Shotline Diving

Connecting You to the Depths of the Great Lakes

Coquette (1857)

Explore the remains of the Coquette, a wooden schooner lost in Lake Ontario, known for its grain trade and multiple incidents throughout its service.

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

  • Name: Coquette
  • Type: Schooner
  • Year Built: 1857
  • Builder: Melancthon Simpson
  • Dimensions: Length 108.7 ft (33.1 m); Beam 23.6 ft (7.2 m); Depth of hold 9.2 ft (2.8 m)
  • Registered Tonnage: 176.5 tons
  • Location: East Pier Beach, Oswego, NY
  • Official Number: US4927
  • Original Owners: George W. Chisholm and associates; later owned by Captain Morgan M. Wheeler
  • Number of Masts: Two-masted

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

  • Type: Schooner
  • Usage: Grain trade
  • Construction: Wooden-hulled, lake schooner
  • Rig: Two-masted

Description

Built for the Lake Ontario grain trade, Coquette featured moderate dimensions for regional shipping:

  • Length: 33.1 m (108.7 ft)
  • Beam: 7.2 m (23.6 ft)
  • Depth: 2.8 m (9.2 ft)
  • Tonnage (Old Style): 176.5 tons
  • Capacity: Approx. 10,000 bushels of grain

History

  • 1857: Built by Melancthon Simpson in Oakville, Ontario for George W. Chisholm and associates.
  • 1859, July: Collided with propeller COASTER in Lake Ontario.
  • 1864, June: Went ashore near Collingwood; later repaired.
  • 1866: Rebuilt; remeasured at 110.5 x 25.6 x 9.2 feet, 173.8 gross tons.
  • c.1870: Owned by Captain Morgan M. Wheeler.
  • 1872, Nov 21: Drifted into east pier at Oswego, NY during a storm and sank.
  • 1872, Nov 27: Towed to Goble & McFarlane’s slip. Considered not worth repairing.
  • 1873, July 23: Refloated and beached near East Pier at Oswego.
  • 1874, Mar 31: Registration documents formally surrendered, marking vessel as lost.

Significant Incidents

  • Collision with the propeller COASTER in July 1859.
  • Grounding near Collingwood in June 1864.
  • Sank after drifting into the east pier at Oswego during a storm on November 21, 1872.

Final Disposition

The Coquette was effectively a total loss after its 1872 pier collision and sinking. Though it was salvaged and moved to the beach, it was not repaired and the hull likely deteriorated on the shoreline.

Current Condition & Accessibility

  • Status: No active dive site; remains not confirmed visible today.
  • Likely Location: Oswego east pier beach, Lake Ontario shoreline.

Resources & Links

[shotline_reference_links slug=”coquette-1857″ title=”References & Links”]

The Coquette was a moderately sized schooner designed for the Great Lakes grain trade. Despite multiple incidents during its career, including collisions and groundings, it continued to operate for over 15 years. Its final loss at Oswego’s east pier was the result of storm damage and structural deterioration, with the vessel ultimately beached and abandoned. It is of historical interest but not a known dive site today.

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(s): Coquette
  • Year Built: 1857
  • Built at: Oakville, Ontario
  • Final Location: East Pier Beach, Oswego, NY — Lake Ontario
  • Date Lost: 23 July 1873
  • Cause: Wrecked — initially sank near pier in 1872, then towed and beached
  • Registration: Initially Canadian (Oakville), later U.S. Registered as US4927 (Oswego, NY)

Vessel Type

  • Type: Schooner
  • Usage: Grain trade
  • Construction: Wooden-hulled, lake schooner
  • Rig: Two-masted

Description

Built for the Lake Ontario grain trade, Coquette featured moderate dimensions for regional shipping:

  • Length: 33.1 m (108.7 ft)
  • Beam: 7.2 m (23.6 ft)
  • Depth: 2.8 m (9.2 ft)
  • Tonnage (Old Style): 176.5 tons
  • Capacity: Approx. 10,000 bushels of grain

History

  • 1857: Built by Melancthon Simpson in Oakville, Ontario for George W. Chisholm and associates.
  • 1859, July: Collided with propeller COASTER in Lake Ontario.
  • 1864, June: Went ashore near Collingwood; later repaired.
  • 1866: Rebuilt; remeasured at 110.5 x 25.6 x 9.2 feet, 173.8 gross tons.
  • c.1870: Owned by Captain Morgan M. Wheeler.
  • 1872, Nov 21: Drifted into east pier at Oswego, NY during a storm and sank.
  • 1872, Nov 27: Towed to Goble & McFarlane’s slip. Considered not worth repairing.
  • 1873, July 23: Refloated and beached near East Pier at Oswego.
  • 1874, Mar 31: Registration documents formally surrendered, marking vessel as lost.

Final Disposition

The Coquette was effectively a total loss after its 1872 pier collision and sinking. Though it was salvaged and moved to the beach, it was not repaired and the hull likely deteriorated on the shoreline.

Located By & Date Found

  • Status: No active dive site; remains not confirmed visible today
  • Likely Location: Oswego east pier beach, Lake Ontario shoreline

Notmars & Advisories

None noted.

Resources & Links

  • C. Patrick Labadie Collection
  • [Canadian Registers, Oswego Records]
  • Early American Steamers, Erik Heyl
  • Inland Lloyds’ Marine Directory
  • [Donald V. Baut, Great Lakes Shipwreck Files]
  • [Peter J. VanderLinden Collections]
  • [H.G. Runge Collection, Milwaukee Public Library]

Conclusion

The Coquette was a moderately sized schooner designed for the Great Lakes grain trade. Despite multiple incidents during its career, including collisions and groundings, it continued to operate for over 15 years. Its final loss at Oswego’s east pier was the result of storm damage and structural deterioration, with the vessel ultimately beached and abandoned. It is of historical interest but not a known dive site today.

Keywords, Categories, Glossary Terms

Schooner, Lake Ontario, wooden hull, grain trade, Oswego, Oakville, collision, storm wreck, abandoned vessel, Canadian-built schooner, beached wreck.

coquette-1857 1873-07-23 02:26:00