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.

(Official No. 45636; built 1869)

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Official No.: 45636 (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)
• Build: 1869 by Rust & Arnold, East Saginaw, Michigan (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)
• Dimensions: 161 ft × 29 ft × 9 ft; approximately 347 gross tons (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)
• Cargo at loss: ~440,000 board feet of lumber (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)
• Date of loss: October 19, 1873 (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)
• Loss location: Lake Erie, a few miles north of Lakeport, Ohio (near Erie) (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)

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.

Final Disposition

• 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).

Located By & Date Found

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

Notmars & Advisories

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

Resources & Links

• Great Lakes Shipwreck Files – WordPress/R: entry summarizing loss details and specs (Great Lakes Shipwreck Files)
• John Franklin Rust Papers, OhioLINK: corporate and personal background on Rust & Co. (ead.ohiolink.edu)
• Local histories & genealogical archives on the Saginaw Rust business and John F. Rust’s biography (Genealogy Trails, Seeking My Roots)

Gaps & Next Steps

• No crew names, casualty lists, or contemporary salvage reports have been found.
• Uncertainty around crew identity and absence of death records or newspaper casualty notices suggests no fatalities, but confirmation from 1873 newspapers (Cleveland, Saginaw, Lakeport) or marine board investigation transcripts would be beneficial.
• The site has never been mapped—reconnaissance in shallow coastal areas north of Lakeport using side-scan sonar could be pursued if physical remains are suspected near shoreline shoals.

Conclusion

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.

john-f-rust-us-45636 1873-10-19 16:56:00