Schooner Young Lyon

Identification & Site Information

• Name: Young Lyon
• Other Names: Unknown
• Official Number: 65018
• Vessel Type at Loss: Wooden Schooner (possibly a canalboat)
• Builder: Unknown
• Year Built & Launched: Unknown
• Specifications:
  • Tonnage: 117 tons
• Date Lost: 1874
• Location of Loss: Unreported (somewhere on Lake Huron)
• Cause of Loss: Foundered or fire
• Loss of Life: Unknown
• Cargo at Time of Loss: Unknown

Vessel Description & History

Little detailed information is available about the Schooner Young Lyon. She was likely a small cargo vessel, operating on the Great Lakes trade routes, possibly carrying lumber, grain, or general freight. Some records suggest she may have been a converted canalboat—vessels used in both canal and open-water shipping, which were common in the mid-19th century.

She was registered out of Rochester, New York, suggesting she operated in both Lake Ontario and Lake Huron, possibly transiting via the Welland Canal to reach western Great Lakes ports.

Final Disposition

• Lost in 1874 somewhere on Lake Huron, but details are missing.
• Reported to have Foundered (sank) or been lost to fire.
• No known salvage efforts or wreck discovery.

Located By & Date Found

No confirmed discovery of wreckage.

NOTMARs & Advisories

No modern navigational hazards related to this vessel have been documented.

Resources & Links

• Maritime History of the Great Lakes: http://www.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca
• Great Lakes Maritime Database (GLMD): https://greatlakeships.org
• David Swayze Shipwreck File: https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org
• Great Lakes Vessel Database (BGSU): https://greatlakes.bgsu.edu/vessels

Conclusion

The Young Lyon remains a mystery among Great Lakes shipwrecks, with no confirmed location, cause of loss, or survivor accounts. Whether she Foundered in a storm or was lost to fire, her fate is one of many undocumented maritime tragedies of the 1870s Great Lakes shipping era.