Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society - GLSPS

11/05/2026

On November 5, 1925, another veteran of the lakes came to her end. The 44-year old schooner JL Crane foundered off of Crisp Point, taking her seven man crew to the bottom.

http://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/62727/data

On November 5th (also reported as the 6th) in 1896, the Canadian steamer Acadia was down bound with a cargo of wheat. She was the first North American vessel to have oak planking installed over a steel frame.

Battling heavy seas, she went aground on Grindstone Point (ONT). With a substantial hole in her side, she flooded and sank within 20 minutes. Fortunately, she was only in about 20 feet of water at the time. Her crew made it safely to shore, but then faced a grueling hike through the Canadian wilderness to reach Gargantua Harbor.

Meanwhile, their ship was being beaten to pieces on the rocks making salvage impractical.

http://www.saultstar.com/2011/10/29/lake-superior-shipwreck-stories-enough-to-blow-you-away

11/05/2026

The Wasaga was lost on Sunday, November 6, 1910 while bound up the Lakes with a cargo of farm machinery and other mixed freight bound for Fort William in company of the steamer Westmount. The two steamers had found themselves in heavy weather off the Keweenaw and decided to tuck inside of Copper Harbor to ride out the storm before continuing on the Fort William the next morning.

While at anchor at about 6AM, the Wasaga was found to be on fire. Her seventeen crew battled the flames for a few hours before taking to the lifeboats and coming aboard the Westmount. Shortly after, the Wasaga’s burned hull went to bottom in 35 feet of water.

Later that month, the insurance underwriters sent Captain Con Flynn from Duluth to see what, if anything could be salvaged from the wreck, but it was determined that the ship’s cargo of farm implements, barbed wire, brick and sewer pipe were not worth salvaging. In June of the next year, salvage contractors Wanless and King of Duluth recovered the Wasaga’s engine and boiler, abandoning most of the other charred and twisted remains on the bottom.

http://www.ship-wrecks.net/shipwreck/keweenaw/wasaga.html

11/05/2026

The steamer Salt Lake City was only 4 years old when it was renamed in honor of a millionaire lawyer from Duluth.

It was on November 6th in 1918 that the Chester Congdon became the first million dollar loss on the lakes- snagging on the Canoe Rocks at Isle Royale.

Nearly 60,000 bushels of grain were salvaged, but November gales ripped at the 532 foot freighter, breaking it in two and sending the pieces down opposite sides of the reef. Parts were salvaged from the bow, but the stern remains largely intact in deep water.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_A._Congdon_(ship)

11/04/2026

On November 4, 1869 the schooner WW Arnold was sailing down bound with a cargo of Marquette iron ore, headed for Erie, PA. Off of the Two Hearted River, she was hit by a gale and foundered. All ten of her crew went down with their ship.

ARNOLD, W.W. Schooner, cargo ore, foundered in Lake Superior, with all hands; total loss.       Marine Disasters on the ...

11/04/2026

We have just added an unknown Michigan Thumb wreck to our 3DShipwrecks.org website and database. The139 ft. bark Massilon was built in 1857 in Cleveland, OH. In its short career of 19 years, the Massilon had a surprising eleven groundings or collisions. It was converted to a schooner in 1874. In 1886 while enroute from Kelley’s Island to Chicago with a load of limestone, the Massilon sprang a leak 20 miles above Point aux Barques near Saginaw Bay. The crew were picked up by the tug VULCAN, transferred to the propeller STARUCCA and taken to Port Huron. Today it is a little-known wreck site that we were permitted to photograph for a photogrammetry model. The model was created from 1,381 30-megapixel images shot by Andrew Goodman with the support of Chris Roth in the 2026 season. Our thanks to Dave Trotter, Jared Daniel and Chris Roth for sharing this wreck site with us. The link to the new model is: https://3dshipwrecks.org/shipwreck-massilon/ and the location is shown in the second image.

11/03/2026

On November 3, 1893, the 20-year old schooner MR Warner was sailing down bound with a load of lumber when she went aground on Sand Island. Her crew got ashore safely. Rough weather, however, inhibited her salvage. Only a fraction of her cargo was removed before the waves battered the old hulk to pieces.

The schooner M.R. WARNER stranded at Sand Island, Nov. 3, 1893. Valued at $18,000. Of 1,500 gross tons Capacity. Owned by M.A. Bradley, of Cleveland.     ...

11/01/2026

The last day of October, 1895, the wooden steamer Missoula was down bound from Duluth with a cargo of wheat. Out in the middle of the lake 30 miles off of Whitefish Point, she was battling gale force winds when the worst of all events happened - she snapped her propeller shaft - leaving the ship without power or steerage.

The winds turned her about and blew her into a trough where she rolled about helplessly. Her pumps were working full out, but the ships seams began to open under the beating she was taking from the waves. So she drifted for a full day, taking on water.

On the night of November 1st, her Captain ordered the crew to their boats. The yawls had a wild, frigid ride throughout the following day as the wind shifted about. They eventually came to shore on Lizard Island. From there, five of the crew traveled onward to the Soo in a borrowed sailboat to report the loss. The remaining 16 were rescued a week later.
http://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/54264/data

Halloween of 1911 was all tricks and no treats for the lumber ho**er D Leuty as she tried to enter Marquette harbor. Struggling against a storm, she foundered and went down in about 40 feet of water - just 800 feet away from lighthouse point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kbzkRvoC4E

10/30/2026

On October 28, 1887, the schooner Bessie Barwick was headed from Port Arthur, ONT to Kingston with a cargo of wheat. Sailing in heavy seas, she started leaking off of Michipicoten Island and foundered. All hands were saved.
http://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/51468/data

In a heavy gale during at the end of October, 1892, the schooner Zack Chandler was beached off of Deer Point. Her crew was saved, but the waves washed away her cargo of lumber. The 25-year old hulk "melted away on the beach" and there was nothing left to salvage.
http://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/60232/data

A third old schooner also met her fate on this date in 1906. The 32-year old Elgin was being towed by the tug Crosby as they headed from Duluth for Chicago with a cargo of coal and hay.

Not long after setting out, the Elgin began leaking. They headed for the shelter of Grand Marais, MN. By the time they entered the harbor, the Elgin's deck was awash and she grounded out. With a strong NE gale rising, the Elgin was abandoned in place, where she broke apart during the storm.
http://books.google.com/books?id=Jkb6W7rlg9sC&pg=PA152&lpg=PA152&dq=Elgin+1906+shipwreck+Grand+Marais&source=bl&ots=x7KMmtkSSW&sig=JiFgr7F

Sailing in the midst of a heavy snow storm on October 29, 1856, the side wheeler Superior was heavily laden with cargo and a full load of passengers.

Off of the Picture Rocks, she went off course and hit the rocks. Attempts to lighten the ship failed and she took on water until her boilers were extinguished. Passengers were washed overboard by the waves and had to attempt to swim though snow, wind and heavy seas to the rocks beyond. The survivors then faced a long cold hike in to Munising or Grand Island. Between 25 and 42 people were lost during this disaster.
http://www.thegreatwaters.com/member-profile/123/327/

On October 29, 1874 the package side wheeler Lotta Bernard was headed from Port Arthur to Duluth when she foundered in a storm off Encampment Island, near Castle Danger, MN.

Her boats were launched, but one capsized taking two crewmen to the bottom. Twelve others survived the trip to shore, but one died due to exposure. On shore the survivors found food and shelter in the camp of a local Ojibwa family.
http://zenithcity.com/october-29-1874-the-wreck-of-the-lotta-bernard/

10/30/2026

On October 29, 1896, the steamer Hesper had the schooner barges Nauganee and Samuel P. Ely under tow as they headed from Duluth to Two Harbors, MN to load iron ore. Impeded by high seas and a strong head wind, the Hesper was barely able to make way with her two consorts.

When they finally reached the harbor, the tow line for the Ely was cast off. The Ely's crew set their anchors, but they would not hold in the wind. The Ely drifted into the shoals where she became wedged in the rocks and unable to move. Her crew scrambled into the rigging as their ship sunk during the night.

The next morning, the crew was rescued by the local tug Ella G Stone, using a small sailboat on the end of a long line. It took many attempts to drift the boat out to the wreck and three successful trips to retrieve all ten men from the Ely. The shallow water Ely wreck is a very popular dive site and a long term GLSPS project.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_P._Ely_(shipwreck)

10/30/2026

On October 29, 1910, the steamer Langham was upbound with a load of coal when she encountered a storm off of Keweenaw Point. Her captain found shelter in Bete Grise Bay on the south side of the point. The following morning, a fire broke out on board. The crew abandoned ship and then watched from shore as the Langham burned to the waterline.
http://www.ship-wrecks.net/shipwreck/keweenaw/langham.html