John F. Rust US 45636

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Name: John F. Rust
• Type: Two-masted wooden schooner-barge
• Year Built: 1869
• Builder: Rust & Arnold, East Saginaw, Michigan
• Dimensions: 161 ft × 29 ft × 9 ft; approximately 347 gross tons
• Registered Tonnage: 347 gross tons
• Location: Lake Erie, a few miles north of Lakeport, Ohio
• Official Number: 45636
• Original Owners: John F. Rust & Co.
• Number of Masts: 2

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

• Type: Two-masted wooden schooner-barge (wood) intended for bulk lumber transport in tow of steamer (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)

Description

She was constructed as a typical wooden schooner-barge of her era: single-hull, two-masted sailing rig, optimized for hauling large lumber cargoes. Built by Rust & Arnold yard, she measured 161 × 29 × 9 ft, about 347 gt.

History

• Operational record: Active from launch in 1869; operated out of East Saginaw in the booming lumber trade to Cleveland. Owned/operated by John F. Rust & Co., a prominent Saginaw lumber firm (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files, ead.ohiolink.edu).
• Ownership & command: Part of the Rust family fleet; John F. Rust was a key figure in Saginaw’s lumber trade in that era (Genealogy Trails).
• Incidents: No earlier recorded incidents. No crew fatalities reported at the wreck.

Significant Incidents

• While bound from East Saginaw to Cleveland in tow of the steamer Bay City, her towline parted during a storm on October 19, 1873. She drifted ashore near Lakeport, Ohio, and was pounded to pieces with no survivors lost reported (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files).

Final Disposition

• There is no record of the wreck being located by divers, ROV, sonar, or formally documented. It remains uncharted and presumed completely fragmented ashore.

Current Condition & Accessibility

• There are no specific Notices to Mariners or hazard bulletins known referencing this wreck after the fact. None noted.

Resources & Links

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The John F. Rust represents a classic example of the mid-19th-century lumber schooner-barge trade: built in East Saginaw, heavily laden with lumber, and lost in tow when her line parted in a fall storm. Though not spectacular in fame or crew loss, her wreck underscores the hazards of unpowered tonnage on the Great Lakes. Without a documented wreck site, the archaeological value is speculative—any surviving timbers near Lakeport would merit recording and protection.