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 Location & Documentation (SLD) Report

Vessel: Free Trader
Type: Two-masted wooden freight schooner
Captain: George Garlock (1829–1906)
Registry: United States
Status: Lost – not located
Underground Railroad Involvement: Confirmed via oral history and community heritage sources
Final Coordinates: Approximate – Green Bay, Lake Michigan (Exact GPS unknown)

Identification & Site Information

• Name / Former Names: Free Trader
• Registration Number(s): Not recorded in available databases
• Year Built / Launched: 1849
• Builder Name: David Rogers
• Built at: Sodus, New York
• Original Owner: David Rogers
• Tonnage (Old Style): 46 tons
• Length: 19.8 metres (65 feet)
• Beam: 1.8 metres (6 feet)
• Depth: Unknown
• Number of Decks: 1
• Number of Masts: 2
• Hull Material: Wood
• Hull Shape: Square-sterned, carved-head design

Vessel Type

Cargo schooner built for light freight operations across Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes.

Description

The Free Trader was a small, agile two-masted schooner designed for hauling lumber, ore, fish, and grain across short- and medium-distance lake routes. Her minimal beam and shallow draft allowed close shoreline approaches, ideal for both legitimate cargo and clandestine passenger operations.

History

From 1849 to 1869, the Free Trader was a well-traveled freight schooner operating across Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and eventually Lake Michigan. She experienced multiple minor maritime incidents—including collisions, groundings, and storm damage—indicative of heavy usage.

Noteworthy Historical Entries:

• 1852: Collision with schooner West Wind, Lake Erie
• 1853: Collision near Buffalo with schooner Kosciusko
• 1859: Ashore near Wellington, Ontario; storm damage near Lake Erie islands
• Enrolled in multiple cities: Rochester, Buffalo, Oswego, Cleveland, Milwaukee

Final Disposition

• Date Lost: December 1869
• Location: Green Bay, Lake Michigan
• Final Cargo: Fish
• How Lost: Presumed sunk – unknown cause
• Discovery Status: Not yet located, no sonar or dive identification on record

Located By & Date Found

Nil – No verified wreckage identified as Free Trader to date.

Notmars & Advisories

Nil – No obstruction warnings or confirmed site markers associated with this vessel.

Underground Railroad Connection

Captain George Garlock actively used the Free Trader as part of a clandestine ferrying operation for fugitive slaves. According to robust oral histories:

• Escapees would rendezvous at a bluff now known as Freedom Hill near Sodus Point.
• Farms including the Cohn/Horn Farm and Swales Farm (Old Sodus Fruit Farm) served as safe houses.
• At night or dawn, fugitives launched small boats to meet the Free Trader, guided by beacon signals.
• They were hidden aboard during crossings to Brighton, Ontario.
• On return voyages, the vessel carried grain or Canadian exports to maintain commercial cover.

Artifacts from Free Trader are preserved at the Sodus Bay Lighthouse Museum, and her story is commemorated in community murals and oral traditions.

Resources & Links

• Historic Sodus Point – Underground Railroad
• Wayne Historians – Freedom Hill Site
• Cohn Farm / Horn Farm History
• Sodus Bay Lighthouse Museum
• Cobblestone Museum – Swales Houses
• Town of Sodus Historical Society Tours
• YouTube – Captain Garlock Presentation

Shore Dive Informatio

Not applicable – The wreck is not a known shore dive or accessible site.

Conclusion

The Free Trader exemplifies the untold maritime history of the Underground Railroad on the Great Lakes. Captain Garlock’s quiet heroism, paired with support from abolitionist farming families, turned a commercial schooner into a vessel of liberation. Though the exact wreck site remains undiscovered, her legacy survives in Sodus Point’s cultural and historical memory.

free-trader 1869-12-16 18:10:00