MARQUETTE

#

The Marquette, a barkentine, was built in 1856 in Newport (Marine City), Michigan. Constructed with wood, the vessel featured a single deck and was built by James Bushnell. The original owner of the ship, located in Detroit, Michigan, was Eber B. Ward.

Equipped with three masts, the Marquette had a length of 139 feet, a beam of 30 feet, and a depth of 11 feet 2 inches. According to the old style tonnage measurement, the vessel had a capacity of 436 65/95 tons.

Tragically, on November 20, 1867, the Marquette met its final demise near Hope Island in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron. The ship was en route from Chicago to Collingwood, carrying a cargo of 20,000 bushels of corn when it became stranded and sank during a violent gale.

Throughout its history, the Marquette encountered various incidents and ownership changes. It was enrolled in Detroit, Michigan, on June 18, 1856, for Lake Superior trade. Ownership transferred to E.W. Owen of Ann Arbor, Michigan, on October 6, 1859. A collision occurred with the schooner Milwaukee at St. Helena, Lake Michigan, in November 1860. In September 1862, the vessel sank in a collision with the A.J. Warner near Cheboygan, Michigan. Ownership shifted to Eber W. Owen of Newport, Michigan, on May 1, 1862, with the vessel’s tonnage listed as 426 65/95 tons. Peter J. Ralph and others from Detroit, Michigan, assumed ownership on April 30, 1863.

The Marquette underwent repairs in 1864 and was subsequently readmeasured on April 21, 1865, with two masts and dimensions of 138 x 30.4 x 10.6 feet, amounting to 331.53 tons. S.J. Perry of Chicago, Illinois, became the owner on April 6, 1867, leading to the ship’s tragic sinking in Lake Huron later that year on November 20.