Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name: Dispatch
- Type: Sailing schooner
- Year Built: 1857
- Builder: Miller, Kitts & Moore Shipyard
- Dimensions: Length 114 ft (34.75 m); Beam 24 ft (7.32 m); Depth of hold 10.3 ft (3.14 m)
- Registered Tonnage: 232.33 tons
- Location: Lake Michigan, at the south pier entrance to Manitowoc Harbor
- Coordinates: N 44° 05.234′ / W 87° 38.726′
- Official Number: 6153
- Original Owners: T. Lovedale
- Number of Masts: Two- or three-masted (schooner rig)
Wreck Location Map
Vessel Type
The Dispatch was a sailing schooner, typically rigged with two or three masts, designed for the grain and lumber trade.
Description
Built in 1857, the Dispatch was a wooden vessel constructed at the Miller, Kitts & Moore Shipyard in Oswego, New York. It was primarily used for transporting grain, but its service diversified to include railroad ties and cordwood.
History
The Dispatch was classified as C-1 in 1874 and valued at $4,000 at the time of its loss. It primarily operated in the Lake Michigan–Chicago grain trade, occasionally carrying lumber and rail supplies.
Significant Incidents
- Date: 11 November 1874
- Voyage: Entering Manitowoc Harbor during a severe southeast gale
- Cargo: 4,000 railroad ties and 20 cords of wood
- Missed the harbor entrance due to poor visibility and high winds
- Driven against the south harbor pier by the storm
- Rail and deck smashed; vessel stranded in surf
- Crew escaped without loss of life
Final Disposition
The Dispatch was stripped of all valuable fittings and gear by December 3, 1874, and was declared abandoned. The wreck gradually broke up on the beach.
Current Condition & Accessibility
The site is likely disintegrated in the surf zone by winter storms of 1874–75. No modern survey has documented surviving timbers, and submerged remnants, if any, may be sand-covered near the south pier. The site is considered non-divable, primarily a historical beaching with no known remaining structure.
Resources & Links
[shotline_reference_links slug=”dispatch-us-6153″ title=”References & Links”]
The Dispatch serves as a historical case study of mid-19th century wooden lake schooners and reflects the hazards of harbor approaches during storms in the pre-lighthouse era.
Full Wreck Record — complete historical article, construction details, voyage logs, incident reports, dive conditions, and all research sources.
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