Identification & Site Information

• Name: Union Jack
• Former Names: None
• Official Number: Unknown (Canadian vessel)
• Date Built & Launched: 1867
• Builder: Norman, Mill Point, Ontario (now Deseronto, Ontario)
• Specifications: 227 tons
• Vessel Type: Wooden Schooner
• Date Lost: September 10, 1875
• Place of Loss: 5 miles ESE of Bar Point Lightship, Lake Erie
• Cause of Loss: Sprang a leak in a storm, Foundered
• Loss of Life: None
• Cargo: Corn
• Owner: Thompson & Co., Belleville, Ontario
• Master at Loss: Captain Monk

Vessel Type

The Union Jack was a wooden Schooner, a common vessel type for grain and bulk cargo transport on the Great Lakes. Schooners were widely used for their efficiency in handling cargoes such as corn, wheat, lumber, and coal, especially in the late 19th century when lake trade was expanding rapidly.

Description & History

The Union Jack was constructed in 1867 in Mill Point, Ontario (now part of Deseronto) by a shipbuilder named Norman. It was owned by Thompson & Co. of Belleville, Ontario, a city known for its shipbuilding and maritime trade.

On September 10, 1875, the Union Jack was sailing from Toledo, Ohio, bound for the Welland Canal and Belleville, Ontario, carrying a load of corn. As it made its way through heavy weather, the vessel sprang a leak, a common issue for wooden ships that had been subjected to years of stress from storms and heavy cargo loads.

Despite the crew’s efforts to save the ship, they were ultimately unable to keep it afloat. The Schooner Foundered off Bar Point, sinking beneath the waves just as the crew escaped in the small boat.

Nearly a month later, on October 7, 1875, the large Schooner Michigan narrowly avoided striking the mast tips of the sunken Union Jack, indicating that portions of the wreck were still visible above the water at that time.

Interestingly, Captain Monk, the master of the Union Jack, had a similar accident at nearly the same location in 1899 with the Schooner Thomas Dobbie, suggesting that this part of Lake Erie was particularly treacherous.

Final Disposition

The Union Jack sank completely off Bar Point and was never recovered. Over time, the wreck would have settled into the lakebed, possibly buried by shifting sand and sediment.

Located By & Date Found

There is no confirmed discovery of the wreck.

NOTMARs & Advisories

Bar Point is a known navigational hazard, located near the western end of Lake Erie, where strong currents and shifting sandbars have caused multiple shipwrecks. The area has seen significant dredging and commercial shipping activity, which may have disturbed or buried remnants of the Union Jack.

Resources & Links

• • Maritime History of the Great Lakes
• • Great Lakes Ships Database
• • David Swayze Shipwreck File
• • NOAA Great Lakes Shipwrecks

Conclusion

The Union Jack was a typical grain Schooner of the 19th century, lost to Lake Erie’s unpredictable weather. The ship’s sinking near Bar Point Lightship highlights the dangers of this heavily traveled yet hazardous area. Though no lives were lost, its wreck became an obstruction for other vessels, with its mast tips still visible weeks after the sinking. The fact that Captain Monk later lost another ship in the same area in 1899 suggests a pattern of difficult sailing conditions in this part of the lake.

Keywords & Categories

Keywords: Great Lakes shipwrecks, Schooner, Bar Point, Lake Erie storms, grain trade, Welland Canal trade

Categories: Shipwrecks of Lake Erie, 19th-century shipwrecks, wooden schooners, storm-related losses

Glossary Terms: Schooner, Foundering, Bar Point Lightship, Grain Trade