Identification & Site Information

• Name: J. DUVALL (Also seen as JOSEPH DUVALL, JOE DUVALL, JOHN J. DUVALL)
• Official Number: 75721
• Date Built and Launched: 1874
• Builder: Rand & Burger, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
• Homeport: Harbor Beach, Michigan
• Final Owner: C. H. Frame, Harbor Beach, Michigan
• Vessel Type: Wooden Two-Masted Schooner
• Hull Materials: Wood
• Power: Sail-powered
• Measurements: Length: 103 ft (31.4 m) Beam: 24 ft (7.3 m) Depth: 8 ft (2.4 m)
• Gross Tonnage: 132 tons
• Net Tonnage: 126 tons
• Primary Cargo: Lumber
• Final Route: Unknown, but operating near Harsen’s Island, St. Clair River

Vessel Type

The J. DUVALL was a wooden, two-masted schooner, commonly used for hauling lumber and bulk cargo on the Great Lakes.

Key Features of Great Lakes Schooners:

• Highly maneuverable with two or three masts
• Relied on wind power, with limited auxiliary propulsion
• Commonly used for transporting lumber, grain, and coal
• Often towed by steam-powered freighters in later years
• At 103 feet in length, the J. DUVALL was a mid-sized cargo Schooner, operating in the lumber trade across the Great Lakes.

The J. DUVALL operated for over 30 years, hauling lumber and general cargo across the Great Lakes, before colliding and sinking in 1905.

Key Events in the Vessel’s History:

• 1874: Built in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, by Rand & Burger for lumber transport.
• 1880, July 16: Capsized in a squall off Two Rivers Point, Lake Michigan, with the loss of seven lives.
• 1904: Reportedly sank in Lake Superior, though details are unclear.
• 1905, December 5: Collided with the Whaleback Steamer JAMES B. COLGATE in the St. Clair River and sank.
• 1906: Hull was dynamited to remove navigational hazard.

Final Disposition

The J. DUVALL was lost on December 5, 1905, after a collision with the Whaleback freighter JAMES B. COLGATE near Harsen’s Island in the St. Clair River.

The Disaster

• The collision occurred due to a passing error, where the Schooner and Whaleback misjudged their courses.
• The DUVALL quickly sank, but her crew escaped in her Yawl boat.
• In 1906, the wreck was dynamited to prevent obstruction in the shipping lane.

Despite being an old vessel by 1905, the J. DUVALL remained active in the lumber trade until its final accident.

Located By & Date Found

Nil return. There are no confirmed reports of the J. DUVALL‘s wreck remains being discovered or documented near Harsen’s Island, St. Clair River.

Since the wreck was dynamited, only fragments may remain buried in the riverbed.

NOTMARs & Advisories

Nil return. No modern navigational hazards related to this wreck are reported in Harsen’s Island, St. Clair River.

Resources & Links

• Maritime History of the Great Lakes
• Great Lakes Ships Database
• David Swayze Great Lakes Shipwreck File
• Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center (Alpena, MI) (Potential references to shipwrecks in the St. Clair River)
• Port Huron Museum (Port Huron, MI) (Historical records on local collisions and vessel traffic)
• National Museum of the Great Lakes (Toledo, OH) (Possible archival material on the whaleback COLGATE and Great Lakes Schooner wrecks)

Conclusion

The J. DUVALL was a long-serving Schooner that experienced multiple disasters, including a deadly capsizing in 1880, a reported sinking in 1904, and a final collision in 1905.

Its collision with the JAMES B. COLGATE in the St. Clair River marked the end of its career, and its Hull was destroyed the following year to clear the busy shipping lane.