Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name: Unknown Schooner (possibly marked “AVII”)
- Type: Wooden Schooner
- Year Built: Likely post-1870
- Builder:
- Dimensions: Over 130 ft (39.6 m); Unknown Beam; Unknown Depth of hold
- Registered Tonnage:
- Location: Coe’s Landing, 6 miles below Oswego, New York
- Coordinates: 43°22′N, 76°27′W
Wreck Location Map
Vessel Type
The wreckage is consistent with a large wooden schooner, likely rigged with multiple hatches and built to carry grain. The presence of cabin furniture, oval sash windows, capstan bars, and a panel grained in imitation white oak suggests a vessel built with refined accommodations – a trait typical of larger grain carriers of the 1870s.
The fragment marked “AVII” may reference Hatch A, position VII or some internal cargo notation. The presence of four hatchways indicates a sizeable schooner, possibly over 130 feet in length.
Description
On or before October 11, 1876, a schooner wrecked somewhere in Lake Ontario off Coe’s Landing. Debris washed ashore overnight, with local farmers and Dr. E. A. Mattoon among the first to investigate. Items discovered included:
- Sections of cabin doors and side paneling
- Six whole doors with 3-inch projecting hinges
- A cabin deck scuttle and blue-white canvas cabin roof covering
- Window sash with oval tops
- Two pails, a bed, washstand, and bedstead
- Two large capstan bars
- A section of hatch marked “AVII”
- Loose wheat seen along the shoreline
- A single oar found by local farmers
The condition of the debris—new, dry wood with fresh paint—suggests a relatively recently constructed or well-maintained vessel. There is no record of a large schooner overdue at Oswego or Kingston around that date, and the steam barge Ellsworth was ruled out after being seen at Ogdensburg the same week.
History
On or before October 11, 1876, a schooner wrecked somewhere in Lake Ontario off Coe’s Landing. Debris washed ashore overnight, with local farmers and Dr. E. A. Mattoon among the first to investigate. Items discovered included:
- Sections of cabin doors and side paneling
- Six whole doors with 3-inch projecting hinges
- A cabin deck scuttle and blue-white canvas cabin roof covering
- Window sash with oval tops
- Two pails, a bed, washstand, and bedstead
- Two large capstan bars
- A section of hatch marked “AVII”
- Loose wheat seen along the shoreline
- A single oar found by local farmers
The condition of the debris—new, dry wood with fresh paint—suggests a relatively recently constructed or well-maintained vessel. There is no record of a large schooner overdue at Oswego or Kingston around that date, and the steam barge Ellsworth was ruled out after being seen at Ogdensburg the same week.
Significant Incidents
- Probable Loss: Total
- Crew: Presumed lost (no bodies reported recovered)
- Vessel: Identity unknown; possibly listed in U.S. or Canadian registries pre-1876
- Search Status: No known salvage; no confirmed discovery of hull or keel
- Artifacts: Cabin panel retained at local Oswego newspaper office for identification
Final Disposition
As only cabin wreckage was recovered on shore, the vessel itself likely sank further offshore, possibly in waters deeper than 60–100 feet. No conclusive wreck site has been identified to this day.
Search Opportunity: An unmapped schooner wreck may lie off Coe’s Landing, particularly if sonar surveys in the region (e.g., from Henderson Harbor to Oswego) identify a grain cargo hold or inverted hull structure with multiple hatch spacing.
This incident remains one of the unsolved grain schooner losses of the 1870s in Lake Ontario.
Current Condition & Accessibility
This unidentified schooner wreck near Coe’s Landing represents one of many “ghost wrecks” on Lake Ontario—vessels that vanished with no confirmed loss report or known name, but which left behind enough evidence to suggest violent ends. The fresh cabinwork, marked hatch, and wheat cargo all point to a vessel in active service during fall shipping season.
Resources & Links
[shotline_reference_links slug=”coes-landing-wreck-1876″ title=”References & Links”]
This unidentified schooner wreck near Coe’s Landing represents one of many “ghost wrecks” on Lake Ontario—vessels that vanished with no confirmed loss report or known name, but which left behind enough evidence to suggest violent ends. The fresh cabinwork, marked hatch, and wheat cargo all point to a vessel in active service during fall shipping season.
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