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: Day Spring
• Official Number: 6204
• Year Built: 1860
• Builder: H. Kelley, Milan, Ohio
• Original Owner: H. Kelley, Milan, Ohio
• Vessel Type: Wooden schooner
• Hull Materials: Wood
• Number of Decks: 1
• Number of Masts: 2 (later converted to 3 masts)
• Dimensions (original):
  • Length: 22.4 m (73.4 ft)
  • Beam: 6.2 m (20.5 ft)
  • Depth: 1.9 m (6.1 ft)
  • Tonnage: 82 tons (old measurement)
• Dimensions (after rebuild, 1871):
  • Length: 29.9 m (98 ft)
  • Beam: 6.4 m (21 ft)
  • Depth: 1.8 m (6 ft)
  • Tonnage: 87 gross / 83 net tons
• Final Location: Near Muskegon, Michigan, Lake Michigan
• Date of Loss: 1 August 1904
• Final Cargo: Sawdust

Vessel Type

The Day Spring was a two-masted wooden schooner, later converted to a three-masted configuration, working in Great Lakes regional cargo trades for more than four decades.

Description

Built in 1860 by H. Kelley at Milan, Ohio, the Day Spring was a typical mid-19th-century schooner with a single deck and a broad beam for carrying bulk cargo. In 1871, under new ownership, she was lengthened and a third mast added, expanding her capacity for the lumber and grain trade. Her construction used oak frames with pine planking, traditional for schooners of her class.

History

• 1860: Built and registered in Milan, Ohio.
• 1864, April 19: Enrolled at Buffalo, New York.
• 1865, April 3: Sold to John F. Edwards of Detroit and James R. Reeves of St. Joseph, Michigan.
• 1869: Aground in Chicago, but released and repaired.
• 1871: Owned by John Thompson, Sheboygan, Wisconsin; rebuilt with an additional mast, increasing length to 98 ft and tonnage to 87 tons gross.
• 1872, August: Struck by lightning off Algonac, Wisconsin, resulting in one fatality.
• 1879: Owned by Townsend et al, Sheboygan.
• 1892, February 12: Registered to Captain L. C. Ludwig, South Haven, Michigan.
• 1904, August 1: Bound from Frankfort, Michigan, to Chicago with a cargo of sawdust, she encountered a summer gale near Muskegon, Michigan, stranded, and subsequently sank.

Final Disposition

Declared a total loss after sinking near Muskegon on 1 August 1904 in heavy weather.

Located By & Date Found

There is no confirmed modern dive survey of the wreck; presumed buried or scattered near Muskegon’s outer harbor area.

Notmars & Advisories

No current Notices to Mariners (NOTMAR) are posted for the site.

Resources & Links

• Maritime History of the Great Lakes
• Great Lakes Vessels Online Index – Bowling Green State University
• David Swayze Shipwreck File
• Board of Lake Underwriters Marine Directory
• William MacDonald Collection, Dossin Great Lakes Museum

Conclusion

The Day Spring represents the working Great Lakes schooners that formed the backbone of regional trade in the 19th century. Rebuilt and repurposed over her long career, she finally succumbed to the harsh weather of Lake Michigan while transporting sawdust — a relatively low-value but essential industrial commodity of the period. Her loss is a testament to the rugged but often perilous world of wooden sail shipping on the lakes.

Keywords, Categories, Glossary Terms

wooden schooner • Lake Michigan • 19th-century • sawdust cargo • three-masted schooner • Great Lakes shipwreck • Muskegon

day-spring-us-6204 1904-08-01 19:18:00