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.

Wooden Schooner / Barge – Oscoda Lumber Dock, Lake Huron

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Vessel Name: E.F. Gould
• Type at Time of Loss: Wooden schooner or barge preparing to load lumber
• Date of Loss: 27 October 1898 (Wikipedia, Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)
• Location: Lying at the lumber dock in Oscoda, Michigan, Lake Huron (studylib.net)
• Circumstance: Broken loose by a gale and driven ashore, becoming a total wreck within hours; crew rescued by U.S. Life‑Saving Service from Tawas Point (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)
• Cargo at Loss: Lumber (preparing to load)
• Casualties: None reported (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)

Vessel Type Description

E.F. Gould appears to have been a wooden sailing schooner or lumber barge, employed for hauling timber from Oscoda’s substantial sawmill operations. The reference “preparing to load lumber” suggests direct involvement in the logging trade typical of that port, perhaps as temporary time‑charter.

Incident Description & Historical Context

On 27 October 1898, while moored at Oscoda’s lumber dock, E.F. Gould was swept free by a sudden Lake Huron gale, striking shoreline or shallow reef. She was destroyed in just a few hours, suffering catastrophic structural failure; her crew was rescued with no loss of life by the U.S. Life-Saving Service based at Tawas Point (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files).

This aligns with broader loss lists from 17 October 1898, which note E. F. Gould beaching at Au Sable, Michigan, a location adjacent to Oscoda, due to storm exposure—a common hazard in late-season lumber handling operations (Wikipedia).

Operational & Ownership History

• No registry details (official number, tonnage, ownership) were located in readily accessible records.
• Operating locale and cargo type strongly suggest E.F. Gould belonged to local lumber interests active in mid‑late 1890s northern Michigan, possibly chartered for short-haul freight between Oscoda/Au Sable and harvest points.
• Her destruction parallels other October storm losses in 1898 during the busy wood season.

Final Disposition

E.F. Gould was a total loss. The vessel was wrecked ashore, broken beyond repair, and not salvaged. Registry entries for the vessel likely ceased soon after, although no documentation is known.

Survey & Wreck Status

• No archaeological survey, underwater discovery, or dive documentation is known to exist.
• Given her rapid destruction and probable high-energy wrecking (along shoreline dunes and logs), site remains likely dispersed or deeply buried and undocumented.

Notices to Mariners & Official Advisories

• None recorded; no formal notations in Notices to Mariners or hazard bulletins related to this wreck were identified.

Research Gaps & Recommendations

• Vessel Specifications & Ownership: Absence of registry record suggests further archival searches in Michigan harbor registers, local newspapers (Oscoda Herald, Tawas Point reports), or lumber company logs may reveal build data or owners.
• Crew Identity: While no casualties occurred, rescuers (U.S. Life-Saving Service at Tawas) may have logs or oral records naming crew or master.
• Contemporary Storm Reports: Newspaper accounts of lakeside gale damage in late October 1898 could provide fuller description of conditions and impact.

Resources & References

• Great Lakes Shipwreck Files – “G‑section” listing for E.F. Gould: describes location, cargo, cause of loss, rescue operation; no loss of life (Wikipedia, Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)
• Wikipedia “List of shipwrecks in 1898” entry: notes beaching at Au Sable, Michigan on 17 October and storm context for E. F. Gould loss (Wikipedia)

Keywords & Categories

Lumber schooner, dock gale loss, Oscoda Michigan, 1898 Lake Huron storm, total wreck, U.S. Life-Saving Service rescue, lumber cargo vessel.

Summary

The E.F. Gould was a wooden lumber‑laden schooner or barge stationed at Oscoda’s lumber dock, destroyed by gale-force winds on 27 October 1898. Without taking on cargo but preparing to load lumber, she broke moorings and was rapidly wrecked ashore. The crew survived, rescued by the Tawas Point U.S. Life-Saving Service. Despite its sudden loss, the vessel made it into contemporary shipwreck lists for late 1898, but no precise registry or technical specifications survive in standard sources.

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