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 – JOHN MOORE

IDENTIFICATION & SITE INFORMATION

• Vessel Name: John Moore
• Type: Wooden Schooner
• Incident: Foundered (sank due to storm, flooding, or hull failure)
• Location: Lake Ontario, approximately 6 miles east of Eastern Gap, Toronto Harbour
• Coordinates (approximate): 43°37′N, 79°17′W
• Depth: Unknown – likely moderate (20–50 ft) based on nearshore bathymetry
• Crew Status: Unknown – no fatalities recorded in summary
• Wreck Status: Not confirmed; possibly broken, buried, or salvaged
• Cause: Not specified – presumed weather-related or structural failure

VESSEL TYPE DESCRIPTION

The John Moore was a wooden-hulled sailing schooner, part of the numerous short-haul cargo and general freight fleet serving Toronto, Scarborough, Pickering, and Hamilton in the 19th century.

Schooners of this class were commonly between 80 and 130 feet in length, often rigged as two- or three-masters, with shallow draft hulls allowing close coastal operation but vulnerable in open lake squalls or hull failure events.

HISTORY & INCIDENT SUMMARY

The John Moore is recorded as having foundered approximately six miles east of Toronto’s Eastern Gap, a key harbor entrance between the city and the Toronto Islands. The specific date of loss is unrecorded in the summary, but its location places it in a highly trafficked and heavily charted area.

• Incident most likely occurred during a storm, or from overloading or hull leak during transit
• No information on cargo, ownership, or salvage attempt recorded
• Given proximity to shore, wreckage may have been salvaged, or vessel refloated and broken up locally

Due to the lack of fatalities in the brief entry, it’s possible that the crew escaped or were rescued, and the sinking was either slow or occurred under relatively controlled circumstances.

FINAL DISPOSITION

• Vessel Status: Presumed total loss by foundering
• Wreck Location: 6 miles east of Eastern Gap, potentially between Ashbridges Bay and Pickering shoreline
• Salvage: Unknown; no record of recovery or raised hull
• Condition: Presumed broken or silt-covered, unconfirmed by divers or sonar

CURRENT STATUS & SITE NOTES

• No verified sonar or diver target in Toronto East Beach / Scarborough Bluffs sector has been publicly identified as the John Moore
• Region is heavily modified by infill, breakwall construction, and urban shoreline extension
• Possible remains buried beneath Ashbridges sedimentation drift, or lost offshore in recreational boating zone
• A candidate for magnetometer and sonar side-scan surveys between Eastern Gap and Frenchman’s Bay

REFERENCES & LINKS

• Wreck Summary:
  “John Moore – Schooner – Foundered – Toronto Harbour – 6 miles east of Eastern Gap”
• Maritime History of the Great Lakes – Suggested further archival dive for Toronto marine news and customs records
• David Swayze Shipwreck File – No detailed entry located
• Great Lakes Vessels Database – BGSU – Search under “John Moore” for build year and tonnage
• Toronto Public Library Archives / Toronto Marine Registers – Potential for incident notice in late 1800s newspapers
• Ontario Ministry of Heritage (Marine Archaeology List) – No registered underwater site in this exact location as of latest updates

CONCLUSION

The John Moore may represent one of many undocumented nearshore schooner wrecks east of Toronto’s harbor mouth, a casualty of early coastal trade and storm conditions. Her story, like others along the northern Lake Ontario shoreline, awaits rediscovery—either through archival confirmation or underwater imaging.

Listed under:

“MISSING / UNCONFIRMED SHORELINE WRECKS – TORONTO REGION”

john-moore 1882-03-25 21:38:00