Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name: Duncan Stewart
- Type: Wooden Scow-Schooner
- Year Built: 1853
- Builder:
- Dimensions: Approx. 79 ft (24 m); Approx. 20 ft (6 m); Approx. 6.5 ft (2 m)
- Registered Tonnage: Roughly 100–130 tons (estimated)
- Location: Western Lake Erie, near the Detroit–Cleveland route
- Number of Masts: 2
Wreck Location Map
Vessel Type
Wooden scow-schooner, common on the Great Lakes for carrying building materials such as lath, lumber, bricks, and shingles. Scows were flat-bottomed with squared ends, making them cheap to build, easy to beach for loading, and able to carry bulky but lightweight cargo.
Description
The Duncan Stewart was a flat-bottomed wooden scow, square-ended fore and aft, with a simple schooner rig of two masts carrying fore-and-aft sails. The broad, open hold was typical for carrying stacked lath or shingles. These vessels had a shallow draft for river and port entry and could be run up on the beach if needed.
History
Construction and Service
Built in 1853, the Duncan Stewart traded widely in the building-supplies trade, moving cut timber products such as lath from sawmills in Michigan and Ontario to developing cities including Cleveland and Buffalo. The scow-schooner design was popular due to its low cost and shallow draft, ideal for hundreds of small lumber ports around the lakes.
Final Voyage and Loss
On 12 August 1857, the Duncan Stewart was bound from Detroit to Cleveland with a cargo of lath. For unknown reasons, the vessel capsized on Lake Erie. Contemporary reports note there was no storm or significant wind at the time of the loss, suggesting a cargo shift or sudden hull failure may have caused the vessel to overturn. No casualties were reported, but the vessel was lost.
Significant Incidents
- No casualties were reported during the loss of the Duncan Stewart.
Final Disposition
The Duncan Stewart was a total loss. There is no record of salvage or recovery. The hull was presumably abandoned or broke up in Lake Erie.
Current Condition & Accessibility
No confirmed discovery or dive survey of the wreck has been documented.
Resources & Links
[shotline_reference_links slug=”duncan-stewart-launched-1853″ title=”References & Links”]
The Duncan Stewart represents a common type of mid-19th-century commercial vessel — the wooden scow-schooner — serving the booming building trades of the Great Lakes region. Its unexplained capsizing in fair weather is a reminder of the stability issues these flat-bottomed scows could face when heavily loaded with shifting cargo. Today, no known wreck site has been confirmed for the Duncan Stewart, leaving it among Lake Erie’s many undocumented small schooner losses.
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
- Vessel Name: Duncan Stewart
- Registry: United States (specific enrollment records not confirmed)
- Year Built: 1853
- Hull Material: Wood
- Rig: Scow-schooner
- Length: Approx. 24 m (79 ft) (typical for lath-carrying scows of the period)
- Beam: Approx. 6 m (20 ft) estimated
- Depth: Approx. 2 m (6.5 ft) estimated
- Gross/Net Tonnage: Roughly 100–130 tons (estimated)
- Date Lost: 12 August 1857
- Final Location: Western Lake Erie, near the Detroit–Cleveland route
Vessel Type
Wooden scow-schooner, common on the Great Lakes for carrying building materials such as lath, lumber, bricks, and shingles. Scows were flat-bottomed with squared ends, making them cheap to build, easy to beach for loading, and able to carry bulky but lightweight cargo.
Description
The Duncan Stewart was a flat-bottomed wooden scow, square-ended fore and aft, with a simple schooner rig of two masts carrying fore-and-aft sails. The broad, open hold was typical for carrying stacked lath or shingles. These vessels had a shallow draft for river and port entry and could be run up on the beach if needed.
History
Construction and Service
Built in 1853, the Duncan Stewart traded widely in the building-supplies trade, moving cut timber products such as lath from sawmills in Michigan and Ontario to developing cities including Cleveland and Buffalo. The scow-schooner design was popular due to its low cost and shallow draft, ideal for hundreds of small lumber ports around the lakes.
Final Voyage and Loss
On 12 August 1857, the Duncan Stewart was bound from Detroit to Cleveland with a cargo of lath. For unknown reasons, the vessel capsized on Lake Erie. Contemporary reports note there was no storm or significant wind at the time of the loss, suggesting a cargo shift or sudden hull failure may have caused the vessel to overturn. No casualties were reported, but the vessel was lost.
Final Disposition
The Duncan Stewart was a total loss. There is no record of salvage or recovery. The hull was presumably abandoned or broke up in Lake Erie.
Located By & Date Found
No confirmed discovery or dive survey of the wreck has been documented.
Notmars & Advisories
None noted.
Resources & Links
- Maritime History of the Great Lakes
- Great Lakes Vessels (BGSU)
- David Swayze Shipwreck File
- Chronicling America Newspaper Archives
Conclusion
The Duncan Stewart represents a common type of mid-19th-century commercial vessel — the wooden scow-schooner — serving the booming building trades of the Great Lakes region. Its unexplained capsizing in fair weather is a reminder of the stability issues these flat-bottomed scows could face when heavily loaded with shifting cargo. Today, no known wreck site has been confirmed for the Duncan Stewart, leaving it among Lake Erie’s many undocumented small schooner losses.
Keywords, Categories, Glossary Terms
- Keywords: Duncan Stewart, Lake Erie, 1857 shipwreck, scow-schooner, lath cargo, capsizing
- Categories: 19th Century Shipwrecks, Lake Erie, Wooden Scow Schooners, Great Lakes Lumber Trade
- Glossary: scow-schooner, lath, capsize, flat-bottomed hull, cargo shift