The Almira was a two-masted, wooden scow-schooner built at Black River, Ohio by J. Curtis. It was then enrolled at Cleveland, Ohio in 1849 with a tonnage measuring at 80 tons. In September of that year, records show the Almira went ashore at Ashtabula, Ohio. It was enrolled again between 1854 and 1855 at Sandusky, Ohio. The 1860 enrollment at Milwaukee reflected ownership under John Mullen of Racine, Wisconsin; at this time, it was measured at 76 tons.

On July 8, 1863, the Almira was dismasted and capsized on Lake Ontario. All hands were lost in the incident.
On December 1, 1871, the scow-schooner Almira was navigating unladen to Clay Banks in Door County, Wisconsin; it was to be loaded with wood for Racine, Wisconsin. The small vessel, however, disappeared on this trip. It was presumed to be lost in the gale that blew across Lake Michigan on December 2, or otherwise stranded in ice, cut through, and lost with all five aboard.
The current location and condition of the Almira has not yet been identified by archaeological investigation.