was struck in the port bow by what was later determined as the John Pridgeon Jr. The John Pridgeon Jr. was fully loaded, and had a reinforced bow of four inch thick iron, thus it practically cut about ten feet into the Selah Chamberlain. After the collision, the Chamberlain cut its tow and headed west to shore in hopes of running aground. Damage to the Chamberlain was intense, however, and water filled the steam barge at an alarming rate; it sounded its whistle in distress repeatedly, but no help arrived. One lifeboat's davits broke when it became overwhelmed by crewmembers, causing them to fall into the lake and be lost; when the engines of the ship died, the second lifeboat was readied and barely rowed clear of the sinking Chamberlain.

Over the next few years a couple of salvage operations attempted to raise the Chamberlain at great time and expense. The wreck would be the first deep water wreck operation on Lake Michigan. The Selah Chamberlain was never salvaged.
The wreck of the Selah Chamberlain is partially buried in sand 2 miles northeast of Sheboygan Point in 87 feet of water. It is broken into three pieces, forming a V-shape on the sandy bottom. Much of the lower hull still remains, while the superstructure (decks, cabins, pilothouse) is missing. Two boilers rest near the stern on wooden floors reinforced with steel I-beams. The cast iron frame of the tandem engine rises twenty-five feet above the bottom, featuring many decorative elements not found on later engines. The horn timber and rudder still stand to mark the vessel's stern. The bilge structure is mostly covered in sand.

A dive guide for this vessel is available for purchase.