Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan
THE GRAVEYARD OF LAKEONTARIO
by Willis Metcalfe
The graveyard of LakeOntarioThe Main Duck is widely known,
For a score of helpless vessels
On its jagged shores have blown.
Duluth to Montreal, Cleveland to the sea,
Veteran mariners spin tragic yarns,
About an island near the Galoos. / The Graveyard of Lake Ontario,
A sailor's last Port of Call.
For many a veteran seaman
Arrived not at home in the fall;
Lulled by the wind and the waves,
They sleep in the boundless deep
In a harbour fair, safe port at last.
Ancient brigs and man-of-wars,
Schooners, barques and frigates
Are derelicts on its shores
Laden freighters, tugs and tows
Have grounded on its shoals,
Held prisoners by rocky tentacles,
Unfreed in their struggling throes. /
The Great Lakes of the United States are important and busy shipping routes of goods and materials. Unfortunately, they have also been the site of many shipwrecks. Plotting the positions of these wrecks on the map on the next page will give you some insight into where many of the wrecks occurred, as well as giving you some practice using degrees, minutes, and seconds (DMS) of latitude and longitude.
Appomatox / 43°05’N 87°52’W / Nov. 1905 / Stranded in smoke, later destroyed by a succession of storms. Final destruction by a big gale on Nov 29, 1905.Carrington / 45°05’N 87°19’W / 1870 / Bound Depere for Chicago, she stuck on reef and was broken up by waves.
Christina Nilsson / 45°03’N 87°05’W / 1884 / A "splendid craft" succumbs to a blinding snowstorm and gale-force winds
Cherubusco / 45°08’N 87°03’W / Nov. 1872 / She stranded and wrecked in 10 feet of water
Daniel Lyons / 44°40’N 87°17’W / 1878 / Collided with the schooner KATE GILLETT (see HORACE H. BADGER) and sank in 15 minutes. The two collided at night in heavy seas.
Frank O’Connor / 45°40’N 87°00’W / 1919 / She caught fire, burned to total loss and sank offshore.
Hetty Taylor / 43°40’N 87°40’W / 1880 / The Hetty Taylor was sailing light from Milwaukee to Escanaba, Michigan on August 26, 1880, when a heavy squall kicked up. The storm overpowered the small schooner and capsized her about five miles from Sheboygan, Wis.
Kate Kelly / 42°47’N 87°43’W / May 14,
1885 / Bound Sheboygan for Chicago, she capsized and foundered in equinoctial gale. Her crewmen died in the rigging.
Lumberman / 42°52’N 87°45’W / Apr. 20th
1893 / Bound Chicago for Kewaunee, WI., she capsized in a squall and sank to her topmasts in 70 feet of water.
Meridian / 45°13’N 87°08’W / 1873 / In late October 1873, the Meridian sailed for Oconto, Wisconsin, Sailing headlong into a tempest with stiff northerly winds, heavy snowfall and dangerous icing, the Meridian was driven hard onto SisterIsland shoal and eventually pounded to pieces
Niagara / 43°30’N 87°46’W / 1856 / On Sept. 23, 1856, the Niagara left Sheboygan, Wis., for Port Washington. Around 4 p.m., fire broke out. smoke and flames engulfed the boat 4-5 miles offshore, passengers panicked, causing one of Wisconsin's deadliest transportation disasters.
The PilotIsland Wrecks / 45°46’N 86°55’W / 1891 and 1892 / On the night of October 28, 1891, the scow-schoonerForest entered the Death's Door en route from Chicago to Nahma, Michigan. A gale struck and drove the ship onto the reef at PilotIsland. The next fall the dangerous passage wrecked two more schooners at the same spot.
Selah Chamberlain / 43°46’N 87°39’W / 1928 / Chamberlain was struck in the port bow by the steamer John Pridgeon Jr, also a wooden hulled propeller steamer. The Selah Chamberlain sank quickly with the loss of five crew.