Shotline Diving Wreck Profile
- Name: ERASTUS BOWEN
- Type: Schooner
- Year Built: 1844
- Builder: Not specifically recorded
- Dimensions: Length 66 ft (20.1 m); Beam 15 ft (4.6 m); Depth of hold 5 ft (1.5 m)
- Registered Tonnage: 42 tons
- Location: Grosse Pointe, near Chicago, Illinois
- Number of Masts: 2
Wreck Location Map
Vessel Type
The Erastus Bowen was a small, two-masted wooden schooner typical of early Great Lakes shipping. Designed for the transport of general cargo including lumber, grain, and household goods, schooners of this size and period operated widely on nearshore trades between Midwest ports.
Description
The Erastus Bowen was launched in 1844 and initially enrolled at Detroit, Michigan, with trade routes linking to other Lake Michigan ports. By 1847, she was re-enrolled at Chicago, indicating her involvement in the fast-growing commerce of Illinois and Wisconsin.
History
In April 1851, the schooner stranded near Grosse Pointe, just below Chicago, while carrying household goods. Little detail survives about the cause of the stranding, but no lives were reported lost. The schooner was likely a total loss or abandoned soon after, as no further enrollment records appear after 1851.
Significant Incidents
- Stranded near Grosse Pointe, Illinois, in April 1851 while carrying household goods.
Final Disposition
Stranded and abandoned near Grosse Pointe, Illinois.
Current Condition & Accessibility
Unknown; presumed scattered or buried nearshore in Lake Michigan.
Resources & Links
[shotline_reference_links slug=”erastus-bowen-1844″ title=”References & Links”]
No modern survey or diver location is recorded for the wreck of the Erastus Bowen.
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