Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name: Dayton
- Type: Schooner
- Year Built: 1835
- Builder: Grand Island, New York
- Dimensions: 69 ft (21.03 m) length x 20 ft (6.10 m) beam x 7 ft (2.13 m) depth
- Registered Tonnage: 85 tons
- Location: Near Dunkirk, New York
- Official Number: None
- Original Owners: Unknown
- Number of Masts: Two
Wreck Location Map
Vessel Type
Schooner – wooden, two-masted
Description
The Dayton was a relatively small, two-masted schooner constructed in 1835 on Grand Island, New York. Built for versatility on Lake Erie, the vessel was designed to carry cargo in the growing regional trade. Like many schooners of her class and era, she was built with shallow draft suitable for coastal and river operations as well.
History
The Dayton sailed during a formative period of Great Lakes commercial shipping. Although her complete operational history is not fully documented, her build location and dimensions suggest she was employed in the transport of regional goods—possibly timber, grain, or general merchandise—between burgeoning port towns along the lake.
While some sources mention confusion regarding her final year of service, with 1846 occasionally cited, the primary record places her loss in October 1844. The discrepancy might be due to another vessel of similar name or reporting delays in shipwreck news during that period.
Significant Incidents
The Dayton encountered a violent gale on Lake Erie near Dunkirk, New York, on October 20, 1844. She was reported to have capsized and sunk during the storm, with the total loss of all hands aboard. It remains one of the many tragic schooner losses of the mid-19th century attributed to sudden and extreme Great Lakes weather.
There are secondary records stating a schooner of this name went ashore near Erie, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1846, and was declared a total wreck. This could be a misidentification or suggest the presence of a similarly named replacement vessel.
Final Disposition
On October 20, 1844, the Dayton encountered a violent gale on Lake Erie near Dunkirk, New York. She was reported to have capsized and sunk during the storm, with the total loss of all hands aboard. It remains one of the many tragic schooner losses of the mid-19th century attributed to sudden and extreme Great Lakes weather.
There are secondary records stating a schooner of this name went ashore near Erie, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1846, and was declared a total wreck. This could be a misidentification or suggest the presence of a similarly named replacement vessel.
Current Condition & Accessibility
Nil return. There is no confirmed discovery of the Dayton wreck site to date.
Resources & Links
[shotline_reference_links slug=”dayton-1835″ title=”References & Links”]
The Dayton is emblematic of the many schooners that plied the Great Lakes during the early industrial period of North American inland navigation. Lost in a gale with all hands, her story is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by sailors on Lake Erie. With no confirmed wreckage recovered, she remains a ghost on the lake’s floor, remembered only through fragments of historical record.
Full Wreck Record — complete historical article, construction details, voyage logs, incident reports, dive conditions, and all research sources.
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