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.

Shipwreck Report: Schooner FOSTORIA (1865–1901)

Vessel Overview

Name & Official Number

• Vessel Name: FOSTORIA
• Official Number: 9534
• Year of Build: 1865
• Builder: Scott Lyons
• Location: Black River, Ohio (sometimes listed as part of Lorain County)
• Type: Two-masted Great Lakes schooner (later sometimes used as a barge)
• Hull Material: Wood (typical for mid-19th-century Great Lakes vessels)
• Number of Decks: 1
• Original Owner: Ben Flint of Fremont, Ohio
• Dimensions & Tonnage Length (overall): 123.6 feet Beam: 26.5 feet Depth of Hold: 8.4 feet
• Tonnage (old style): 253 (initially recorded as 237.57 gross tons after an 1868 measurement)

Purpose & Early Employment
Constructed as a commercial lake schooner, the FOSTORIA was built for transporting bulk cargoes—grain, coal, lumber, stone—around Lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior. She was typical of many mid-century Great Lakes sailing vessels built quickly and inexpensively to capitalize on booming lake commerce. Early on, FOSTORIA served shipping routes connecting Ohio, Michigan, and beyond, occasionally requiring tows from steamers in heavy weather or ice conditions.

Operational History

Though some documentary gaps exist, the FOSTORIA‘s history can be traced through newspapers, enrollment records, and marine directories. Key events included:

• 1868: Documented at 237.57 gross tons; assigned Official No. 9534.
• 1868, August 27: Ran aground on Grey’s Reef (Lake Michigan) while carrying grain; refloated with help from the steamer/salvage vessel LEVIATHAN.
• 1869, August: Sprang a leak on Lake Michigan; underwent repairs.
• 1869, November: Sustained damage in a severe gale on Lake Michigan.
• 1871: Ownership noted under “Tillotson” of Fremont, Ohio.
• 1874, October 19: Struck a rock near the Detour (DeTour) Light in Lake Huron and sank quickly; later raised or refloated (details are partial) but required significant repair work.
• 1874, November 19: Foundered at anchor off Fairport, Ohio, during another storm; salvaged again, underwent “major repairs.”
• 1875, June 4: Registered to W.S. McLean of East Saginaw, Michigan.
• 1876: Officially recorded as a “barge” (a term often used when older schooners were converted or primarily towed rather than sailed).
• 1883: Operated in conjunction with the “M Line” out of Buffalo, New York; received additional structural repairs.
• 1887, April 20: Owned by Thomas B. Ganey; continued to operate as a lumber or bulk cargo carrier, frequently in tow.
• 1890: Towed by the steamer ALPENA for the lumber trade between Alpena, Michigan, and Cleveland, Ohio.
• 1892, April 9: Recorded as owned by J.C. Garry, Port Huron District (U.S. Customs).
• 1892, June 27: Aground at Stony Island (Detroit River) while carrying stone; successfully released.

Throughout her career, FOSTORIA changed hands numerous times and saw repeated groundings, leaks, and storm damage—typical for a wooden schooner enduring decades of rigorous Great Lakes service. By the late 1890s, she often sailed under tow, reflecting both changing cargo demands and her aging hull.

Final Voyage and Sinking (10 May 1901)

Circumstances of the Last Trip
In spring 1901, FOSTORIA was carrying a load of coal—a common cargo for schooner-barges by then—on Lake Huron. She was in tow of the steamer ANNIE LAURA, a not-unusual practice where older schooners would be pulled behind a powered vessel to efficiently transport bulk cargo. On 10 May 1901, while transiting near Port Huron, Michigan, the FOSTORIA encountered ice or possibly colliding ice floes (late-season conditions still prevailed on portions of Lake Huron that year).

Foundering & Loss

• The FOSTORIA reportedly holed by ice, suggesting a puncture in her hull below the waterline.
• Flooding was rapid, and the schooner foundered (sank) before remedial measures could save her.
• The incident resulted in the loss of two lives. Specific names are not fully documented in surviving sources, but the entire barge crew would likely have been small, given that the steamer’s crew handled navigation.

Location of the Wreck
The FOSTORIA lies somewhere in Lake Huron waters near Port Huron, although precise coordinates are not specified by historical records. Contemporaneous accounts refer to her foundering “off Port Huron,” which historically indicates the lower end of Lake Huron or the approach to the St. Clair River.

Aftermath
With an already aged hull and repeated structural repairs, the FOSTORIA had become more vulnerable to extreme weather and ice. Reports at the time confirm that the ANNIE LAURA survived but was unable to rescue the barge or prevent the flooding once the hull was severely damaged. The final cargo of coal was lost with the vessel.

Historical Significance

Representative of Wooden Schooner-Barges
By the late 19th century, many older sailing schooners were converted or operated predominantly under tow, carrying heavy cargoes like coal, iron ore, or stone. The FOSTORIA is emblematic of hundreds of such wooden vessels that transitioned from self-propelled schooners to consort barges in the face of the growing dominance of steam power on the Great Lakes.

Long Record of Mishaps & Survival
The FOSTORIA‘s long operational life (1865–1901) was punctuated by groundings, leaks, and sinking incidents—yet she was salvaged, repaired, and returned to service multiple times. This longevity illustrates both the sturdiness of typical Great Lakes wooden hulls and the financial viability of keeping a vessel active through major overhauls rather than building anew.

Importance to Great Lakes Maritime History

1. Economy & Commerce: Her various cargoes (grain, coal, lumber, stone) show the vital role of schooners in the 19th-century Great Lakes economy, delivering raw materials for expanding Midwestern industry.
2. Maritime Technology Transition: By her final decade, the FOSTORIA had become a towed barge, reflecting the shift toward steamers like the ANNIE LAURA taking on the primary power role, while sail-powered vessels fell into secondary service.
3. Hazardous Navigation: The FOSTORIA’s demise underscores the perpetual danger posed by Great Lakes ice, storms, and unpredictable weather—even in spring—and highlights the high risk for ships operating on these inland seas.

Potential Archeological Site
If discovered and surveyed, the FOSTORIA‘s wreck could provide insight into mid-19th-century schooner construction and the modifications made as she aged. Wooden hull remains, cargo remnants (coal), and any salvageable artifacts from the final voyage would be valuable to maritime archaeologists studying Great Lakes commerce and shipbuilding practices of the post–Civil War era.

Legacy
While not as famously sought as some larger or more modern shipwrecks, the FOSTORIA retains significance in the historical record. She typifies the unsung “workhorse” schooners that kept commerce moving across the inland waterways for decades. Her multiple near-catastrophes before the final sinking further illustrate the precarious existence of wooden lake vessels in an era of limited navigation aids, rudimentary weather forecasting, and frequent heavy traffic among the busy harbors of Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Erie.

Sources and Acknowledgments

Primary References

• Collection of C. Patrick Labadie (noted maritime historian and Great Lakes shipwreck chronicler)
• Data from Donald V. Baut
• Board of Lake Underwriters Marine Directory entries
• Period Newspaper Clippings (1860s–1901) for reported groundings, storms, changes in ownership
• Steamboat Era in the Muskokas by Richard Tatley
• Research by Peter J. VanderLinden
• U.S. Customs and Enrollment records (tonnage changes, re-registrations)

Remarks
This report synthesizes scattered historical data into a cohesive overview of the FOSTORIA‘s life and loss. As with many 19th-century Great Lakes schooners, official documentation can be fragmentary, and deeper archival research may yield additional details on her owners, masters, and incident

fostoria 1901-05-10 21:38:00