Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name: Mitchell, Claud
- Type: Wooden, two-masted schooner (operated as a barge)
- Year Built: 1870
- Builder: Bay City, Michigan
- Dimensions: Length 97 ft (29.6 m); Beam 25.5 ft (7.8 m); Depth of hold 4 ft (1.2 m)
- Registered Tonnage: ~58.21 net tons
- Location: Sydenham River (likely near Wallaceburg or Port Lambton)
- Official Number: C72981
- Original Owners: George Mitchell, Wallaceburg, Ontario
- Number of Masts: Two fore-and-aft rigged masts
Wreck Location Map
Vessel Type
A modest-sized schooner-barque used primarily as a grain or cargo barge on Lake Huron connections and the Sydenham River for short-distance operations.
Description
Wooden hull with two fore-and-aft rigged masts, lacking auxiliary propulsion—used as a towed barge. Constructed flat-bottomed for shallow-draft river navigation.
History
- 1870: Built in Bay City, MI for regional hauling
- May 1875: Registered under George Mitchell in Wallaceburg, ON
- 1879: Sank and abandoned in the Sydenham River—likely a boiler or hull breach; no records of salvage or prior incident
Significant Incidents
No significant incidents reported prior to sinking.
Final Disposition
The vessel sank and was abandoned in situ. No notable salvage or historical record of removal; remains may have been left in-river, deteriorating over time.
Current Condition & Accessibility
No records of rediscovery or survey. The remains are possibly still buried in riverbed sediments, inaccessible to recreational divers.
Resources & Links
[shotline_reference_links slug=”claud-mitchell-c-72981″ title=”References & Links”]
Mitchell, Claud represents a small, workaday schooner-barque employed briefly in Great Lakes–connected river transport. She met a quiet fate—sinking and abandonment in 1879 along the Sydenham River. Little remains are known about her operational life beyond registration records.
Legacy Notes & Full Historical Record
This section preserves the original unedited Shotline content for this wreck so that no historical detail is lost as we transition to the new logbook format.
Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name: Mitchell, Claud
- Year built: 1870, Bay City, Michigan
- Type: Wooden, two‑masted schooner (operated as a barge)
- Original owner: George Mitchell, Wallaceburg, Ontario (Registered May 1875, C72981)
- Dimensions: 29.6 m (97 ft) length × 7.8 m (25.5 ft) beam × 1.2 m (4 ft) depth
- Tonnage: ~58.21 net tons (gross not recorded)
- Final loss date: 1879
- Loss method: Sank and abandoned in the Sydenham River, Ontario
- Final location: River Sydenham (likely near Wallaceburg or Port Lambton)
Vessel Type
A modest-sized schooner-barque used primarily as a grain or cargo barge on Lake Huron connections and the Sydenham River for short-distance operations.
Description
Wooden hull with two fore-and-aft rigged masts, lacking auxiliary propulsion—used as a towed barge. Constructed flat-bottomed for shallow-draft river navigation.
History & Chronology
- 1870: Built in Bay City, MI for regional hauling
- May 1875: Registered under George Mitchell in Wallaceburg, ON
- 1879: Sank and abandoned in the Sydenham River—likely a boiler or hull breach; no records of salvage or prior incident
Final Disposition
The vessel sank and was abandoned in situ. No notable salvage or historical record of removal; remains may have been left in-river, deteriorating over time.
Located By & Date Found
No records of rediscovery or survey. The remains are possibly still buried in riverbed sediments, inaccessible to recreational divers.
Notmars & Advisories
None. The vessel’s abandonment was localized and occurred well before modern navigation systems.
Resources & Links
- Official enrollment register (May 1875)
- C. Patrick Labadie collection—a concise summary of construction and loss
- Regional shipping records showing operation on the Sydenham River
Shore Dive & Survey Information
Not applicable. The wreck is in shallow river waters and likely silted in; accessibility is poor and not suitable for divingConclusion
Mitchell, Claud represents a small, workaday schooner-barque employed briefly in Great Lakes–connected river transport. She met a quiet fate—sinking and abandonment in 1879 along the Sydenham River. Little remains are known about her operational life beyond registration records.
Keywords & Glossary
- Wood-hulled schooner barge | River transport vessel | River Sydenham loss | Wallaceburg maritime history | 1870s barge sinking